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CHAMPAIGN – In desperation over a world turned sour, Juice Williams passed with a fury in directing two impressive fourth-quarter touchdown drives Saturday. Unfortunately, more than half the 62,870 attending at Memorial Stadium missed the first one, and probably 45,000 had left the windy, chilly premises ahead of Illinois' last-gasp score in the final minute.

Only remnants of preseason ticket-buying optimism remain after a third collapse in the center ring, Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions building a 28-3 lead en route to a 35-17 romp. The old guy is now 12-2 against Illinois and getting stronger. Whose idea was it, President Ikenberry, to bring these guys into the Big Ten anyway?

Of course, there were moments of hope Saturday. Then the deluge ... and now, with Michigan State next on the agenda, Ron Zook's fifth season and the future of the program are reaching the critical stage.

Consider:

– Illinois reached 22 consecutive possessions without a touchdown, dating to the late stages of the Illinois State game. In each of the three losses, Williams and the Illini backfired after threatening shortly before halftime while those games were still competitive. The three Illini TDs in those games came with their fans filing out.

– The UI defense held on grimly for a half Saturday, permitting a lot of short completions that made the secondary pass-conscious and vulnerable to Stephfon Green's 52-yard TD burst up the middle. It was 7-3 at the half after Williams was trapped and whistled for intentional grounding, taking Illinois out of field goal range. Then Illinois failed to capitalize on Penn State's lone turnover after the break and soon lost all semblance of defensive toughness. In just the last 25 minutes, Daryll Clark and the Nittany Lions rattled off 343 of their 513 yards.

If the late Red Auerbach had been present, he'd have lit his cigar with a quarter to go.

Tired of talking about it

Zook said the Illini defense wore down. He said next week he intends to use more players early to prevent them from getting so tired.

Maybe that's a good idea. But, face it, the Illini had an entire half to rest, and they looked totally outclassed after Paterno implemented his halftime adjustments. Illinois stopped Penn State short of the goal line just once after receiver Derek Moye fumbled following the break.

Clark ran 51 yards on a draw to set up the back-breaker. A 79-yard assault made it 21-3, and the next drive produced consecutive plays measuring 22, 12, 13, 18 and 15 yards.

Suddenly, the UI defense was made of paper. It wilted like flowers after a frost. Penn State couldn't call a play that wouldn't work. Penn State's two drives midway in the second half came so easy that it resembled 2005, when Paterno buttoned up early in a 63-10 laugher here.

Here's one theory. Clark started 4 for 8 in the airways, then hit six straight passes on a 17-for-25 (68 percent) day. At times, it looked like an unchallenged game of pitch and catch, Clark using passes to set up the runs, and the Illini becoming so frustrated with their inability to prevent completions that they were out of position for the overland bursts. Ultimately, Penn State broke the spirit of the despairing Illini and it didn't matter.

Sticking with Juice

Williams shattered the UI's career total offense record but his status as team leader is becoming more shaky each week.

"No one feels worse than Juice," Zook said. "He'd turn in those yards (9,126 in four years) to play the way we know he can."

Zook gave serious thought to putting in either Eddie McGee or Jacob Charest, and discussed the idea with assistants, but decided to "keep Juice in to see if he could play himself out of it ... he made some nice plays."

True, he was effective in the two-minute offense before halftime and again in the fourth quarter as Penn State, with a big lead, used what some might describe as a prevent defense. In the first three quarters, he was 9 for 19 for 145 yards. He found Arrelious Benn for some impressive strikes but, again, no Benn touchdowns. Then Juice connected on 11 of 17 after the game was out of reach.

That might be sufficient to uplift his spirits and keep him in charge for Michigan State. But the alarm bell is blaring for Zook and coordinator Mike Schultz to reconsider their options and have somebody ready. Juice did, after all, go seven consecutive quarters without a touchdown.

October offers four more opportunities. The question now is whether any swagger is left after three devastating beatings. How much spark is left? And if Juice can't light it, who can?

Loren Tate writes for The News-Gazette. He can be reached at ltate@news-gazette.com.