CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Take your pick.
There were plenty of opportunities missed by the Penn State offense. An ample number of scoring chances squandered. And equal parts frustration when those turns finally ran out in the fourth quarter.
It's just a matter of where to begin: Anthony Morelli's late-game fumble on a possible game-tying drive. The two interceptions, both within 25 yards of the end zone, that were thrown prior to that gaffe. Or the general ineffectiveness of the Nittany Lions' second-half offense after coming out firing in the first.
Whatever the choice, any solutions for finding the end zone -- especially when the Lions were near it -- were as good as nowhere to coach Joe Paterno after Penn State lost its second game of the season, in part, because of the offensive struggles.
"To be frank with you, I really don't know what it is. OK? I really don't," Paterno said, growing authoritative in tone as he stated his concern. "Obviously, we weren't very effective down there today."
If it starts with the quarterback, Paterno wasn't saying so. He refused to address direct questions about Morelli's performance and status as the team's starter.
"I'm not going to answer anything about what I may do, should do, not do, all right?" Paterno said. "Because I'm going to wait until we get home, get a chance to look at the tapes, spend a little time with the staff and spend a little time with some of the kids on the team."
The Lions officially entered the red zone six times and converted three opportunities: two field goals by Kevin Kelly and a touchdown from tailback Austin Scott, who began the game in a backup role.
Kelly's first kick and Scott's 7-yard run occurred in the first half while Penn State aired it out and successfully kept pace with three Illinois touchdowns in the first 30 minutes.
The Lions' other first half score, a Derrick Williams 24-yard touchdown grab, capped a quick 3-play, 73-yard drive and Penn State appeared to have shed its sputtering offense jacket, trailing at halftime, 21-17.
"They opened it up today," Illinois linebacker J Leman said of the Lions' offense. "They did more play action, and we were off balance in the first half."
But the second half was a different story. The Penn State defense did not allow the Fighting Illini past their own 30, save for two drives that ended in field goals, but the Lions offense was unable to capitalize. Six points were actually enough to extend the Illini lead in the final two quarters.
A third-quarter Kelly kick gave Penn State its only points of the second half despite three other drives deep into Illinois territory.
Those three ended with turnovers -- two interceptions and a fumble -- by Morelli, who was not made available to the media for comment after the game.
The first interception found its way into the hands of linebacker Leman as Morelli lofted a possible go-ahead touchdown pass near tight end Andrew Quarless late in the third quarter.
"We were actually caught in the wrong coverage," Leman said. "But we were able to capitalize on Morelli's error."
The next errant pass was in the direction of wideout Deon Butler. Illinois cornerback Vontae Davis jumped an out route, leading to an Illini field goal with seven minutes remaining, the last time either team would score.
"They ran that play earlier and they completed it on me," Davis said. "I broke on the ball. I knew it was coming."
Then came the fumble, which occurred when Morelli dove for would have likely been a first down.
Instead, he coughed the ball up and ended what was an 11-play, 77-yard drive with the Lions looking like they would tie the game.
"It's definitely frustrating," wideout Terrell Golden said of the red zone failures, "because you work hard to get the ball downfield."
Frustrating, definitely. But is there any explanation why?
"I couldn't tell you," wideout Jordan Norwood said.
"We would have liked to put the ball in the end zone."
