Two weeks ago it looked like Illinois might be in the discussion for a BCS bowl. The Illini were 6-0 and had two games coming up that looked like games they should win. After today's loss to Purdue, the Illini are now 6-2 and instead of the Rose or Fiesta it's starting to look like Alamo or Motor City might be Illinois' bowl options.
Illinois just seemed flat from the beginning Saturday. Don't get me wrong a lot of credit needs to go to Purdue for having a great game plan and stopping the Illini running attack. The illini just are starting to look like a predictable offense and Ohio State and Purdue were able to show how to stop it. Basically they will power run with Jason Ford or Troy Pollard, or they will run with Nathan Scheelhaase. When they pass it's either A.J. Jenkins or bust.
Defensively the Illini played ok for the most part, but with the offense unable to move the ball the defense seemed to always be on the field which resulted in Purdue scoring 21 points.
The game wasn't really as closed as the final score indicated. Illinois didn't score until there was 8:32 left in the game when Jason Ford ran one in from 16 yards out. The Illini finished the scoring with Scheelhaase sneaking one in with just under a minute to go.
Nathan Scheelhaase lead the offense passing for 217 yards. Jason Ford was the leading rusher with 83 yards while Jenkins added 92 yards receiving.
Purdue was lead by Caleb TerBush who passed for 178 yards and two touchdowns.
Illinois will look to snap their losing streak when they head to Penn State next Saturday.