Here's some quality bulletin board material for every team Penn State plays the rest of the way.

"Yeah, we're going to win out," Nittany Lions cornerback Richard Gardner said. "We know we will. We know what's on the line right now. We know we have the chance to do something for the program that we haven't done the last two years."

Head coach Joe Paterno has succeeded in restoring his team's "swagger" by acting a bit brash in his own right.

Tomorrow, the No. 20 Lions (5-3, 2-3 Big Ten) will try to rebound from their third close conference loss when they host defending conference champion Illinois (3-5, 2-2) at 3:30 p.m. in Beaver Stadium.

The Illini lost five of their first six games, but have won their last two.

During a 13-6 loss last week to Ohio State, the Penn State defense played its best game of the season while the offense was at its worst.

It seems that just as the defense is figuring out how to play, the rest of the conference is figuring out how to defend against Penn State's high-flying offense.

Ironically, the toughest job for the Penn State defense this weekend will be in the secondary, where Gardner and friends will face the task of shutting down two tall, strong receivers -- Brandon Lloyd and Walter Young.

Despite an inconsistent quarterback, the Illini are second in the conference with 280 yards through the air per game.

Penn State's front four, led by senior defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy, has to contain running back Antoineo Harris, who's averaging 118.5 yards per game in conference play.

On the other side of the ball, things could work the other way around. Illinois coach Ron Turner said that his team will key on the run first and make Penn State quarterback Zack Mills throw the ball.

Ohio State middle linebacker Matt Wilhelm said after last week's game that the Buckeyes wanted to stop Larry Johnson on the ground because they thought Mills couldn't beat them with his arm.

"I believe I have [beaten teams with my arm]," Mills said. "I'll certainly remember that remark."

Penn State's offensive philosophy has changed several times this season. Early in the season, it was quick-strike and varied against mediocre defenses. Against more stingy Big Ten opponents, the Lions' play calling has been tentative. Often the Lions appear to have a risky game plan and, unless it works early, it is abandoned.

The Michael Robinson experiment fails on a weekly basis. The backup quarterback gets his hand on the ball once or twice and, with the defense keying on him, struggles to gain yardage. Usually, he sits out after that.

Instead of being gimmicky, the Lions need to deliberately spread the field early and make room for Robinson.

Also, the running element has been taken out of Mills' game. He has just nine rushing yards during Big Ten play, partly because the coaches are weary of letting him take hits with a bum shoulder. Mills said early this week that he's "basically 100 percent."

Opposing defenses are keying on the Johnsons -- brothers Tony and Larry, and receiver Bryant -- and limiting Mills' effectiveness. He threw to Bryant Johnson just once last Saturday, on the first play of the game, for a gain of six yards.

"We're going to try to do some things to get Bryant the ball this week," Mills said.

The Lions are 5-0 when Larry Johnson gains over 100 yards and 0-3 when he does not. Tomorrow, he'll only find space if Mills and the other two Johnsons can make it for him. The Illini often stack eight men in the box.

This week, of course, is more about confidence and resiliency than Xs and Os.

"I have always had a theory in life that it is never always this way, but when it goes that way, don't panic," Paterno said. "Life is never meant to be easy. It is always meant to be hard. The good Lord in his own way decided it shouldn't be easy."

The Lions have lost three games that were not easy. Tomorrow, they'll face an Illinois team that struggled early but has played well lately and is capable of exploding offensively.

But Penn State thinks of itself as the best 5-3 team in the country. More than that, the Lions believe, collectively, because of their coach's lead, that they have been deprived of a chance to win the three games they lost.

"The way this season's going," Gardner said, "I don't know, it seems like the world is against us. We've had some unfortunate mishaps the last few games. But things happen. A lot of unlucky things have happened to us. It's time to get lucky now."