FINAL: Purdue 24, Illinois 14

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — On the day Illinois athletic director Ron Guenther promised that Ron Zook would be back for the 2010 season, the Illini dropped their sixth game of the season.

The Illini finished 0-for-Indiana, with Purdue winning 24-14 at Ross-Ade Stadium. A week ago, the Illini dropped a 27-14 game at Indiana.

Purdue led 21-7 at halftime. But Illinois cut into the margin with a touchdown on their first drive in the third quarter. Juice Williams, who earlier in the game had been replaced by Jacob Charest, scored on a 6-yard run.

Purdue pushed the lead back to 10 on a 25-yard field goal by Carson Wiggs with 1:16 left in the third quarter.

The Boilermakers didn't dominate statistically, with just a 7-yard advantage going into the final quarter. Illinois tailback Mikel Leshoure had 122 yards on just 14 carries.

For the first time against a Division I-A opponent this season, Illinois scored the first points of the game.

Mikel Leshoure did most of the work on the drive, taking a pitch from Williams and rumbling 65 yards to the Purdue 4. Daniel Dufrene scored on the next play, plowing through the Boilermakers defense to give Illinois the lead with 6:49 left in the first quarter.

Purdue didn't need much time to tie the game. Three Ralph Bolden runs moved the Boilermakers to the Illinois 44. Jaycen Taylor scored on the next play, finding a seem in the Illinois defense.

Illinois drove into Purdue territory on its next drive, reaching the 29. On first down, Williams was intercepted by Purdue's Dwight Mclean.

The Boilermakers took advantage of the turnover, driving 68 yards on 10 plays to take the lead. Bolden went the final 3 yards for the score.

Illinois redshirt freshman Charest replaced Williams on the first drive of the second half. Charest was 0 for 1 on his first drive.

Purdue took a 21-7 lead on its next drive. Joey Elliott completed 3 of 3 passes on the drive for 32 yards. He scored the touchdown on a 5-yard run.

With Charest continuing at quarterback, Illinois moved deep into Purdue territory on its next drive. Charest's first college completion was an 11-yarder to tight end Michael Hoomanawanui. Later in the drive, he found a wide-open Hubie Graham for 31 yards, moving the ball to the Purdue 2.

Williams replaced Charest and the Illini appeared to score a touchdown on
Arrelious Benn's 2-yard run. But center Eric Block was called for holding.
The drive stalled at the Purdue 6 and the Matt Eller missed a 23-yard field goal wide left.

***

Purdue 24, Illinois 14: 4:20 fourth quarter

That should do it. Illinois had been 2 for 2 on fourth down today before Leshoure was stuffed on the latest attempt. Purdue has great field position and a 10-point lead. I'm gonna get ready to post the final story.

Purdue 24, Illinois 14: 5:51 fourth quarter

So they took close to three minutes off the clock, decent, but not what the Boilermakers wanted to do. For as bad as it's been, Illinois has some weapons on offense and can score quick, however unlikely.

We'll see how they do.

Initially that last completion by Elliott looked like a bad spot for the Boilers, but head linesman Robert Davis was right on top of it and the receiver stepped out of bounds just short of the 1st-down marker.

Juice is back, we'll be back.

***

Purdue 24, Illinois 14: 9:31 fourth quarter

Charest is back and just like the first time he came in, his first pass was a bad one that almost got picked off. Not a good series for the freshman, who certainly looked his gae this time around.

Maybe if he had stayed in, led the Illini to a TD and built some confidence and not sat for a quarter, he would have been better.

On the bright side, Anthony Santella continues to pin Purdue deep with his punting. H ejust uncorked another 51-yarder.

Illinois is now 4 for 12 on third down today.

Look for Purdue to run some clock on this possession.

Be back in a few.

***

Purdue 24, Illinois 14: 10:15 fourth quarter

Ball security, thats what Zook said Juice needed to shore up last week after he fumbled the ballt wice last week. He got lucky here because Jon Asamoah fell on the fumble, but the quarterback has to take care of the ball. That's his job.

The game is there for the taking for Illinois, but the Illini aren't taking advantage of their opportunities.

Aikens is back on the field after the scare on the last series. Ian Thomas is also back.

Be back in a few.

***

Purdue 24, Illinois 14: end of third quarter

Eddie McGee showed what he can offer as a receiver in the option game, completing a pass to Chris Duvalt down the sideline.

Juice Williams just completed a pass — to himself — I think that's his first reception. He lost 7 yards.

