Purdue Takes Two Steps Back With Loss to Illinois

After beating Nebraska it seemed like the Purdue Boilermakers football program might be moving forward, but against Illinois they took two major steps back.

When you look up the word inconsistent in the dictionary you will find a team photo of this Purdue Boilermakers football squad. Whether they win or lose close, this team finds a way to get blown out the very next game. And it really did feel like the Boilermakers had turned a corner with their 55-45 victory over Nebraska last week, but then the Illinois Fighting Illini came to town and put them right back in their place with a 48-14 win.

Illinois (5-4, 2-3 Big Ten) came out firing and essentially put the game out of reach by halftime. Down 27-7 at half, Purdue (2-7, 1-4 Big Ten) still had a slim chance to make a comeback but the offense could get nothing going. Illini running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn busted out touchdown runs of six yards and 78 yards near the end of the third quarter to officially put the game away.

Purdue quarterback David Blough – who played exceptionally well last week – regressed back to his old ways. He threw for 174 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Running back Markell Jones did what he could – 84 yards – with only seeing 14 carries. Overall it was just another offensive gameplan that didn’t work and the Boilermakers showed once again they cannot improvise on the fly when everything starts failing.