Even defense lets Penn State down

IF YOU PLAY poorly, it's going to be tough to win.

Simple concept, right?

It is, and it's one that Penn State coach James Franklin harped on this weekend.

Unfortunately for the coach, Franklin's message came after a loss.

Penn State (6-5, 2-5 Big Ten) fell to Illinois (5-6, 2-5) on a last-second field goal, 16-14, Saturday in Champaign, Ill.

Offense, defense, special teams, it didn't matter; Penn State couldn't unearth any sense of consistency against the Illini.

The Lions had scraped by with sloppy play all year. On Saturday, they didn't.

"Look around college football across the country: If you don't play well, you're going to have a hard time," Franklin said. "We've probably been asking for this all year long, the way we've been playing. It caught up to us."

It certainly did.

To start, the Lions' offense maintained what it has done all year: It was consistently inconsistent.

Penn State seemed confident on offense in the early going, scoring a touchdown on its opening drive for the first time on American soil this season; the only other time was against Central Florida in Ireland.

It was an encouraging sight followed by ineptitude. The Lions didn't score again until the fourth quarter.

Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg started out nicely, going 3-for-3 on the Lions' first drive, including a pretty 18-yard touchdown toss to Chris Godwin.

After that series, though, the struggling sophomore completed just two of his next 10 passes.

Hackenberg wasn't totally to blame. The offensive line missed crucial blocks and receivers found difficulty creating separation.

Once again the offense wasn't pretty. Scoring just 14 points against a squad that had surrendered an average of 38.3 to Big Ten opponents is a clear sign of that.

"It's frustrating, but it comes with the territory in terms of having to play with guys being hurt, out of position, moving people around, being the second-youngest team in the country," Hackenberg said. "Guys just haven't been there and done that, and you can't really rely on experience."

The offense struggling wasn't a surprise. The defense faltering late was.

It held up well for the majority of the contest and allowed just 283 total yards on the afternoon. But when it counted, the Lions were gashed.

With less than 2 minutes to go, Illinois inherited possession on its 28-yard line, down by one.

Franklin had decided to punt on fourth-and-1 from the Lions' 41 because he had confidence in his defense. It was one of the few times the unit has failed Penn State.

Consecutive gains of 25, 17 and 16 yards put the Illini in field-goal range. Illinois ran down the clock and kicked a 36-yarder for the win.

Rightfully so, the Lions were displeased with their defense.

"We definitely left a lot of plays out there where we didn't wrap up and they got extra yards," junior cornerback Jordan Lucas said. "You think about what could have happened, but you can't go back in time; you have to just play the next down."

Lucas is right. Now the Lions have to move on to their regular-season finale against Michigan State.

But unless something changes in Penn State's play, it might not be pretty.