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.
2. That might have been Luke Altmyer’s best game
There was a lot of bad in the game against Purdue when it comes to the defensive side of the ball. But when it comes to the Illini offense, I have glowing reviews.
Illinois played some of the best football I have seen in a long time offensively. We looked great, and one of the reasons was Luke Altmyer.
I have gone on and on about how I think Altmyer has improved greatly year over year. He isn’t the same quarterback, as he gets the ball off quicker and has improved his accuracy greatly.
Against Purdue, Altmyer managed to throw for 379 yards and three touchdowns. The best part was that he didn’t throw an interception. He was accurate the entire game, and some of his touch passes were incredible. There was one pass late in the game where Altmyer scrambled out right and both defenders collapsed on him. Altmyer proceeded to dump the ball over them and to Josh McCray for a huge gain.
In addition to the great passing day from Altmyer, he also was crucial on the ground. He had 10 carries for 60 yards and a touchdown. I have been wondering why the Illinois offense hasn’t used Altmyer’s legs more this season. He was finally unleashed on Saturday.
I know Altmyer has had some pretty good games for the Orange and Blue, but this might be his best performance ever. He was a huge reason Illinois didn’t suffer a massive and embarrassing upset against Purdue.
3. Josh McCray have a day
I touched on Josh McCray a bit in the previous slide. He had a nice catch and run late in the game to help Illinois get to overtime and win the game. But that wasn’t the best of McCray on Saturday.
McCray was vital in every single way. On the ground, he had 16 carries for 78 yards and two touchdowns. He was nearly unstoppable. Purdue didn’t seem to have an answer for McCray. Illinois’ offensive line opened up huge holes, and McCray looked as good and healthy as I have ever seen him.
Through the air, McCray was special too. Not only did he have the huge catch late in the game, but he finished with three receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown.
In the absence of Kaden Feagin, McCray stepped up and was a safety blanket for the Illinois offense. What I like most about McCray and his game is that he doesn’t waste movement. He knows what he is as a running back. He isn’t going to juke a defender east to west. McCray puts his head down and goes.
I have been hard on McCray throughout the past couple of seasons. Honestly, due to injuries, he has looked pretty bad. But this is the McCray I saw as a freshman. He looks good and could end up being a contender for a lot more snaps moving forward. McCray, have a day.
4. Illinois was torched by Ryan Browne in the second half
Ha, you thought I was just going to do more happy slides. Nope. The Illinois defense was way too bad to just bunch it into one slide. I mentioned their putrid rush defense in the first slide, but let’s not forget how bad the secondary was in the second half.
I firmly believe that the Illinois football team came out of the halftime locker room thinking this game was in the bag. We looked terrible on defense. In the first half, Illinois only gave up three points, and Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne had a total of nine yards passing.
What I would give to go back to that point in time. After the first half, everything changed. Illinois’ secondary was torched in the final 30 minutes. In the second half, Browne was 14-of-19 for 288 yards and three touchdowns. That is a great stat line for a full game, let alone in just one half of football.
Illinois’ secondary couldn’t stop Browne. We tried to bring a blitz to get Browne off his game, but he would scramble and throw a dart. If we dropped back into coverage, our defensive backs couldn’t stay with the Purdue wide receivers.
During the quick comeback from the Boilermakers, Illinois’ cornerback Torrie Cox Jr. had his ankles broken by an out and up. The wide receiver broke free and had an easy touchdown.
It was one of the worst defensive performances I can remember by an Illini squad. This was arguably one of the most disappointing defensive showings of my lifetime.
5. Barry Lunney had a masterful day calling the Illinois offense
Okay, now back to the positive. Illinois’ offense made up for the horrible defense. Luke Altmyer and Josh McCray, among others, were great for the program on Saturday.
It is incredible that Illinois can give up 49 points and still come away with a win. I don’t think I have ever seen that in my lifetime. The players on the field were huge in the result, but I also have to give credit to offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr.
I did not like Lunney as Illinois’ offensive coordinator the past couple of seasons. I didn’t think he was calling the right plays at times, and he just didn’t seem like the right fit for this Illinois offense. He wanted to play more up-tempo and wanted to pass more, but Illinois’ offense wasn’t ready for that.
Over the 2024 season, Lunney has completely won me over. I am sorry I ever doubted this guy. He has the Illinois offense clicking, and the game he called on Saturday against the Boilermakers was masterful.
Lunney was dialed in against Purdue. He didn’t call the game conservatively. Lunney was pushing the ball when he needed to, and he used the ground game effectively.
I also liked how the passing game wasn’t too complicated. Altmyer was comfortable in what he was doing. Illinois ran a lot of motion and short passes where the wide receivers and tight ends could get a lot of yards after catch.
The Illini have an offense that can put up points. We needed that, especially on Saturday. If this was an Illinois offense of the past couple of decades, this would have been a Boilermakers win. Thankfully, the Illini can move the ball up and down the field. Lunney did a great job calling plays.