With a 38-27 loss to Purdue, it’s obvious Illinois failed Saturday at Memorial Stadium. The Illini deserve a detention after allowing the Boilermakers to leave them alone in the basement of the Big Ten West Division.
Offense: C
Mike Dudek raises the grade-point average with 200 receiving yards to be the game’s lone bright spot for Illinois. The Illini produced 515 yards, but with two turnovers and an inability to get into the end zone, this was a rough day. Quarterback Wes Lunt suffering a leg fracture only made matters worse. Far worse.
Defense: F
The unit continues to miss tackles, allow huge-yardage plays and whiff on stopping the run. They made a feeble Purdue offense look like a scoring machine. Entering the game averaging slightly more than 53 yards per game, Purdue tailback Akeem Hunt rushed for nearly his average on one play en route to a 177-yard day.
Special teams: D
A missed extra point and a blocked field-goal attempt put the Illini in a terrible position. Will coach Tim Beckman go back to Taylor Zalewski or stick with David Reisner? Both kickers have struggled.
Coaching: F
The Illini were supposed to show improvement this season. In more than one way, they look worse. Allowing a weak Purdue team to steamroll them qualifies as a disaster. The loss casts a lot of doubt on Beckman’s job stability.