Here's a look at some third-quarter numbers:

— 70, penalty yards by Illinois on seven infractions.

— 317, total yards by Purdue on 46 plays. Illinois is close with 310 on 47 plays.

— 22:18, time of possesion by Illinois. Purdeu's had the ball for 22:42.

— 0, plays and yards for Jacob Charest in the third quarter.

— 123, rushing yards by Mikel Leshoure on 23 carries.

Be back soon.

***

Purdue 21, Illinois 14: 2:20 third quarter

Juice's last pass was caught by No. 15 — a Drew Brees No. 15 jersey in the front row of the east stands. No one was open and there was a holding call anyway.

Edwards is back on the sideline and is back in the Illinois secondary.

Spoke too soon about that secondary playing better. Elliott just hit Bolden with a 23-yard pass down the sideline that sent Ian Thomas to the sideline shaken up. The next play went for another first down through the air.

Walter Aikens and Ian Thomas were both shaken up later in the drive and it didn't look good. Both walked off the field on their own power.

Gress, Bussey and Frierson are the linebackers right now. Probably didn't expect to see that trio on the field together at the beginning of the season.

Be back in a few.

***

Purdue 21, Illinois 14: 6:29 third quarter

Hold on a second, we might have a gmae on our hands here after the Illini just stopped Purdue again.

The secondary is doing a pretty good job of covering the Purdue receivers, as Elliott twice had nowhere to go. The Illini caught a break with the dropped pass Jeff Lindsay across the middle. They cauht another break when Ramsey frll on his own fumble on the punt.

Garrett Edwards just ran to the locker room. He's been bothered by a bad neck the past few weeks and might have aggravated it again. I'll let you know as soon as we here something from Illinois.

***

Purdue 21, Illinois 14: 7:18 third quarter

That touchdown drive and run by Juice Williams means we'll probably see him again the next time the offense takes the field. Who really knows at this point.

Leshoure's 100-yard game is the first for an Illini against a Division 1-A opponent this season. Jason Ford had 137 against Illinois State in the Illinois lone win this season.

Dimke kicked the extra point for Illinois, that was the first point of his career. Maybe Eller is being punished for missing the field goal at the end of the first half.

***

Purdue 21, Illinois 7: 10:31 third quarter

Juice starts the second half at quarterback. What was wrong with Charest?

Very, very questionable. Don't understand that one at all. Charest is on the sideline, prepared to go in, it looks.

Leshoure is over 100 yards for the first time in his career. It appears he is fine after suffereing the sprained ankle late in the third quarter last week at Indiana.

Another Boiler, Dan Dierking, just got his first carry of the season. Dierking is a former News-Gazette All-State from Wheaton.

***

Purdue 21, Illinois 7: start of third quarter

People want to know what happened on the errant pass by Juice Williams near the end of the first half. not much more that I can tell you than it was an awful, awful throw. He almost threw it to Chicago.

Here's what Guenther said at halftime.

***

Purdue 21, Illinois 7: end of first half

Apparently Charest was too effective have earned the chance to lead the Illini to a touchdown at the end of the half. Not sure that makes any sense, but I guess that's why I don't get paid the big bucks.

The effort was spoiled with the missed field goal.

Some first-half numbers:

— 171 rushing yards by the Boilers. It's their second-highest output for a single game all season. The Boilers ran for 315 yards against Toledo in the season opener. Bolden had 234 yards in that game. Three guys have at least 45 yards today.

— 80, percentage of passes Jacob Charest has hit in his first collegiate action. The redshirt freshman has completed for of five attempts for 52 yards.

— 96, rushing yards by Mikel Leshoure on six carries.

— 56, number of seconds athletic director  Ron Guenther's haltime session with the media lasted. Bob Asmussen will post the transcript.

— 1, Michael Jackson impersonators on the field performing with the Purdue marching band, which is playing some of Jackson's hits.

Be back for the second half.

***

Purdue 21, Illinois 7: 0:18 second quarter

That big guy you saw catch the ball was tight end Michael Hoomanawanui. He hasn't caught a ball in a while.

"How 'bout them apples," Tate said after the pass was caught.

Fans are going to like Charest instantly as he's showing he's not afraid to throw to the tight end after he hit a wide-open Hubie Graham with a big play. The 31-yard reception was the longest play of Graham and Charests' careers.

Charest if 4 for 5 for 52 yards.

Be back in a few.

