Fourth and goal from the 4-yard line, the Illinois football team was down 21-0 with 19 seconds remaining in the first half and in need of some kind of momentum to kick-start an offense that looked monotonous through the half. 

The Illini decided against attempting a field goal, even though they’d get the ball after halftime, and elected to go for the touchdown. 

That decision set up one of the most strange and unorthodox endings to a half all season long. 

It marked a huge momentum shift in a game Illinois would end up losing 35-7, despite reaching its opponent’s red zone three times, though failing to score each time. 

Illini quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase tossed a pass intended for wide receiver Ryan Lankford as he was crossing the goal line. But Penn State linebacker Michael Mauti read the play and stepped in front of the pass and intercepted it.

Mauti dashed toward the sidelines behind his fellow Penn State defenders, now transformed into blockers to guide him. 

He ran 99 yards but appeared to run out of gas as he neared the end zone. He eluded Illinois offensive lineman Simon Cvijanovic before a desperation attempt by Illinois quarterback Miles Osei, who lined up as a receiver on the play, stopped him at the 1-yard line.

“(I was) trying to help out our team and trying to hustle down and make sure I didn’t give up on the play,” Osei said.

Mauti thought he got into the end zone, but instead he was left with a feeling of emptiness of coming away with nothing.

“That one’s going to hurt,” Mauti said. “That’s going to haunt my dreams, especially because we didn’t get any points out of it.”

Penn State had one final second on the clock and elected to kick a chip-shot 18-yard field goal attempt, which was blocked by the Illini. 

It was unusual for Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien to elect for a field goal attempt, since kicker Sam Ficken has struggled all season, going just 2-of-8. 

And if Penn State would have went for on fourth down, Mauti said he would have petitioned to try to take the ball into the end zone. 

But this play will continue to haunt Mauti’s dreams and maybe the Illini but for different reasons. It was yet another turnover for Illinois, which finished the day with three. As Scheelhaase put it, “You can’t do that and expect to win.”

And for Mauti, he’ll be thinking about his missed chance to score.

“That’s why you train, that’s why you do all these workouts,” he said. “So after a 10- (or) 12-play drive, you can run it back 100 yards.

“Our defense has got to score. We still haven’t scored as a defense.”

Jamal can be reached at [email protected] and @jamalcollier.