John Peterson
FightingIllini.com
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illini comeback effort fell short after falling to Purdue, 31-24 on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Trailing the Boilermakers 31-10 late in the third quarter, Illinois scored 14 unanswered points, but failed to convert on a fourth down attempt resulting in a turnover on downs with under two minutes to play.
TAYLOR IMPRESSES UNDER CENTER
Sophomore quarterback Coran Taylor took over quarterback responsibilities after Brandon Peters and Isaiah Williams did not play and Matt Robinson went down with an injury early in the first quarter. Taylor completed 17 passes for 273 yards while throwing for two touchdowns and also added 32 yards on the ground.
LOVIE BALL
Senior linebacker Jake Hansen led the Illinois defense with a game-high 14 tackles while forcing one fumble and recovering another at the goal line, forced by freshman defensive lineman Jer'Zhan Newton. Hansen also added two tackles for loss and eight solo tackles.
Senior defensive lineman Owen Carney Jr. also had a huge game for the Illini with three sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss, and one forced fumble. Carney's three sacks are tied for seventh-most in a single game.
Illinois stopped Purdue twice inside their own five yard line, including one forced fumble and a turnover on downs at the one yard line.
HIGHTOWER SPARKS ILLINI OFFENSE
Brian Hightower played a major role in the Illini offense on Saturday, contributing four catches for 97 yards and a touchdown to bring Illinois within seven points during the comeback effort. Â
The Miami (Fla.) transfer had three first-half catches for 88 yards, including a 44-yard grab.
TEAM NOTES
• Illinois is 42-40-7 all-time against Purdue, including a 16-25-4 record at home.
• Illinois is 92-34-5 all-time in home-openers.
• Illinois is 10-8-1 all-time on Halloween.
• Illinois forced the Boilermakers to turn the ball over twice within their own five-yard line - one on downs and one on a forced fumble from Jer'Zhan Newton, with Jake Hansen recovering the ball.
• Illinois started an all-Illinois offensive line of LT Vederian Lowe (Rockford, Ill.), C Kendrick Green (Peoria, Ill.) , RG Verdis Brown (Chicago, Ill.), RT Alex Palczewski (Mount Prospect, Ill.) and LG Alex Pihlstrom (Glen Ellyn, Ill.).
• Illinois started six transfers - RB Chase Brown , WR Brian Hightower, WR Josh Imatorbhebhe, TE Luke Ford, WR Donny Navarro, DL Roderick Perry II,
• Seven of Illinois' 22 starters against Purdue have 20+ starts: OT Alex Palczewski (38th), OT Vederian Lowe (34rd), DB Nate Hobbs (32st), OG Kendrick Green (27th), LB Jake Hansen (24rd), DB Sydney Brown (22nd), DB Tony Adams (21st).
• Illinois captains: LB Jake Hansen, P Blake Hayes, CB Nate Hobbs, - other captians QB Brandon Peters and C Doug Kramer were out.
• Josh Imatorbhebhe and Daniel Imatorbhebhe played in the same game together for the first time since Dec. 29, 2017 for USC. The No. 8 Trojans lost 24-7 to No. 5 Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.
• Along with playing in the their first Illinois game, the brothers each recorded receptions with Josh Imatorbhebhe posting four receptions for 43 yards and Daniel Imatorbhebhe recording two receptions for 43 yards and one touchdown.
• In his first significant playing time as an Illini, sophomore QB Coran Taylor was 17-for-29 passing for 273 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for 32 yards.
• Junior TE Daniel Barker had a team-high five receptions for 74 yards.
• Junior WR Brian Higtower had a career-high four receptions for a team-high 97 yards and one touchdown.Â
• Senior LB Jake Hansen registered his ninth career forced fumble and fifth career fumble recovery. Hansen finished with 14 tackles - eight solo - and two tacklers for loss.
• Freshman DL Jer'zhan Newton recorded his first career forced fumble.
• Senior DL Owen Carney had career high three sacks and his first career forced fumble.
• Junior TE Luke Ford caught his first career reception at Illinois in the fourth quarter.
• Senior RT Alex Palczewski started for the 38th straight game.
• Senior LT Vederian Lowe started for the 28th straight game.
