But conference road games can be tricky, especially against teams coming off a poor performance.

It was expected Illinois' defense might take a step back this year, and it has. The Illini were very fortunate to beat Toledo and were never in the game at Kansas, as it was 28-7 at the half and 34-7 in the third quarter.

There isn't much on paper to like about Illinois' first two games. 7 Penn State at Illinois (noon, FOX and FOX Sports App )