Another home game. Another strong defensive performance. Another school record. And the Nittany Lions' season marches on.

There is a pattern here. It happened early in the season against lesser, non-conference opponents. It happened in Penn State's Big Ten games sandwiched between the games against the conference's elite.

They always beat the teams they are supposed to beat.

It happened again on Saturday, as a cold afternoon gave way to a colder evening at Beaver Stadium when the Lions (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten) beat an overmatched Illinois (3-6, 2-3 Big Ten) team 18-7 in convincing fashion. With the win, Penn State is bowl eligible for the first time since 1999.

On the way, Penn State tailback Larry Johnson broke the school rushing record he set just two weeks ago against Northwestern, this time rushing for 279 yards on 31 carries. Before his day was over, he went over 1,000 yards on the season.

As impressive as Johnson's final numbers were, they were overshadowed by another dominating defensive performance. Penn State's defensive line pressured Illinois quarterback Dustin Ward early, and the secondary didn't allow the Fighting Illini to build a sustained drive for most of the game.

"The defense is playing better all the time," Penn State football coach Joe Paterno said. "[Illinois] is a pretty good offensive football team. They've really been good against most people they've played."

Until Illinois' late fourth-quarter touchdown, Penn State's defense hadn't allowed a touchdown in its last 11 quarters.

"That shows the type of dedication we have," defensive tackle Anthony Adams said. "We go out on the field and try to work 60 minutes, so for us to go 11 quarters without anyone scoring on us is great."

The Lions built a 9-0 lead in the first quarter after a field goal and an 84-yard Johnson touchdown run, one of the many times Johnson had a gaping hole to run through.

However, it was also one of the many times penalties cost Penn State, in this case a personal foul that resulted in a 15-yard penalty and a subsequent missed point-after attempt. Later, at the start of the fourth quarter, Johnson had another 84-yard touchdown run that was called back due to multiple holding penalties.

For most of the game, it looked like the penalties, and the so-so performance of Penn State's passing game, wouldn't come back to haunt the Lions because of Illinois' sputtering offense.

However, the Illini tried to make things interesting late in the fourth quarter after Jon Beutjer replaced Ward at quarterback with just under five minutes remaining in the third quarter. He led Illinois' lone sustained drive of the day midway through the third quarter and marched his team down to the Penn State three-yard line with less than two minutes remaining in the game.

But Illinois' last chance to mount a challenge disappeared when Lions nickel back Anwar Phillips intercepted a pass on the Lions' one-yard line.

The win, coming a week after a tough loss at Ohio State, showed once again that the Lions can bounce back even though Penn State has been practically eliminated from the Big Ten title race.

Without a top-25 team on the remaining schedule, the only thing that remains to be seen for the Lions is how the pattern will end.