***

Purdue 21, Illinois 7: 3:10 second quarter

The 65-yard reception by Leshoure was just changed to a rush. So Leshoure now has five carries for 96 yards. He hasn't run for 100 yards in a game since his playing days at centennial when he set the Twin City rushing mark with 4.658 yards.

That makes Tate happy. He's been grumbling before the ruling that the play should have been ruled a run. That takes away from Juice's passing yardage.

Be back soon.

***

Purdue 21, Illinois 7: 5:38 second quarter

That was Elliott's third rushing touchdown of the season. He's run for 46 yards today and had 158 yards total entering the game.

The crowd was just announced at 47,349. Ross-Ade holds 62,000ish. There aren't 47,000 people here.

So now they're throwing it a little bit and having some success. Anything you want to do against Illinois, you can, apparently.

Bob just compared the Illinois defense to old boxer Jerry Quarry, they are beating the heck out of Purdue's gloves with their faces. Ouch.

Be back soon.

***

Purdue 14, Illinois 7: 9:21 second quarter

Uh-oh, a near interception on his first forward pass is not exactly what Charest and the Illini were expecting. The good news for Illinois fans is there is still plenty of time lef tin this game. That could be bad news, too.

Eddie McGee is getting plenty of reps at receiver. There's a chance he could be a major contributor there.

Al-Terek McBurse just carried the ball for the first time in his career for Purdue. He's a freshman from Winter Springs, Fla.

Illinois can't contain Elliott on the ground. He has five carries for 41 yards. Purdue must be saving its passes for next week against Wisconsin.

Be back in a few.

***

Purdue 14, Illinois 7: 12:21 second quarter

That was Ralph Bolden's first touchdown since Week 2 at Oregon.

Jacob Charest has taken over at quarterback after the last drive ended with an interception thrown by Juice WIlliams. We'll see how the redshirt freshman does in his first collegiate action.

Here are some scores from around the Big ten:

Indiana leads Northwestern 14-0 in the second quarter.

Minnesota and Ohio State are scoreless int he second quarter.

Illinois 7, Purdue 7: end of first quarter

Jacob Charest is throwing on the sideline.

Security personnel has accosted an unruly fan on the sideline near the big drum. There aren't a lot of them here, so we can't have too many taken away in cuffs.

First quarter numbers:

— Purdue has more rushing yards today (127) than it has in the last four games.

— Illinois has 140 total yards, 94 through the air.

— Mikel leshoure has 78 total yards.

— Anthony Santella's lone punt traveled 51 yards.

— Asmussen just pulled out 67 red Starburst from his computer bag that holds the entire world.

Be back in a few.

***

Illinois 7, Purdue 7: 1:00 first quarter

Might be seeing Jacob Charest soon after that pick by Juice — his fifth of the season. Tight end Hubie Graham was wide open on the play, but Juice didn't see him.

That was Dwight Mclean's first interception on the season.

Joey Elliott has been a force on the ground, rushing for 30 yards on three carries. He has 1 yard passing.

Be back at the end of the quarter.

***

Illinois 7, Purdue 7: 4:53 first quarter

That didn't last long as Jaycen — interesting spelling — Taylor broke through the middle of the defense for a 44-yard touchdown on his first carry of the game.

We might be in for a shootout if the Illinois offense can keep its offensive momentum going. We know Purdue can score points. The Boilermakers have run 11 plays, 10 of them have come on the ground, as have al four of their first downs.

Still nobody here, hard to believe.

Be back in a few.

***

Illinois 7, Purdue 0: 6:49 first quarter

That touchdown run by Daniel Dufrene is the first time Illinois has scored first in a game this year against a BCS opponent. It's just the second time they've led a game against a BCS conference opponent this season.

Jacob Charest, normally in a headset, has his helmet on and looks ready to go. It's been a long time coming for the reshirt freshman from North Carolina. Expect to see him in there soon, especially after the near interception by Juice early in that series.

First Justin Green sighting we've seen in what sems like forever.

Tavon Wilson is here and on the sideline. Zook acknowldged that Wilson had a bad game last week at Indiana.

The 65-yard reception by Mikel Leshoure represented the longest play of the sophomore's career. His previous best was a 41-yard reception that went for a touchdown against Michigan State.

***

Purdue 0, Illinois 0: 10:30 first quarter

Hard to get anything going when it's 1st and 30 from the 18. Can't blame that on the quarterback.

Eddie McGee has made an appearance — at receiver. Juice looked for him but the pass was broken up.

