Marcus Jackson's take on Saturday's 10-7 loss at Penn State

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

— If we're being honest, Illinois didn't deserve to win Saturday. It's a miracle the Illini even had a chance to send this game into overtime, let alone have a chance to win it in the final minutes. They gave the ball away a season-high four times and had a major breakdown in the punting game for the second straight week. That certainly won't cut it against No. 17 Michigan in two weeks or against No. 12 Wisconsin the following week, not with atrocious special teams and an offense that is not producing near the same level it was to start the season.

— Is college football bad this year or are those who vote on the Top 25 teams in the country just a little out of touch? Penn State is not the 21st-best team in the country. That's where the writers in The Associated Press poll had the Nittany Lions entering the game. It starts at quarterback. Rob Bolden (0 of 4) has the confidence of a squirrel stuck in a cage with a lion. Matt McGloin wasn't much better. Until the last drive of the game, when he completed four passes for 58 yards, McGloin was 5 of 18 for 40 yards. Thanks to the running of Silas Redd (30 carries, 137 yards) Penn State was able to compete and squeak one out. But, you know what? They're 8-1, must be doing something right.

— It wasn't all bad for the Illini. The defense, which entered the game ranked 10th in the country in total defense (289 yards per game) and 15th in scoring defense (18.13), has been getting it done of late. Going back to the second half of last week's loss at Purdue, the Illini have allowed 10 points in the last six quarters. The Nittany Lions got three of their 10 points Saturday after a blocked punt set them up at the Illinois 31. Jonathan Brown continues to play like an All-Big Ten linebacker. He had a team-high 11 tackles Saturday, 2.5 for a loss, a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and two pass breakups.

Second Guessing

— Every time Bolden takes the field to lead the Penn State offense, the Beaver Stadium faithful greet him with a chorus of boos. Like me, they can't understand why the guy continues to get reps. He didn't complete a pass Saturday, and at times he wasn't even close. For the season he's 44-of-102 passing (43 percent) with one touchdown and four interceptions. No wonder they're booing him. Penn State would be better off suiting up one of those snowball-wielding fans from the student section. They were on the money targeting Illinois players all afternoon.

— Something weird happened on Illinois' first possession of the second half. Reilly O'Toole completed what looked like a 10-yard pass to A.J. Jenkins for what would have been close to an Illinois first down. But the Penn State players started celebrating and their offense took the field. The officials ruled the play an interception, though replays appeared to show a catch by Jenkins, who was down with possession before the ball was ripped away from him by Penn State's D'Anton Lynn. The replay official didn't feel the need to buzz down to review the play and Illinois coach Ron Zook didn't challenge the play or call timeout to give the booth more time to look it over. Inexcusable mistake by the coach, right? Not according to Zook. "They said that I couldn't review it, that it's a nonreviewable play," Zook said. "We all felt like he had it, and the guy told me when he was on the ground he was bobbling it and the other guy came up with it. He told me don't waste the challenge because you can't challenge it." That just doesn't seem right that a coach can't challenge that play. Maybe the officials goofed that one up. Maybe I'm just wrong.

— No doubt Nathan Scheelhaase should be the starting quarterback at Illinois. And there's nothing wrong with getting O'Toole some snaps each week. But if you're going to go with the freshman, go with him. O'Toole got the Illini offense down to the Penn State 12 in the final minute of the first half only to see Scheelhaase come back in a couple of plays later. After a Jason Ford touchdown run was called back for a penalty, Scheelhaase threw incomplete into the end zone and Illinois would botch the ensuing field goal attempt. The kid had some rhythm and confidence going, give him a chance to put some points on the board.

Third Degree

— The buzz entering the season was that the inaugural Big Ten championship game would feature Wisconsin out of the Leaders Division and newcomer Nebraska out of the Legends Division. Nebraska is doing its part, Saturday's win against Michigan State helping the Cornhuskers take control of the division. But what's up with Wisconsin? The Badgers lost late for the second consecutive Saturday night and now need some major help to climb back into the race. So much for RUSSELL WILSON's Heisman bid.

