Illini Bounce Purdue 28-14 in Big Ten Football

Wes Lunt threw three first-half touchdown passes, and Illinois snapped a three-game losing streak Saturday with a 48-14 Big Ten victory against Purdue.

Illinois (5-4, 2-3), which had scored 33 total points in consecutive losses to Iowa, Wisconsin and Penn State, drove 76, 58 and 72 yards for touchdowns during the opening 30 minutes, running 44 plays for 295 yards and 17 first downs before halftime.

Purdue (2-7, 1-4), which defeated Illinois last season in Champaign and beat Nebraska this past Saturday, gained only 25 yards in the first quarter on homecoming and finished the opening half with 39 plays for 105 yards.

The Illini, who welcomed the return of running back Josh Ferguson from an injury, took a 7-0 lead with 11:41 remaining in the first half on Lunt's 32-yard touchdown pass to Malik Turner, capping a five-play, 76-yard drive that included a 29-yard Ke'Shawn Vaughn run to the Purdue 42.

Vaughn finished with 16 carries for 180 yards, and Ferguson added 12 rushes for 133 yards. Lunt completed 19 of 33 passes for 169 yards and the three TDs.

Jacksonville State 24, EIU 3

A matter of inches late in the third quarter gave No. 1 ranked Jacksonville State the momentum the Gamecocks needed to beat Eastern Illinois on Saturday afternoon at O’Brien Field.   Dalton Screws caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from a scrambling Eli Jenkins with 15 seconds left in the third quarter that gave JSU a 10-3 lead before they added two fourth quarter touchdowns for a 24-3 win.
 
EIU’s defense which had held Jenkins in check most of the game had the quarterback scrambling out of the pocket as Kamu Grugier-Hill was in pursuit.  Jenkins let the ball fly and Screws came down with the catch just inches from the end line to break a 3-3 deadlock.   The win left JSU as the last unbeaten team in the OVC as the Gamecocks are now 8-1, 6-0 in the OVC.  EIU fell to 5-4, 5-1 in the OVC.
 
The Panthers defense was able to force JSU’s offense to turn the ball over on downs the first two times the Gamecocks had the ball.  The second drive was stopped at the 3-yard line as Grugier-Hill and Jarvis Williams combined for the stop.
 
EIU then took to the ground as Devin Church ripped off a 42-yard run to give the Panthers some breathing room.  Shepard Little added two 10-plus yard runs and Church tacked on another as the Panthers drove the ball into the JSU red zone.  A combination of penalties by both teams had EIU take eight snaps inside the ten yard line.  JSU’s defense was able to hold and Nick Bruno put EIU up 3-0 with a 23-yard field goal with 14:12 to play in the first half.
 
JSU would tie the game with 15 seconds to go in the first half as Connor Rouleau converted a 23-yard field goal.
 
The two defenses stood up early in the third quarter until Jenkins completion to Screws.  Following the Screws touchdown, JSU’s defense forced a three-and-out.  The Gamecocks then marched 59 yards to go up 17-3 as Troymaine Pope rushed in from 10 yards out with 11:20 to play.  Pope finished with 114 yards on the ground, Jenkins had 93 yards.
 
Dawson Wells iced the game for JSU on the next series as he picked off a Jalen Whitlow pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown.  It was the only turnover by either team.
 
EIU drove into JSU territory one more time but turned the ball over on downs at the JSU 23 with 6:47 to play.   The Panthers finished with 239 yards of total offense with 175 yards on the ground.   Church finished with 84 yards while Little had 81.
 
Two of the top teams in the nation in terms of tackles for loss per game, JSU finished with eight tackles for loss led by Monty Young with two.  EIU had seven tackles for loss with Jourdan Wickliffe collecting two.
 
The Panthers defense was led by Seth McDonald with 17 tackles, a half sack and a forced fumble.   Grugier-Hill had 11 tackles with one tackle for loss.  Folo Johnson and Brandon Bender each had eight tackles for JSU.