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Illinois Football: 5 observations from the Illini loss to Purdue

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - OCTOBER 13: Purdue Boilermakers running back D. J. Knox (1) reacts after a short run during a Big Ten Conference college football game between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Illinois Fighting Illini on October 13, 2018, at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL. Purdue won, 46-7. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - OCTOBER 13: Purdue Boilermakers running back D. J. Knox (1) reacts after a short run during a Big Ten Conference college football game between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Illinois Fighting Illini on October 13, 2018, at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL. Purdue won, 46-7. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – OCTOBER 13: Some young Illini fans celebrate in the stands during a Big Ten Conference college football game between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Illinois Fighting Illini on October 13, 2018, at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL – OCTOBER 13: Some young Illini fans celebrate in the stands during a Big Ten Conference college football game between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Illinois Fighting Illini on October 13, 2018, at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

5. We shouldn’t overreact to this awful game

Illinois lost to the Purdue Boilermakers 46-7 on Saturday. I know I don’t have to tell you to let that sink in because I have been letting it sink in since I turned off the game when the final whistle blew. This was a bad game for this Illini program.

So many different things went wrong for the Illini. Everything just snowballed, and the snowball started to roll downhill. This is how you get to the score we saw against Purdue.

Illinois’ passing attack wasn’t great because of the number of drops by the wide receivers. AJ Bush killed the Illini in the running game because he kept the ball 20 times and only rushed for 24 yards. And the defense was just picked apart all game long.

With all of that being said, let’s calm down. I see people just bashing Lovie Smith and saying he isn’t going to work out and he should be fired. There is a contingency of fans out there who are just waiting for Lovie and this Illini team to do something bad, so they can go on Twitter and post something that says, “I told you so”.

Let’s look at the facts about this team. We were blown out by a Purdue team who tore apart a, clearly, depleted Illini secondary. But, Illinois is still 3-3 on the season and 1-2 in the Big Ten. This year is by no means over. Illinois only needs three more wins to become bowl eligible. That might be a big ask, but it could happen.

Next. Bryce Childress still eyeing Illini as landing spot. dark

So many fans are willing to throw in the towel when it comes to this Illinois football team. A real fan sticks with the team through thick and thin. Lovie might not work out, but this is only his second class he has in right now and a massively depleted roster. This gets me thinking, maybe those fans who want Lovie gone right now didn’t want him to work out to begin with? For me, the jury is still out on the Lovie Smith era.

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