CHAMPAIGN – Six days to Indiana.

Six days until the Illinois football team gets its next chance to end the nation's second-longest losing streak.

"I wouldn't call it the Super Bowl," Illinois cornerback Trevor Starghill said. "It's another game for us. It's another challenge for us to try to get a victory."

It didn't happen Saturday. Purdue made sure, pounding the Illini 48-3 at Memorial Stadium.

That's 13 losses in a row for Illinois. Only Northern Illinois' 15-game streak is longer.

Indiana has troubles of its own. Iowa wiped out the Hoosiers 62-0 Saturday, their 15th loss in 17 games.

First-year Illinois coach Ron Turner didn't wait until today to start the countdown to Indiana. He mentioned the Hoosiers to his team after Saturday's loss.

"I told them we're playing a team that's in a similar situation to us," Turner said. "They've got one win. They don't have a whole lot of confidence right now. It's going to be a matter of which team has the most pride."

Pride wasn't a problem for the Illini against Purdue. Production was.

While the Boilermakers rolled to 501 yards on offense, they limited the Illini to 228. While the Boilermakers kept control of the ball, they forced seven Illini turnovers.

"We all were so positive we were going to beat these guys," Starghill said. "We knew we could beat these guys. We just didn't make the plays. It's just so disappointing."

Nobody was more disappointed than Turner, who still is looking for his first UI win. The two weeks of practice leading to the game had been the best Turner had seen.

"We had great, great days of practice" Starghill said. "It's just disappointing to go out there and have nothing to show for it."

Something got lost in the translation from practice to play.

"If we're going to start winning football games, we have to learn to come out and play on Saturdays like we play on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays," Turner said.

Turner didn't have an explanation for the failure. But senior linebacker David James came up with one.

"It's mostly mental," James said. "Football is a very simple game. People probably put too much pressure on game situations."

Too much pressure equals too many mistakes. All season, the Illini have been plagued by turnovers, dropped passes and missed tackles. Saturday's game was no exception.

When Illinois had opportunities to make a big play, the ball slipped away.

Down 7-0 with six minutes left in the first quarter, Illinois' Ryan Tabloff boomed a punt 85 yards. Purdue returner Vinny Sutherland grabbed the ball at his 2 but fumbled. Illinois' Steve Willis tried to scoop it and run for the touchdown. But Willis couldn't keep control and Purdue regained possession at its 1.

"I don't know what it is," Starghill said. "We can't get the ball to go our way. If there's a penalty, nine times out of 10 it's going to be on us. We can't get any turnovers. Things aren't going our way on Saturdays. They go our way Monday through Thursday."

The Illini defense also dropped two potential interceptions in the first quarter.

"It's very frustrating," Turner said.

"You're not talking about making super-human efforts. You're talking about picking up a ball on the ground or intercepting a ball that's thrown into your hands. I think it goes back to confidence. When you have confidence, you make those plays."

Purdue was the team playing with confidence. And why not? The surprising Boilermakers improved to 6-1 overall and are on their way to a bowl game for the first time since 1984.

"We never really gave ourselves a chance to get in the game," Turner said. "They did to us what they've done to a lot of people."

Purdue quarterback Billy Dicken helped the Boilermakers put the game out of reach by halftime. The former News-Gazette All-Stater from Bloomington scored on a 3-yard run with 8:34 left in the first quarter.

The Boilermakers were just getting started. Given a reprieve after Sutherland's fumble, they drove 99 yards on 12 plays for a 14-0 lead. Dicken zinged a pass to star receiver Brian Alford from 2 yards out for the touchdown.

After a Purdue field goal, the Boilermaker defense got in on the scoring fun. Willie Burroughs sacked Illini quarterback Kirk Johnson, who was making his first start. Johnson fumbled, and Purdue's Mike Rose picked it up and rambled 26 yards for the touchdown.

The Boilermakers weren't done. They scored 10 points in the final 1:06 of the first half. Shane Ryan's 34-yard field goal gave Purdue a 34-3 lead at intermission.

"It was embarrassing to be behind by that much at halftime at home," Illinois running back Robert Holcombe said.