— Speaking of the Spartans, what a letdown after last week's emotional win against Wisconsin on a last-second Hail Mary play. Quarterback Kirk Cousins, who became a household name after the Wisconsin game, had a horrendous day. Still, the Spartans can stay in the hunt for a trip to Indy if they can win out against four unranked opponents to close the season.

— Jerry Kill signing a seven-year deal at Minnesota earlier in the week raised some eyebrows across the country, especially since the coach has suffered several seizures this season, including one on the sideline. Not to mention his team entered Saturday with a 1-6 record, the lone win coming against Miami (Ohio). But the Gophers' win Saturday against Iowa should ease the tension a little bit. It should also worry Illinois, which has to travel to Minneapolis during the final week of the season to play Kill's squad. There are no gimmes left for the Illini, who have lost three straight after starting 6-0.

In the stadium

— Brock Huard, who called Saturday's game for ABC, knows a thing or two about playing quarterback at Washington. He holds program records in passing yards (5,742), touchdown passes (51) and 300-yard passing games (four).

Huard liked recently departed quarterback Jake Locker, a first-round pick by Tennessee, and he likes sophomore Keith Price. Some analysts are already comparing Price to likely 2012 No. 1 pick Andrew Luck of Stanford.

"He is off to a great start. The big advantage for Keith Price that people forget about is Jake Locker was beat up most of last year and Keith practiced most of the year. He started just one game, but he had about five weeks of practice work. And those are just unbelievably valuable times," said Huard, who played at Washington from 1996 to '99. "The staff started to trust him and he started to trust himself and say 'I can do this.' Did I think he would come out and break all the records that he's breaking at Washington? Not particularly. I thought he would be good, but he's really been great. The word in (Seattle) is 'Jake who?' He's played at that level. He's playing at a level efficiencywise where Jake never did. Jake didn't have the tight ends. He didn't have the line, the continuity. He didn't have the pieces that this kid has."

— The big story Saturday at Beaver Stadium was the weather. A nor'easter pummeled the mid-Atlantic region for what meteorologists say is the heaviest snowfall this early in the year since 1972. Estimates of snowfall in State College measured between 4 and 6 inches. "I can't remember anything like this," Beaver Stadium event staff member Terry Ryan said. "I think maybe once at any time since I've been here has it snowed like this at any point in the season." Penn State sports information director Jeff Nelson said the last time a game was played in a steady snow like Saturday's at Beaver Stadium was 1996 against Northwestern.

— ESPN/ABC sideline reporter Lisa Salters grew up in Pennsylvania and is a Penn State graduate. But make no mistake about it, Salters does not like working in conditions like Saturday's winter storm. "I'm not used to it now," said Salters, who makes her home in Atlanta. "I don't like this." Salters, who sported a purplish wool coat during the game, made regular trips to the heated benches on the Illinois sideline to provide moments of relief.

— Steve Kelly, who hosts the pregame, halftime and postgame shows on the Illini Sports Network, has been sporting a beard lately. It's an unusual look for the typically clean-shaven Kelly. The St. Louis Cardinals fan started growing it during the postseason run and called it his playoff beard. The Cardinals won their 11th World Series title Friday night, but Kelly was still sporting the facial hair Saturday in State College. "I don't know what I'm gonna do with this," Kelly said. "I was close to cutting it off Thursday night when they almost lost (Game 6)."

— David Jones, a columnist covering Penn State for the Harrisburg Patriot-News, is known for his outspokenness about Nittany Lions athletics. This week he took on Zook with an interesting take. "I think he's funny," Jones said. "I'm an outsider, I don't cover him day to day, but his demeanor amuses me. It's hard to resist, that's all there is to it. He's kind of like a chihuahua, just vibrating all the time."