The Illinois football team did what they needed to do on Saturday and took care of business against Purdue.
This was one of those trap games before the Illini welcome in No. 1 Ohio State. We needed to make sure to play sound football. While there were some big issues on the team, Illinois still managed to fight through them.
It was a close contest to begin the game. Purdue was hanging tough. In true Illini fashion, turnovers turned the game. Illinois started to dominate the Boilermakers. A 27-point second quarter led to an Illinois win over Purdue, 43-27.
Here are five massive observations from the Illinois football win over Purdue
1. Luke Altmyer showing his leadership
I didn’t think I could be any more impressed with Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer. Well, on Saturday, he played one of the best games I have ever seen from an Illini quarterback.
Altmyer finished the game with 390 yards and one touchdown. He was sensational the entire game, and the only time he had any issues was when there was a broken blocking assignment. Even then, he was able to feel the blitz coming enough not to get leveled.
There were numerous times Purdue had a drive going and would get within a couple of scores of Illinois. The leadership of Altmyer kicks in during these moments. Instead of him going three-and-out or having a bad turnover, Altmyer would lead Illinois down the field for some type of points.
And lastly, the touch of Altmyer has improved to an NFL level. He had some of the prettiest passes I have ever seen on Saturday. He has the ability to lay the ball softly into the wide receiver's arms down the sidelines for big gains.
The game against Purdue only helped solidify Altmyer’s standing as one of the all-time greats to come through Champaign. His game on Saturday was one for the record book.