CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — For anyone who remembers the difficult games Illinois has given Penn State the last two seasons, the numbers are hard to believe.

The Fighting Illini are last in the Big Ten in passing offense, passing efficiency and scoring, and next-to-last in total yards through three games. Neither quarterback Juice Williams nor wide receiver Arrelious Benn are in the top 10 individually.

The 15th-ranked Nittany Lions (3-1 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) can only hope Illinois continues its slumber Saturday when they try to rebound from last week's disappointing loss to Iowa. It might be difficult, as more than 60,000 shakers will be waving at Memorial Stadium in an "orange out," similar to last week's "whiteout" at Beaver Stadium.

The Fighting Illini (1-2, 0-1) need a wake-up call. They have been outscored, 67-9, in their two games against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents. Williams has been ineffective and that means Benn, dubbed the fastest receiver in the Big Ten by the Sporting News, has not been a factor.

Penn State certainly remembers the days it has seen Benn, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound junior from Dunbar High in Washington, at his best.

Two years ago, he returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown and also scored on a 29-yard pass in the Illini's 27-20 victory here. Benn caught two touchdown passes last year but the Lions prevailed at home, 38-24.

"He's a great wideout," Paterno said. "We knocked ourselves out trying to get him to come to Penn State."

"He's faster than any other receiver in the Big Ten," Lions cornerback A.J. Wallace said. "Because of the size he is, you don't expect anyone that big to be that fast. He knows how to put that together and be a complete receiver."

Still, Benn hasn't caught a touchdown pass since Oct. 18 of last season. His numbers this year — five receptions, 42 yards, a long gain of 16 — are light-years short of his pace of 2008, when he caught 67 balls for 1,055 yards.

Playing his first road game of the season, Lions QB Daryll Clark will find Illinois a tough venue in which to bounce back, but he and the Lions need to step it up.

"We feel like this game will give us a confidence boost going into the rest of the football season," Clark said. "There are a lot of questions to answer about ourselves and about our football team. We have to go out there and stay tight. We have to focus, execute and make plays."

Linebacker Sean Lee, the Lions' defensive captain, is expected to miss his second game because of a sprained left knee.