Rain Check: Illini Defense Dominates Purdue 24-6

The Illinois defense forced two turnovers and held Purdue scoreless for 54 minutes of action in a dominating victory.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Lovie Smith defense that was expected from the moment Illinois hired him finally arrived.

Whether it was the miserable optimal offensive conditions of a wet and cold Ross-Ade Stadium field or the emergence of the second-half turnaround Smith has promised, Illinois’s defense completely had its way with Purdue in a 24-6 win.

"I think it's easy to say that, yeah," Smith said when asked if the last 10 quarters of his defense is the best stretch of his four-year tenure with the Illini. "I would jump on that bandwagon for sure. Even before that, there have been signs but we haven't been able to consistent ball." 

Purdue, which had outscored Illinois 75-17 in their last two meetings thanks to a high-powered passing attack brought by coach Jeff Brohm, had under three yards per play, two turnovers and just 71 yards through the air through three quarters.

In a classic Smith style made famous by his highly successful Chicago Bears teams, Illinois (4-4, 2-3 in Big Ten) scored the first touchdown of the first half with its defense. Tony Adams, who was in his second start at cornerback since Smith moved him there permanently before the upset win over Wisconsin, jumped in front of a Jack Plummer pass for a 13-yard interception return for a score. 

Adams was one of the heroes of the massive upset over Wisconsin after a late pick set up James McCourt’s game-winning field goal. Adams's play Saturday was in a very similar nature to last week’s turnover as he read the redshirt freshman signal-caller's eyes on his way to the end zone. The turnover forced an incensed Brohm to pull Plummer and insert walk-on Aidan O’Connell, which resulted in two punts and just one yard in the first half. Plummer finished with a miserable afternoon as he was just 8 of 20 for 71 yards and two turnovers. 

"I just felt it. I just felt like I knew who he was going to throw the ball to and immediately jumped the route," Adams said. "Because if he'd throw it to (the outside receiver) it would've been bad. I just trusted my instincts." 

Purdue, which arrived Saturday with the worst rushing offense in the Big Ten and second-worst among the 130 FBS programs, was not set up for the constant downpour of rain throughout the afternoon.

Plummer’s second turnover, a fumble in the second half caused by Dele Harding that flew straight into the arms of Stanley Green, resulted in his second benching. Illinois scored on that turnover just three plays later on a 20-yard touchdown run by Reggie Corbin. Suddenly, Illinois had what easily seemed like an insurmountable 24-0 lead in the third quarter of a conference road game.

By the end of the first half, Illinois senior tailback Dre Brown had already passed his career-high with 112 yards on 10 carries, and the entire Purdue offense had just 100 total yards. Brown finished with a game-high 131 yards on 18 carries. 

"I've been impressed with Dre Brown since the moment I got here," Smith said. "He's a tough football player and what you'd like a Fighting Illini football player to look like, act like and what a better example than him. We needed a player like him today." 

Despite not having a completed pass for the first 20 minutes of action and only one in the first half, Illinois’s ground attack found holes in the middle of Purdue’s defensive front for 4.8 yards-per-carry.

When Illini quarterback Brandon Peters snuck it in from a yard out with one minute, 41 seconds left in the first half, Illinois had its first three-score lead over a Big Ten opponent since last year’s 55-31 win over Minnesota.

The Illini interior defensive linemen completely overwhelmed a poor Purdue offensive line all afternoon. Senior Jamal Milan had four tackles for loss and Illinois finished with eight tackles behind the line-of-scrimmage and two sacks. Purdue (2-6, 1-4 in Big Ten) didn’t have a drive longer than 30 yards until late in the fourth quarter.

"We're just tired of (the losing)," Milan said. "You need those older guys start to get in people's ears to let them know there's plays out there to be made." 

The victory Saturday marked the first time Smith’s Illini program has produced a winning streak in Big Ten games.

Illinois will try to get over the .500 mark in November for the first time in the four-year Lovie Smith era when it hosts Rutgers next weekend for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff. 

Final stats for Illinois' 24-6 win at Purdue on Oct. 26, 2019. Illini now 4-4 overall, 2-3 in Big Ten.