STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Arriving as a 17 1/2-point underdog Saturday, Illinois wasn't supposed to make it much of a game against Penn State. Illinois wasn't supposed to be able to run the ball, and it wasn't supposed to slow Penn State to a sluggish crawl.

But Illinois did all of those things, throwing a full-blown scare into the 108,112 fans that visited Beaver Stadium for Penn State's homecoming game.

In many ways, Illinois (2-6, 1-3) outplayed Penn State until field position and turnovers ignited a second-half rally that brought the Nittany Lions from behind to a 26-12 win.

It's the third time in as many weeks that Illinois was in position to win the game late but couldn't close the deal.

In fact, Illinois trailed 17-12 but got the ball back with 1:55 minutes to play, sending freshman quarterback Juice Williams onto the field to direct what coach Ron Zook hoped would be a game-winning touchdown drive.

But a delay-of-game penalty pushed Illinois back to its own 6-yard line, and Williams was sacked in the end zone for a safety, pushing Penn State's lead to 19-12.

With just 1:20 left to play, Zook had little choice but to try an onside kick, hoping to quickly get the ball back. But Jason Reda's squib bounced up into the hands of Penn State's Anthony Scirrotto, who pranced untouched 29 yards for the touchdown that produced the final score.

So despite a stellar day for an Illini defense that held Penn State (5-3, 3-2) to 40 yards rushing and just 184 yards in total offense, and despite Rashard Mendenhall's 161 yards rushing on 14 carries, Illinois pulled up short and Zook was not too happy about it.

"I'm not into the moral victory thing," said Zook, who hung his head into his cupped hands and spoke with his eyes closed during his post-game radio show. "We came up here to win the game, and I thought we had an opportunity to win the game. I told them at halftime the second 30 minutes would be harder than the first 30, but that we had it in us.

"Defensively, I couldn't be prouder. Regardless of what happened, they played well. Offensively, we did some good things, but we can't shoot ourselves in the foot."

Penn State coach Joe Paterno agreed.

"We didn't win that game today, Illinois lost it," Paterno said. "Illinois gave us a couple of easy ones. We didn't go out and beat Illinois. Our defense kept us in the game until they made a couple of mistakes."

Two interceptions, two lost fumbles, a half-dozen dropped passes and a few penalties hampered the offense, although Illinois won many of the statistical battles.

Illinois had 19 first downs to Penn State's 10. Illinois rushed for 202 yards, Penn State 40. Illinois had 358 yards in offense, Penn State 184.

Despite Zook's halftime plea that Illinois could complete the victory with a strong second half, the third quarter began badly for the Illini.

First came an interception by Williams on Illinois' opening possession. The Illini survived that mistake but after the defense held Penn State, Kapinos' 49-yard punt pinned Illinois at its own 2-yard line.

Unable to get a first down, Illinois' Kyle Yelton punted from his end zone, and Penn State took over on the Illini 34. Six plays later quarterback Anthony Morelli flipped a 3-yard pass to tight end Kevin Darling and the Nittany Lions were on top 10-9.

A penalty on the ensuing kickoff backed Illinois up once again, this time to its own 4-yard line. And three plays later, Williams was hit by linebacker Paul Posluszny. He fumbled the ball and it bounced directly into the hands of cornerback Tony Davis, who pranced 6 yards into the end zone to give Penn State a 17-9 lead.

"I didn't know anyone was behind me," Mendenhall said. "At least not until Frank Lenti said to tuck the ball. Then I figured someone was there."

But Illinois could not punch the ball into the end zone and settled for Reda's second field goal.

The third field goal was set up when Decatur's Brit Miller intercepted a pass that was jarred free by Kevin Mitchell's hit on receiver Jordan Norwood.

Miller grabbed the ball and made a nice 19-yard return before being steered out of bounds at the Penn State 16.

"I should have taken it to the house," Miller said. "But I take pride in the fact that they couldn't tackle me. I stayed up on my feet. I put a move on somebody and a stiff arm on somebody. But I wish I could have gotten into the end zone."

"I don't want to put it all on Juice, but he has to take care of the football when he's under duress," Zook said. Williams never appeared at the post-game press conference. He was reportedly getting treatment in the locker room for assorted aches and pains after running 19 times and getting sacked six times. Nothing serious, Zook assured.

Reda's 36-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter closed Penn State's lead to 17-12, and Illinois' defense played tough the rest of the way.

But the late safety and surprise touchdown on the botched onside kick wiped out any chance of a last-minute miracle.

"We're still in the process of learning how to win," Miller said. "It's a tough process, I'll say that. It hurts a lot.

"The weeks are getting long with these outcomes. Being in position to win is what it's all about, and we're doing that now. We've been in every game except the Rutgers game. We'll learn how to finish the job."

Illinois is back on the road Saturday when it travels to Wisconsin for an 11 a.m. game.