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defense allowed a total of only three points in the 8rst two games – Cubit's honeymoon phase has slowly been fad- ing, even if his positive persona has not. A;er jumping out to a 4-1 record, which included a 14-13 win over Ne- braska in its Big Ten opener, Illinois has lost its past two games, falling to confer- ence foes Iowa and Wisconsin, teams that Cubit refers to as "the top two teams in the West [Division]." As he does, Cubit 8nds consolation in those defeats, each of which were by a de8cit smaller than two touchdowns. "We're right there," he added. "I look back at the last three games in the Big Ten, because that's where you re- ally want to evaluate yourself. When you go back to the previous years, we're not even in three of those games. The last couple of years [against] Nebraska, we were never in it. Iowa – we weren't in it. Wisconsin – we weren't really in it ei- ther." Now Cubit sees a win and two losses by an average of 10 points against his 8rst three league opponents and 8nds moti- vation to keep pressing forward, however limited his time in Champaign, Ill., might be. A native of Sharon Hills, Pa., Cubit has helped Illinois post statistics so far this season that are superior to those of a year ago when he served as o9ensive co- ordinator and quarterbacks coach. Not only do the Illini have one more win than they did at this point last season, they're also scoring more points and piling up yards at a higher rate, while playing a more e:cient brand of football. Starting quarterback Wes Lunt, for example, has thrown just three interceptions. A year ago, he threw three in the 8rst four games. Now Lunt is one of only seven QBs nationally who has thrown three or fewer INTs while throwing 250 or more times. Perhaps even more impressive for Cubit is the vast improvement the Illini have shown on defense compared to last sea- son – and defense was supposed to be Beckman's specialty. On average through the 8rst eight games, Illinois is surren- dering nearly two fewer touchdowns than it did a year ago. Through the 8rst seven games of 2014, the Illini allowed 486.6 yards per game; in '15 it's down to 344.9. Senior defensive end Jihad Ward is a major reason why Illinois has been so disruptive. A Philadelphia native who 8rst attended junior college at Globe Tech (N.Y.), Ward was named Tuesday to the midseason watch list for the Ted Hendricks Award, which goes annually to the nation's top defensive end. Penn State's Carl Nassib was also named to that list. Ward ranks fourth on the team with 36 total tackles, including a career- high 11 against Iowa, and he has helped his defense soar to No. 11 in the nation in tackles for loss and No. 31 in scoring de- fense. In the past two games, the defensive ef- fort hasn't been enough to keep the team's early-season momentum going. But it's been an improvement from pre- vious seasons, and although it's a small sample size, Cubit maintains that it's enough to stay optimistic about the progress occurring under his watch. "It's not going to happen overnight," he said. "Just because there's [a coaching] change, everyone expects it immediately, but it's going to take a little while. We all want instant grati8cation, but there's been without a doubt an improvement in how we're playing. That's coming from commentators, from opposing coaches, from the people who I think are really in the know. So we're just going to keep playing." And they'll do that with whichever players can suit up. Mike Dudek, who had the most proli8c freshman season an Illinois wide receiver has ever had last year, tore a ligament in his knee during preseason camp and likely won't return until next year. Since then, the Illini in- jury list has only grown. Entering Satur- day's game against the Nittany Lions in Beaver Stadium, up to a dozen players are dealing with some type of injury, in- cluding starting running back Josh Fer- guson who is questionable with shoulder pain. Even in the face of two losses and an array of injuries, Cubit remains positive, and he said the sentiment trickles down to his players. "The kids are upbeat, and as I told them a;er [last week's 24-13 loss to Wiscon- sin], a true measure of a guy is really not whether you get knocked down," he said. "It's whether you get back up." NATE BAUER RECORD 7-1 On reputation alone, Illinois coming into Beaver Stadium might seem enough for Penn State to reach a 7-2 record, especially with the Illini in a coaching transition. They will not be an easy out, though. Establishing the run will be critical, as will getting pressure on Wes Lunt defensively. PENN STATE 26, ILLINOIS 23 PHIL GROSZ RECORD 6-2 Illinois' defense has performed better than most people expected it would before the start of the season, and it's not going to let Saquon Barkley run wild and Christian Hackenberg put a lot of points on the scoreboard. Penn State still wins its seventh game of the season, but it might be closer than a lot of PSU fans expect it to be. PENN STATE 28, ILLINOIS 17 MATT HERB RECORD 6-2 Wes Lunt may be a more stationary target than the past few QBs Penn State has faced, but the Illini definitely have some playmakers in the passing game. Enough to pull off a road upset? That's a separate question. PENN STATE 27, ILLINOIS 20 TIM OWEN RECORD 7-1 Illinois is solid across the board, but with Penn State hitting its stride on of- fense and with its defense eager to re- bound from allowing 30 points against Maryland, I just don't envision the Illini pulling this one off. PENN STATE 17, ILLINOIS 14 RYAN SNYDER RECORD 7-1 It will be another slow start for both teams, but I expect PSU to pull away late. Look for Saquon Barkley to rush for 100-plus yards and for the defen- sive players to clean up their tackling. PENN STATE 24, ILLINOIS 17 BWI'S FORECAST

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