Here's a news flash: Turns out Rashard Casey's coaches and teammates say the same thing to him as do the fans.

And such was the case Saturday, when late in the fourth quarter against Illinois, in the midst of a twisted, awkward, contorted masterpiece of a scramble — one that would result in a game-securing 39-yard touchdown —- Casey heard those usually supportive teammates scream for his head.

Or, at least, to throw the ball away.

"Yeah! I was telling him to get rid of it," Casey's teammate, tailback Eric McCoo said. "Everybody was telling him to get rid of it. I see four guys on him, and I want him to throw it away."

Said Penn State coach Joe Paterno: "When he took off and was losing ground, and taking us out of field-goal range, I was ready to kill him."

The run, undoubtedly secure in its place in the annals of the finest ever among Nittany Lion athletes, helped the Lions past the Fighting Illini Saturday, 39-25, for the third win of what had been an otherwise hapless season.

Not so fast. With four games remaining, Penn State is likely favored in three — against Indiana next week, Iowa the week after and Michigan State in the season finale. Seemingly, Michigan remains the largest obstacle in the Lions' quest for seven wins — and a berth in a bowl game.

And should they continue to perform at the level they did Saturday, that berth — something unheard of as early as two weeks ago — might become a reality.

"It was good to come out with a solid game plan," tight end Tony Stewart said. "We've got to learn to keep things rolling when things are going good, and I think today we played a good, solid football game. We had a couple of mistakes here and there, but we'll work on that."

Against the Illini, the wrong call on the coin toss was about the only noticeable mistake Penn State made the entire game.

Penn State scored a touchdown on its first drive — for the first time all season — courtesy of a 3-for-3 start by Casey, who found Omar Easy once and Eddie Drummond twice.

Illinois answered with a 39-yard field goal, but Penn State responded with another touchdown, this one set up by a Casey short pass up the middle to Stewart, who turned it into a 48-yard gain. Casey dumped off a 14-yard pass to McCoo four plays later for the 14-3 cushion.

The Lions held the Illini to what should have been a three-and-out on the next drive, but on fourth down, Penn State seemingly couldn't decide which punt returner to use — Rod Perry or Kenny Watson. The two didn't exchange places in time, resulting in a five-yard substitution infraction penalty and an Illinois first down.

Fourteen plays later, Illini quarterback Kurt Kittner found Greg Lewis for eight yards and a touchdown. The drive tied an Illinois school record for the longest drive in school history.

Illini coach Ron Turner had no idea.

"I didn't know it was a record," Turner said. "I thought it was a 17-play drive.

"I don't know how much motivation it gave us. I think we were just tired and needed some water right then."

To open the third quarter, linebacker Shamar Finney stepped in front of Illinois tight end Josh Whitman and intercepted a Kittner pass, just his fourth pick of the season. Finney returned it 49 yards for a touchdown — his first as a Nittany Lion.

"I saw the tight end coming across, and I just read his eyes the whole way," Finney said.

"He tried to make a play," Turner said of Kittner. "We had a play-action pass, he stepped up, got a little pressure on the outside, did a great job stepping up, he saw Josh coming across the field and didn't see 21, who stepped up and made a hell of a play."

Kittner responded with a 55-yard completion on the next drive, bringing the Illini within three.

They would get no closer.

Penn State kicker Ryan Primanti added a career-long 51-yard field goal on the next drive, and early in the fourth, Casey, under pressure, threw a 15-yard strike to Watson in the back of the end zone. It was Watson's first career touchdown catch.

Kittner added one more touchdown, a four-yard strike to Whitman with 5:46 remaining.

And then, Casey had his run, one that dropped the jaws of all 96,475 in attendance, one that would lose character if described on paper.

Ironically enough, he did the same thing last year, on the road against the same team.