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5 stressful observations from the Illinois football win over Purdue

At one point, I thought Illinois football was going to cruise to an easy win, but then we came back down to Earth.

By Rees Woodcock

Oct 12, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini linebacker Luke Zardzin (42) recovers a fumble in the first half against the Purdue Boilermakers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
Oct 12, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini linebacker Luke Zardzin (42) recovers a fumble in the first half against the Purdue Boilermakers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images / Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
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Man, that was a fun first half for the Illinois football team against the Purdue Boilermakers.

Remember that first half? The Illini were up 24-3. Things were good, people were happy, and stress was low.

Purdue came out in the second half and took a sledgehammer to any Illinois happiness. This was supposed to be a blowout after the first 30 minutes of action, and then the Illini let our guard down, and the Boilermakers took advantage.

Score after score led to a Purdue comeback. Eventually, after a 23-point fourth quarter, Purdue took the lead with under a minute to play. This seemed like the end.

Luke Altmyer and Co. put on their capes and were able to drive down the field for a game-tying touchdown. This led to overtime where Illinois scored first. Purdue came back with a quick touchdown and would go for a two-point conversion. Illinois hadn’t stopped Purdue in the second half, but a huge blitz and sack ended the game. Illinois managed to beat the Boilermakers, 50-49.

Here are five stressful observations from the Illinois football win over Purdue

1. The Illinois rush defense was putrid

After that win, I think it is appropriate to start off with how bad the Illinois run defense was against Purdue. What we saw on Saturday was completely inexcusable.

Coming into the weekend, the Illini weren’t great when it came to run defense, but we weren’t the worst team in the country. We were giving up 153.8 yards per game on the ground, which ranked No. 69 in the nation.

That is about mid-pack when it comes to rush defense. What Illinois fans got on Saturday was arguably the worst run defense I have ever seen.

Illinois couldn’t stop Purdue in any form of the run. Quarterback Ryan Browne torched us in the first half, and he continued that tear in the second half. He finished the game with 17 carries for 118 yards.

Devin Mockobee continued his dominance over the Illini as well. The talented running back had 11 carries for 102 yards and a touchdown.

As a team, the Boilermakers were able to tally 32 carries for 239 yards and two scores. That is an incredible 7.5 yards per carry average. Illinois’ defense should be embarrassed.

Illinois had zero push on the defensive line. We could stop an infant if they were handed the football. When Browne would get into space, Illinois’ defenders would take bad angles or couldn’t manage to keep him contained.

Purdue isn’t a good running team. They don’t have a ton of talent, but they were able to tear us apart on the ground. If we don’t fix this quickly, then Illinois is going to have a really hard time next week against Michigan.

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