STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The stands at Beaver Stadium started to sway as 108,112 fans reacted to a Juice William fumble on third-and-7. The crowd rocked with applause as Penn State’s Tony Davis grabbed the ball and twirled into the end zone for the home team’s first solid lead of Saturday’s game.

That play, with 6:36 remaining in the third quarter, put Penn State up 17-9 in a game defined by impressive defensive efforts from both teams. While Illinois led for most of the first half, Penn State ultimately walked away with a commanding 26-12 victory.

“It hurts because we had chances to win and just didn’t do it,” Illinois safety Kevin Mitchell said after the game. “Especially coming into a hostile environment like this, we could have pulled it off.”

Illinois (2-6, 1-3 Big Ten) never managed a touchdown, instead looking to junior kicker Jason Reda for four field goals. But while the offense failed to produce, the defense stepped up, holding the Nittany Lions to a single offensive touchdown.

“I believe we keep improving,” Mitchell said. “We weren’t surprised by our performance today, the defense wasn’t surprised. Maybe fans were, but if people really know what they’re talking about, they can see we keep excelling.”

Mitchell and linebacker J Leman led Illinois’ defensive effort with 5 solo and 2 assist tackles each.

Mitchell also had a pass breakup in the second quarter, while Leman, a Butkus Award candidate, had two tackles for loss.

“We played with a lot more emotion this week,” Leman said. “Football, defense especially, is all emotion, and we came out with a lot of emotion today.”

One of Illinois’ biggest defensive plays came late in the second quarter, when linebacker Brit Miller intercepted a pass from Penn State quarterback Anthony Morelli. Miller returned the ball 19 yards, putting Illinois inside the red zone, but the Nittany Lions held the Illini to a field goal as quarterback Juice Williams was sacked for an 8-yard loss and Illinois could not recover for the fresh first-and-10.

Running back Rashard Mendenhall led Illinois’ offense, tallying 161 net rushing yards on 14 carries. Mendenhall’s second-quarter 79-yard run almost made it to the end zone – and was almost lost before center Ryan McDonald recovered after Mendenhall fumbled.

“Our guys, at times, are better than we play,” Illinois head coach Ron Zook said. “It’s our job as a coaching staff to get them to play to that level.”

Morelli, who was questionable coming into the game after suffering a concussion last week against Michigan, completed 18-of-34 passes for 144 yards, 12 fewer yards than Williams had for Illinois. A first-quarter field goal and a third-quarter short pass to Kevin Darling were the only offensive scores Penn State put on the board Saturday. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter, when linebacker Dan Connor scored a safety and Anthony Scirrotto returned a kickoff for 29 yards and six points, that Penn State took control of the game.

But that doesn’t satisfy the Illini.

“I’m not into the moral victory thing,” Zook said. “We came up here to win the game. I told them at halftime that the second half would be harder than the first, and it was.”

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Slideshow Media Credit:

Aaron Facemire The Daily Illini

1. J Leman (47) assists in tackling Tony Hunt (26) in the game against Penn State on Saturday, October 21, 2006. Leman led in tackles for the Illinois defense with 7 total tackles, 1 being a sack. Illinois lost 26-12.

2. Kevin Mitchell (42) tackles Jordan Norwood (24) on Saturday, October 21, 2006. Illinois faced Penn State at Beaver Stadium in Pennsylvania for Penn State’s Homecoming. The game was sold out, more the 108,000 people attending, and ended with a Penn State victory 26-12.

3. Jason Reda (13) kicks a field goal in the away game against Penn State on Saturday, October 21, 2006. Reda scored all of the Illinios’ 12 points in the game with Penn State winning 26-12.

4. Will Davis (81) sacks quarterback Anthony Morelli (14) at the end of the second quarter in the away game against Penn State on Saturday, October 21, 2006.

5. Juice Williams (7) fumbles in the third quarter in the game against Penn State on Saturday, October 21, 2006. Penn State won 26-12 in their homecoming game at Beaver Stadium, with an attendance of over 108,000 people.