The Illinois Fighting Illini are 2-1 and head into a big Week 4 matchup against Penn State with a lot on the line.

Obviously, beating Penn State would be a huge statement game for Lovie Smith and the Illini, so that goes without saying. A loss would make two-straight after last weekend’s loss to South Florida, though, and even a game against Rutgers could be tough for a team trying to battle off a three-game losing streak.

This is an important game for the Illini, even though they face huge odds heading into the matchup.

If Illinois does want to win, and of course the Illini plan to, they’ll have to rely on a run game that has really started to come together over the past few weeks. The Illini rushed for 212 yards as a team against USF, making it three-straight games the team has rushed for over 200 as a unit.

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Against Kent State, Illinois rushed for 279 total yards, led by senior quarterback AJ Bush and junior running back Reggie Corbin’s two touchdowns. The Illini rushed for 238 yards against Western Illinois with Corbin punching in a touchdown in that game as well.

In fact, Corbin has been great so far for the Illini, with 240 yards and three touchdowns so far this season, but he’s part of a one-two punch with sophomore running back Mike Epstein, and it seems like Smith has decided to play the hot-hand moving forward.

Yes, Corbin has been great, but Epstein has rushed for 100-plus yards in each of the last two games and he punched in a touchdown against USF.

Truthfully, Smith would probably be fine either way he goes — and it may not matter against Penn State — but recently talking to the media, the Illinois coach revealed that even though all of his running backs can make a big impact, the Illini will role with Epstein with the chips are down.

Here’s what Smith said, per Mike Gasick of Gatehouse Media Illinois:

“All the guys feel like they have an opportunity to give their team a chance to win,” Smith said. “In the end, you go with the guy who gives you a chance to have the most success. These past couple weeks, Mike has really stepped up his game. We’ll continue to lean on him.”

Epstein missed the last seven games of last season for Illinois with a foot injury, so it appears that it has taken him some time to warm up and get back into game-shape.

Now that he’s ready he’s been really heating up for Illinois, so look for the Illini to continue leaning on him — though Corbin is obviously a nice option as well.

It’s not a bad problem to have for Smith.