STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - With Penn State's two top quarterbacks questionable coming off concussions, it was possible Illinois would line up opposite the Nittany Lions' No. 3 quarterback today at Beaver Stadium.

That's how it looked through much of the week.

But, alas, doctors have cleared starter Anthony Morelli and No. 2 Daryll Clark, so Penn State will take the field today with its full contingent of quarterbacks.

Not that Penn State needs any edge, given what happened when these two teams played one year ago.

Illini coach Ron Zook simply calls it "the low point," and the plain truth about Penn State's resounding 63-10 rout in Champaign is that it could have been much, much worse. Penn State led 56-3 at halftime and only the generous compassion of head coach Joe Paterno, who scolded his coaches when they threw the ball in the second half, kept the score from reaching truly embarrassing margins. Not that 63-10 isn't a bit embarrassing as it is.

"I remember telling our team, 'Guys, it won't get any worse than this,' " Zook said.

"If you look back on that game, as we obviously have, that score was very misleading," Paterno said this week. "Everything went our way in the first half, and Illinois was a young team and everything else that goes with it when you have some adversity and don't have really great leadership on the squad.

"They are much improved. The young quarterback (Juice Williams) has helped them a great deal and has given them a lot more things they can do. He is such a strong runner and such a great competitor. This will be a different football team."

Zook certainly hopes so.

Despite having lost two in a row on last-second field goals, Zook said his team is excited to play in front of 107,000 fans as Penn State celebrates its homecoming.

"They're all anxious to play a very good team in a big stadium," Zook said. "I think they're excited to go on the road again."

It turned out well the last time Illinois played away from home. The Illini upset Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich., three weeks ago, which explains their eagerness to travel again.

But Zook said no one should underestimate the quality of this Penn State team, despite the fact that the Nittany Lions are unranked and have a 4-3 record. Penn State's three losses have been against Notre Dame, Ohio State and Michigan, which were ranked No. 4, No. 1 and No. 4 at the time. Penn State, in fact, is the only team in the nation to have faced a trio of teams ranked among the top five.

"Their front four is probably the best we've seen," Zook said. "They are physical. They line up and come at you. Their cornerbacks can fly. And their linebackers are always good. (Outside linebacker) Paul Posluszny is all over the place.

"There is a reason they are one of the best run defenses in the country."

Penn State is second in the Big Ten and 15th nationally against the run, which could make for an interesting matchup, since Illinois ranks No. 2 in the league and No. 19 nationally with an average of 187.7 yards rushing per game.

Penn State has its own rushing weapon in 6-foot-2, 230-pound tailback Tony Hunt. He ran for more than 130 yards a game for four straight games until Michigan put the brakes on him last week, holding him to 33 yards in 13 carries.