Skip to content

Ad Disclosure

Purdue stuns Illinois, forces OT after trailing by 24 points

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

Purdue and Illinois were headed for an easy Illini blowout of epic proportions on Saturday. Then, the 2nd half lit a switch under the Boilermakers in the fight for the Purdue Cannon.

At halftime, Illinois held a 21-point lead. Early in the 2nd half, it was built as big as 27-3 in favor of Bret Bielema’s squad before the Boilermakers awoke.

Behind a wild performance from QB Ryan Browne in place of Hudson Card, Purdue would uncork 40 points with 23 delivered in the 4th quarter. That final period included 2 touchdowns by Purdue within a minute of each other complete, with a dramatic onsides kick recovery for Purdue.

The go-ahead score by Purdue was a brilliant connection from Browne to running back Devin Mockobee, utilizing Mockobee’s skills as a receiver to perfection.

In spite of that massive blown lead, Illinois had one saving grace in the form of 42 seconds left on the clock. It was enough time for Luke Altmyer to drive down the field and set up a game-tying kick for David Olano.

Now, overtime will decide this rivalry in a major way.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.