Tate just pointe dout that Illinois finally has it's punting situation squared away with Anthony Santella, but they can't get anything else going.

Nate Bussey gets the start at linebacker, that's a bit of a surprise. Garrett Edwards is back after missing the trip to Indiana last week.

There's still nobody here. You beat Ohio State here last week, show up! Maybe that speaks to how poorly Illinois is thought of in the Big Ten.

Terry Hawthorne gets the start at cornerback. Tavon Wilson is on the bench.

Be back in a few.

***

Kickoff:

Marcus Jackson here and I'll be with you the rest of the way.

Looks like we're going to have a late-arriving crowd. Purdue just took the field and the place is less than half full.

Just made the rounds with the Illinois media contingent and here's what they think will happen today:

Mark Tupper of the Decature Herald and Review picked Purdue 33-13.

Herb Gould of the Chicago Sun-Times picked the Boilermakers 31-14.

Shannon Ryan of the Chicago Tribune picked Illinois 23-13.

Stu Durando of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch picked Purdue 24-10.

The referee for today's game is Ron Torbert. I spent a weekend with Torbert and his crew earlier this year and these guys work hard.

Here's a look at what their weekends are like.

Be back in a little bit.

***

15 minutes before kickoff:
Good news on the information department. Illinois athletic director Ron Guenther will meet with the media at halftime today to discuss Ron Zook's situation. Don't expect him to say a whole lot, but anything will be better than what we have now.

The Purdue band is on the field. Wow, is that drum big. Why doesn't the Illinois marching band have a giant drum?

Nothing new to report on the quarterback front. I still expect to see Juice Williams as the starter. Jacob Charest looked good during warmups. Maybe he takes over on the second play.

The crowd is sparse. Hardly anybody in either end zone seating section. Attendance has been a problem here in Danny Hope's first season.

Marcus Jackson is taking over for me from this point forward, though I will provide a Guenther update at halftime.

***

30 minutes:
Longtime Purdue announcer Joe McConnell is retiring after this season.

"My wife thinks I've been retired for 10 years," McConnell said. "There's no question I'll miss it. It's been my whole life. As I tell everybody, 'I knew when I was 10 years old what I wanted to do. I set out to do it and was lucky enough to be able to do it for a life.' I feel real fortunate."

McConnell said he has "seen a lot of interesting games, been to a lot of interesting places and met a lot of interesting people."

"There comes a time when your better days are behind," McConnell said. "I don't want to wind up being in a situation where I might embarrass myself later on. I have some physical limitations because of my health, so I felt this was the time to do it."

McConnell has called the games of Drew Brees and Kyle Orton, who are both undefeated NFL quarterbacks this season. Earlier in his career, he was on the Purdue sports information staff when Bob Griese and Mike Phipps played quarterback.

"I'm not following any NFL team, I'm following a couple of guys this year," McConnell said. "They are both terrific kids. They don't come any better than Drew. And outside of the fact that he's a liberal, I like Kyle."

***

45 minutes before kickoff:

Marcus Jackson here, Bob's doing radio interviews right now. He's dropping knowledge on the local radio folks here.

Walked from the parking lot and rode up the press box elevator with a scout from the Buffalo Bills. Despite the disappointing season, the Illini still have some NFL prospects on the roster, most noatbly Arrelious Benn, who had his most productive game in last week's loss to Indiana with nine catches.

The Illini specialists and Purdue specialists are on the natural turf here at Ross-Ade Stadium. The Illini are wearing orange pants with their white tops. First time we've seen that combination this season.

Jacob Charest is taking snaps from Tyler Sands. You've got to believe he's excited about the opportunity to finally play. Pretty nervous, too.

We'll be back in a few.

***

1 hour before kickoff:

It's an interesting day in the Big Ten, with several games that will have an impact on the conference race.

Iowa, in first place all by itself, plays a difficult game tonight at Michigan State. The Spartans have rebounded from a poor start to win three in a row. They have just one conference loss and can push themselves into a commanding position with an upset win. Michigan State already beat Michigan and hosts Penn State in the final game of the season. Ohio State isn't on the schedule.

Penn State travels to Michigan in what is basically a conference elimination game. Both have lost to Iowa, which means an outright title will be difficult for either team. The Nittany Lions and Wolverines need a few losses by Iowa.

Minnesota plays at Ohio State, a must win for the Buckeyes. Terrelle Pryor and Jim Tressel are catching a lot of heat after last week's loss to Purdue.

