Illinois Football: 5 observations from the Illini loss to Purdue

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Nov 12, 2022; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Tommy DeVito (3) reacts on a call from an official during the second half against the Purdue Boilermakers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /

Illinois football dropped their second game in a row on Saturday to the Purdue Boilermakers.

This was a disappointing loss for the Illini considering the Big Ten West was on the line. Illinois was bit by the penalty bug, we couldn’t stop Purdue’s passing attack, and our quarterback play wasn’t as strong as it needed to be. These were all things that contributed to the 31-24 loss to the Boilermakers.

Here are five observations from the Illinois football loss to Purdue.

1. Tommy DeVito had a bad game

Before the last couple of weeks, the Illinois football team had been cruising this season. We were 7-1 at one time with our only loss early in the season to Indiana.

A big reason Illinois was able to get off to such a strong start is that we had a quarterback who could manage games and complete passes. Tommy DeVito had a great start to the 2022 campaign. Through the first eight games, he only had one contest where he threw for worse than a 60% completion rate.

Illinois needs DeVito to play well and not make mistakes. We need him to be consistent and complete passes at a high clip, whether they are one-yard passes or bombs down the field. But, on Saturday, that didn’t happen.

DeVito had, arguably, his worst game of the season against Purdue. The Boilermakers held DeVito to 201 yards on 18-of-32 passing. His 56.3% completion rate was just a tick over his season-low 54.5% completion rate against Iowa, which Illinois only scored nine points in that game.

Purdue was also able to force DeVito to throw an interception, albeit it wasn’t really his fault as a lineman tipped the pass, but it is still an interception, nonetheless. This interception pretty much sealed the fate of the Illini.

The Illini needed consistency out of DeVito against Purdue, but we didn’t get that. He had his second-lowest completion percentage of the year, he had an interception, and his legs weren’t working as he only had one yard rushing. DeVito is an important piece to winning. When he struggles, so does the Illini.

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