Purdue beats Illinois 46-7
By Jeff Mayfield

[October 15, 2018]  The Purdue Boilermakers pounded Illinois 46-7 Saturday in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. Purdue bested the Illini in virtually every statistical category and beat them on the scoreboard as well.

Purdue took a 29-7 lead into the locker room at halftime and were never threatened after that.

Purdue gained 611 total yards, converted 29 first downs, and possessed the ball almost twice as long as the Illini. Illinois scored first and took a 7-0 lead as QB A. J. Bush took it in from 5-yards out half-way through the first quarter but that was not only Illinois’ last lead-it was one of their only highlights.

The Illinois defense gave up 18 plays of ten or more yards, and that is not a misprint. The Illini defense was exposed, chased throughout the day, and simply did not make enough stops to make this contest competitive.

The Boiler statistics are endlessly positive and include:

QB David Bloough who was 25 of 36 for 377 yards and 2 touchdowns

RB D. J. Knox ran the ball 17 times for 150 yards

WR Issac Zico caught 5 passes for 127 yards and 2 touchdowns

WR Rondale Moore caught 4 passes for 101 yards and 1 touchdown

I will stop now because my arm is getting tired and by now you have the gist of how this game played out. It would be difficult to sift through the rubble of these statistics to try to find a positive stat for the Illini on this very disappointing homecoming day.

And it doesn’t get any easier next week. The Illini will travel to Madison, WI to take on a very angry Badger team that got drubbed at Michigan on Saturday. That game is scheduled to kick-off at 11am.

[By JEFF MAYFIELD]

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