Indiana plays at Northwestern today. The winner moves within one game of bowl eligibility. Based on the teams they finish against, the Hoosiers need the game more than the Wildcats.

***

1:15 before kickoff:
Though the stadium is open, the stands are basically empty. There is a small group of students in one section. They are down close to the field, right behind the Illinois bench. Expect some interesting conversations there, especially if Purdue gets off to a good start.

Of course, the Illinois kickers and punters are on the field, testing the wind. The flags high above the stadium are moving briskly toward the north. Kicking field goals toward the south, which is an open end, will be difficult.

Not a lot of love for Illinois from the Lafayette Journal & Courier today. All four reporters predict a Purdue win, with beat writer Mike Carmin calling it 33-24. Jeff Washburn has it 35-14. Nathan Baird says 33-21 and Sam King picks 42-17.

There is a short story on the plight of Illinois this season, which a section about the quarterback controversy.

The sun just popped out. The players are still wearing stocking caps.

***

1:30 before kickoff:
There are rumors floating that Jacob Charest will start at quarterback today. But Illinois officials just got word that Juice Williams will be the starter. Charest is expected to play early.

Heard from Scott Charest, Jacob's dad. Because their younger son, Nate, had a game Friday night, the Charests won't be in West Lafayette today. Nate is a standout receiver/defensive back for Butler High School, the same high school Jacob attended. Butler is ranked No. 1 in North Carolina and knocked off Providence on Friday night. Nate knocked away the potential tying touchdown pass late in the game and had 100 receiving yards.

Nate Charest is considered a high I-AA prospect. He is visiting Appalachian State today and is being recruited by Elon, Georgia Southern and others.

Scott and Cindy Charest are watching today's game at North Myrtle Beach, S.C., a long ago planned trip. Cindy will be wearing her No. 12 Illinois Jacob Charest jersey.

If it looks like Jacob Charest will play against Michigan next Saturday, the Charests will make a midnight drive from North Carolina to Champaign for the game. Nate Charest is going on a recruiting trip next weekend to Gardner-Webb.

***

1:45 before kickoff:
Saw Purdue men's basketball coach Matt Painter outside the stadium. He smiled and said hello. Why is he smiling? Well, he's got a loaded team returning. And the school is fixing up the basketball arena, adding a practice facility and other cool stuff.

Usually on a football Saturday, Mackey Arena would be hosting an open practice. But because the building is a construction zone, fans aren't allowed in. The team will practice later in the day.

The entire reconstruction, which will include wider concourses, will be completed by 11/11/11.

It's a cold, windy morning. The sun is trying, unsuccessfully, to poke out. The temperature at kickoff will be about 45 degrees, but the wind will make it feel colder.

The Illinois travel party arrived at the stadium about 25 minutes ago. The coaches took a quick walk on the field while the players went to the locker room. Illinois didn't come to the stadium on Friday, going directly to the team hotel in Lafayette.

Two players not on the trip are safety Hardeman and receiver Jarred Fayson. Don't be surprised if Eddie McGee starts at receiver.

One definite lineup change: redshirt freshman Tyler Sands will start in place of Randall Hunt at left guard.

Thursday night's "Ron Zook Show" on the Illini Sports Network went a bit off format. Two callers questioned Zook's future at Illinois. Off the air, Zook was reportedly more animated than usual.

***

2 hours before kickoff:

Welcome back to another ingame story. I will be here up until just before the game, then Marcus Jackson will take over.

Of course, the story of the day has nothing to do with the game and everything to do with Ron Zook's future at Illinois. Illinois sports information director Kent Brown said this morning that athletic director Ron Guenther has "strongly indicated there will be no coaching change at the end of the season." Like always, Brown said, Guenther will evaluate every aspect of the program at the end of the year.

On the Big Ten Network, former Minnesota coach Glen Mason said that Zook has been told by Guenther that he will back in 2010. Zook has four years left on his contract, with an annual salary of $1.5 million. To fire Zook, it would cost Illinois $1.3 million for each remaining year of his contract.

Guenther doesn't plan to have a press conference to talk about Zook's future.

Left unsaid is what happens to Zook's staff going into the 2010 season. Both the offense and defense have struggled this season. The offense has been plagued by poor quarterback play. The defense is missing three potential starters: linebacker Martez Wilson, safety Donsay Hardeman and cornerback Miami Thomas. Wilson and Thomas are out for the season.