CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Only this team could have bounced back from a crushing blow in Ann Arbor, Mich., to blow the "Orange Crush" off the prairie the following week.

Only No. 11 Penn State (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) would start getting bent out of shape when eventual loser Illinois scored a final, meaningless touchdown that set the final score Saturday, 63-10.

Following the Fighting Illini extra point, redshirt freshman Dontey Brown jogged back to the sideline and got an earful from Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Tom Bradley.

"You want to play?" Bradley barked at Brown, spewing off undecipherable football speak about the defensive scheme the reserve linebacker was supposed to employ.

Shortly before, when the Illini were threatening to score, defensive starters Alan Zemaitis and Jay Alford engaged in conversation on the bench. Neither looked particularly pleased to see their replacements surrendering yardage to the inept Illini.

Maybe they were talking about what was happening on the field, but the fact that they may have even remotely cared about a 60-point lead slipping to a 53-point lead exemplifies the attention to detail the Lions have shown all season long.

"I think it's a positive display of how positive the team is regardless of leadership," said Zemaitis, one of three team captains. "The team really policed itself, man. They got themselves going."

Whatever happened in practice this week worked, since the Lions had several new team records on the books by halftime.

A couple examples: the largest point total, 56, ever scored by a Penn State team in one half, besting a 55-point total against Fordham in 1947; quarterback Michael Robinson's six first half touchdowns, four passing and two rushing, tied Harry Robb's six touchdowns against Gettysburg College in 1917 for most touchdowns scored in a game.

By the end of the game, Lions coach Joe Paterno recorded his 350th career win, too.

"Did I know it was my 350th win?" Paterno asked after the game. "No. It's nice to hear, though."

He wasn't proud of the record number of first half points, saying: "It doesn't lighten me up."

Robinson, who was replaced with backup Anthony Morelli with 1:24 remaining in the first half because the score started to border on the absurd, was a little surprised that the Illini defense shortened his game time by two quarters.

"I didn't expect not to play the second half," Robinson said. "We've had some tough games these past couple of weeks. Emotional games. Close games ... and things ended up going our way so we got a chance to get some younger guys in the game."

The Illini drew first blood Saturday, driving 57 yards from their own 20-yard line for a field goal, but after that, it was the Robinson show.

Robinson hooked up with wide receiver Ethan Kilmer for a 35-yard touchdown pass, followed by a 31-yard touchdown pass to an embarrassingly wide-open Deon Butler, a 19-yard touchdown heave to Butler on the series after that and a 3-yard touchdown toss to tight end Pat Hall on the series after that. All despite the absence of stud receiver Derrick Williams, gone for the year with a broken arm.

"We knew we were one playmaker down," Butler said. "But that just gave another guy an opportunity to step up and do his thing."

The game began to turn ugly after the Lions were up, 28-3, at the end of the first quarter. The Illini were called for illegal formation on two consecutive punting attempts to start the quarter, and a disgruntled and ineffective Illini receiver, freshman Derrick McPhearson, was ejected after he punched Lions cornerback Anwar Phillips in the face while fighting off a block.

Zemaitis, Robinson and company have not made any declarative statements regarding their plans for winning the Big Ten Conference title.

But, with only three games remaining this season and a matchup with co-conference leader No. 15 Wisconsin (7-1, 4-1) scheduled for Nov. 5, the Lions are positioned to allow for
their actions -- and only their actions -- to speak to their desire to win.