CHAMPAIGN, Ill. The always positive James Franklin had a chance Saturday to do something he rarely does: let off a bit of steam.

Moments after Penn State suffered its frustrating 16-14 loss against struggling Illinois at a veritably empty Memorial Stadium, even its forward-thinking head coach couldn't accentuate the positives."We have probably been asking for this all year long, the way we have been playing," Franklin said. "Overall, not a good day."Perhaps most surprisingly, Franklin pinned plenty of blame on the defense, which allowed Illinois scoring drives in the final two minutes of both halves, including sophomore kicker David Reisner's game-winning field goal with 8 seconds left.The offense, which scored just 14 points, amassed only 265 total yards against one of the nation's worst defenses statistically, and couldn't keep drives moving, played "about the same we have played all year," Franklin said. But the defense finally got burned by some bad habits especially when it comes to fundamental tackling."We are throwing shoulders," Franklin said. "We are not wrapping, and we are throwing shoulders and going for big hits. We are not fundamentally sound right now in tackling. We have gotten away with it for most of the year."Penn State allowed just 16 points, and it held Illinois to 68 yards rushing on 27 carries. But players admitted tackling has become an issue lately."It was off," Valley View grad and Nittany Lions linebacker Nyeem Wartman said. "We have a standard we have to play to, and we didn't live up to that standard. We have to come out next week and be better for Michigan State. We have to play with the right mindset, prepare the right way and be vicious."Sloppy tackling aside, the Nittany Lions defense knows it is in a precarious spot every week, one in which the defense knows it can make precious few mistakes if the team hopes to eke out a victory.It's not a frustrating feeling, they said. Just reality."We know the cards we've been dealt," cornerback Jordan Lucas said. "We just have to play them right."*******Getting tired ... Franklin did offer one possible reason the defense has been getting sloppy with its technique.Saturday's game was Penn State's 11th of the season, and the defense has been leaned on heavily over the last two months. He suggested it might be getting to them, mentally and physically."There is no doubt, they are worn out," Franklin said. "At this point in the season, I think that is happening for everybody. They are getting worn out and banged up."The Lions played Saturday without linebacker Brandon Bell, who suffered a shoulder injury last week against Temple. Wartman stepped into Bell's spot as the strongside linebacker, with freshman Jason Cabinda taking Wartman's spot on the weakside."We missed his energy this week," Wartman said of Bell.*******Special kick ... The game took a turn toward the strange when kicker Taylor Zalewski's second-half kickoff was caught in the wind and plummeted downward. Untouched by any Penn State player, Illinois recovered and took a 10-7 lead.No Penn State player had seen a play quite like that one, except Wartman. He recalled a game during his Valley View days against Crestwood, when the Cougars gameplanned high kickoffs with the hopes they would arc back toward their defenders and away from Comets return men."Just from that, I can understand why we didn't get it," Wartman said, "because it looks like it's coming at you and going back, then coming at you and going back."*******Bars' burst ... With Bill Belton relegated to just six carries because of a shoulder injury, Penn State's second-leading rusher behind Akeel Lynch is hardly anybody one would predict.It was senior defensive end Brad Bars, who rumbled 32 yards to pick up a first down on a fake punt in the first quarter."Anything I could do to help the team was positive," Bars said. "I just tried to give the team a boost by running as fast as I could."