Rapid recap: Illini roll past Purdue 24-6

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Dre Brown ran for a career high 131 yards and Tony Adams returned an interception for a touchdown to help slosh through the rain Saturday for a 24-6 victory at Purdue

The Fighting Illini (4-4, 2-3 Big Ten) won their second straight game and claimed the Cannon Trophy for the first time since 2015.

Purdue (2-6, 1-4) has lost two in a row and five of its last six, putting their postseason hopes in peril.

It sure wasn’t easy for the offenses in a steady storm with puddles forming around the end zones and sidelines.

The Boilermakers gained only 271 total yards — 99 coming on a fourth-quarter drive for their only points.

Illinois quarterback Brandon Peters scored on a 1-yard TD run late in the first half but was just 3 of 6 with 26 yards through the air.

Still, the Illini made enough plays to take control and never allowed the Boilermakers to challenge.

Brown’s 44-yard run set up James McCourt for a 38-yard field goal in the first quarter and Adams 13-yard interception return made it 10-0 early in the second.

After McCourt missed a 32-yard field goal, Brown again got Illinois into scoring position and Peters’ 1-yard plunge gave the Illini a 17-0 halftime cushion.

Stanley Green's 29-yard fumble return led to Reggie Corbin's 20-yard TD run for a 24-0 lead.

Purdue finally avoided its first shutout in nearly six years when backup quarterback Aidan O’Connell threw an 11-yard TD pass to Payne Durham.

Jack Plummer was 8 of 20 with 71 yards one interception for the Boilermakers.

Purdue tries to out-scheme you offensively, but the poor weather conditions heavily favored Illinois and the running game. Dre Brown had a career day with 131 yards on 18 carries. Having a downhill runner like Brown on a sloppy service was a big advantage for Illinois. Purdue has been bad running the football all season, and the Boilers managed just 3.1 yards per carry. Reggie Corbin delivered a dagger with a 20-yard touchdown run late in the 3rd quarter to essentially put the game away. Brandon Peters was just 3 of 6 for 28 yards, an amazing stat in a win. It took some time for Illinois to figure out the changing Purdue defensive fronts, but the offensive line did enough to win. The Illini won the time of possession 32:23 to 27:37, a big stat to win against a spread team.

Turnovers are nearly always a determining factor, but even more so on a sloppy service and the offenses struggling to get going. The takeaway numbers are video game like at this point. The Illini lead all of college football with 14 forced fumbles. Dele Harding added a FF today that was scooped up by Stanley Green and returned to the Purdue 22-yard line. Tony Adams, who had a game-changing interception last week, picked off Jake Plummer throw and returned it for a TD to give Illinois a 10-0 lead in the second quarter.

Illinois pitched a shutout until there was 5:49 left in the game. Purdue only made it into the red zone one time, were 5 for 17 converting on third down and 1 for 2 on fourth down. The Boilermakers had 14 drives. Nine ended with a punt, two with turnovers, one on downs, one end of the half, and one with a TD. Starting quarterback Jake Plummer lost his confidence early in this game and finished 8-20 for 71 yards and a 59.8 passing efficiency rating. That comes after passing for over 700 yards in the two previous games.

The Illini defense was very stingy the middle of the field. Linebackers Dele Harding and Jake Hansen and safeties Stanley Green and Sydney Brown combined for 30 tackles. Defensive tackle Jamal Milan played like a man possessed and was disruptive with four tackles for loss. He was a mismatch for the Purdue offensive line. Without the injured Rondale Moore, Purdue lacks the speed to get to the edge, which makes Harding that much more effective. He led the Big Ten in tackles heading into the game, and likely padded that lead with 8 more stops versus Purdue.