STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — A week ago, the Illinois football team trailed 14-3 at halftime before folding in the second half on the way to a 42-3 loss against Michigan State. Trailing by the same margin to Penn State on Saturday, the second half took a much different direction that ultimately led to the same result.

The Illini (3-5, 0-4 Big Ten) lost 24-17 in overtime to the Nittany Lions (5-3, 2-2) despite holding lead in the final minute of the fourth quarter.

On third and 11 from the 15-yard line in overtime, Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenburg found tight end Kyle Carter in the middle of the field for the go-ahead touchdown after the Illini won the coin toss and elected to play defense first.

The Illini’s possession in overtime would last just one play as quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase attempted to hit Spencer Harris on a corner route in the end zone. The ball was deflected into the air and intercepted by Ryan Keiser to seal the game.

“We were determined not to let that happen again,” linebacker Jonathan Brown said about the second half against the Spartans. “We were determined to come out the second half and play complete football, and that’s what we did.”

Penn State jumped to a quick 14-0 lead before the Illini could even get settled, but let Illinois back into the game right before halftime. The Orange and Blue drove the length of the field right before half before stalling at the 5-yard line. With the clock ticking down and no timeouts, Scheelhaase frantically called out signals, burning precious seconds. His incomplete pass on the play left 0:00 on the scoreboard, but a roughing-the-passer penalty gave the Illini a second chance and placekicker Taylor Zalewski knocked in a short field goal to put the Illini on the board before the break.

Immediately following an Illini touchdown midway through the third quarter that cut the Penn State lead to 14-10, Illinois kept the momentum, this time on the defensive side of the ball.

Facing a third and 1 from the Illinois 39, Penn State opted for a quarterback sneak — which was stuffed for no gain. On the ensuing fourth down play, Penn State handed to Bill Belton (who finished with 201 yards on the day) off left guard. Illini linebacker T.J. Neal was able to grab the shoulder of Belton, slowing his momentum before defensive back Zane Petty finished him off at the line of scrimmage. The officials called for a measurement, but the Nittany Lions were short, turning the ball over on downs.

Following the turnover, Illinois drove 57 yards on 11 plays before stalling at the Penn State 4-yard line. Forced with a decision of his own, Illinois head coach Beckman also chose to take the gamble. Coming out of a timeout, the Illini lined up in the Maryland I formation, with four tight ends (two in the backfield in front of Josh Ferguson). When Scheelhaase gave a signal, the skill players scattered, each spreading into a wide receiver alignment. From the shotgun, Scheelhaase stared down tight end Jon Davis at the goal line, but ultimately couldn’t squeeze the ball between the two defenders.

“You’re one short on a DB because we’re in a short-yardage goal line package,” offensive coordinator Bill Cubit said. “You hope one guy wins a battle. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen.”

Illinois finished with 411 total yards but the two interceptions and nine penalties for 71 yards kept the Illini off the scoreboard and out of the win column.

“Obviously when you don’t win, it’s extremely disappointing because they worked so hard,” defensive coordinator Tim Banks said. “They’re putting in the work. At some point, it’s going to swing our way.”

Stephen can be reached at [email protected] and @steve_bourbon.