Penn State's rushing defense will not get much of a chance to recover from last weekend's disappointing performance.
The 21st-ranked Nittany Lions try to bounce back from a frustrating loss Saturday when they visit Illinois.
Penn State (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten) entered last weekend with the nation's best run defense, allowing an average of 17.7 yards on the ground through its first three games. However, the Nittany Lions let Michigan's Mike Hart run for 153 yards in Saturday's 14-9 upset loss to the Wolverines.
The loss dropped Penn State from No. 10 in the Top 25.
"No, we didn't come in with a defensive plan to stop him. We played an equal balanced defense and we played good," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. "We don't have a bad defense, we just didn't play great."
The Nittany Lions still rank sixth in the country with 54.8 rushing yards allowed per game, and ninth in total yards (247.3) and points (12.0) allowed per contest.
However, they will be up against an Illinois rushing attack that ranks fifth in the country with 265.5 yards per game. Rashard Mendenhall ran for a career-high 214 yards and scored two touchdowns in the Fighting Illini's 27-14 win over Indiana on Saturday.
Illinois (3-1, 1-0) won its Big Ten opener for the first time since 1993.
"There have been seams all over the place this year," Mendenhall said. "It's just being in the game, being in there on a consistent basis and being comfortable and able to feel stuff more than see it, actually."
Mendenhall has rushed for 134.0 yards per game to rank second in the conference behind Hart (163.8), and his average of 7.0 yards per carry tops the Big Ten among players with at least 30 attempts.
Penn State did limit Michigan to 3.0 yards per carry, but held its first three opponents to a 0.6 average. The Nittany Lions had outscored Florida International, Notre Dame and Buffalo by a combined 135-34 score during their 3-0 start.
Quarterback Anthony Morelli had thrown eight touchdown passes entering the Michigan game, but he failed to complete more than 50 percent of his attempts for the first time this season as Penn State was held to three field goals. Anthony Morelli went 15-of-31 for 169 yards.
The Nittany Lions offense was held to 270 total yards and committed at least two turnovers for the fourth straight game.
"We can still get it done," Anthony Morelli said. "We just have to let it play out, work hard, and get better. It's as simple as that. There's nothing else you can say about it."
Illinois, meanwhile, is returning home after consecutive road wins at Syracuse and Indiana.
The Illini are averaging 36 points per game behind Mendenhall and quarterback Juice Williams, who ranks second on the team in rushing with 149 yards and two touchdowns on 38 carries. Williams has thrown for 377 yards with three TDs and three interceptions.
The defense is holding teams to 87.0 rushing yards per game, tying West Virginia for 19th in the country. Illinois limited Indiana, which entered Saturday's game seventh in the nation with 258.7 rushing yards per game, to 134 yards on the ground.
Mendenhall was named the Big Ten's offensive player of the week, and defensive end Will Davis took the defensive honor after setting career highs with five tackles for losses and four sacks.
"I don't know that I've ever been so excited to go back home and play a game," coach Ron Zook said. "I'm proud of our players. I thought they played extremely hard."
Penn State leads the all-time series 12-2, including 6-2 at Illinois, and has won each of the last three meetings.
Illinois hasn't won its conference home opener since 2001 against Minnesota.