• Junior OL Kendrick Green started for the 29th straight game and his second career start at center.
• Illinois senior quarterback Brandon Peters and redshirt freshman tight end Griffin Moore were both sidelined for 21 days following positive test results Thursday for the COVID-19 virus. Per Big Ten Conference protocol, following recovery both players will be eligible to return for the Nov. 21 game at Nebraska.
QUOTES
Lovie Smith
Opening Statement…
"Football wise after we got to the game we didn't start the way we needed to. With Brandon Peters not playing and Matt Robinson and Isaiah Williams being in the rotation, it's hard playing the fourth person on the depth chart. But I thought Coran Taylor came in and did some good things and gave us a chance to win at the end. We still didn't make enough plays, the turnovers hurt us. The passing for Purdue, their touchdown passes continued to hurt us defensively. But the team I thought played hard from the start and we gave ourselves a chance to win but you have to make plays at the end to win football games and they made more plays than we did."
On Coran Taylor…
"When you're fourth on the depth chart you don't get a lot of plays during practice preparing for the opponent. But Coran has paid attention, he knows our offense, and I thought he did a great job considering the tough situation we were forced to be in. There were some other things we needed to do better but he gave us a chance to win."Â
On the Secondary's Performance…
"Well there are some great plays, at least one great play on their side. Them getting behind us, especially the longer 40-50 yard throws, those are the ones that are tough. The other plays they made were good plays for them, but we continue to get plagued from touchdown passes and it's something we need to clean up."
On the Offensive Line…
"The offensive line overall did a great job, but especially Alex Pihlstrom. Kendrick Green moved to center and that's tough, but for Alex to move into that position where he has not played much at all against that Purdue defensive line, just like Coran Taylor our guys were put in tough situations but I thought they stepped up and did a good job."Â
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OL Kendrick Green
On what it was like moving to center...
"We knew it was going to be hard but we did better than anyone expected. Coach always says we have to come out and come together so we were able to do that."
On Coran Taylor...
"He gave us a chance to win… A lot of guys counted him out and obviously he had some mistakes but I knew what he was capable of and he played really well."
On what it takes to get over the hump from the past two games...
"We got into enemy territory many times and we needed to score there, we crossed the 50 yard line too many times and didn't score. We need to execute better and if we leave points on the board we can't win. Defense played well and we didn't come through on offense."
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QB Coran Taylor
How do you think Coach Thorton got you ready for college ball?
"A lot of RPOs, running plays, roll outs etc."
Did you see the social media calls for you? What do you think of that?
"Everyone has the right to say what they want. It means a lot for me and my family, I know they are proud, I'm proud of myself. I have a lot to work on and move forward with."
How are you going to break down this game?
"Go home, take a shower, and watch film for the rest of the day."
What do you do when you watch film?
"When you watch yourself after the game, you watch the coverage, if you made the right read, the basics. If I can do better, can I do the little things you see on film better."
What are you going to work on in practice this week?
"Executing plays and getting my guys together to fight against Minnesota."
Do you think the dynamic of your playing pushes the offense?
"All of the plays played a factor in today's game."
Does your preparation change? What about starting next week?
"I attack weeks the same way. When I'm not in I take mental reps, that's just as important as physical reps. It would be really big, a big achievement for myself. To start here is even bigger and I know my family is happy."
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LB Jake Hansen
How did it feel to be back?
"I felt dialed in, fun game, tough outcome."
What did you think about the struggles and performance vs. last week, what did you bring?
"I think I bring a leadership role and calmness. Being out there and being a leader for our guys is a difference."
How much more were you hoping to get out of the defense?
"I'm not too worried about it, we have a couple things to clean up but we are still a strong team.
How do you feel like your team responded down 31-10?
"It shows our fight and a different Illinois team. We showed our passion and our fire. There are a lot of negatives after a loss but there are positives to take away too."
"We had a great response, Taylor shined and he really showed up today."
About Owen Carney, was that the type of production you have been waiting to see?
"He's lights out and people are starting to see it, and he's a great guy too."
Newton ,what have you seen from him earning his way on to the field?
"He's an unreal athlete, a great kid, a great player."
What have these last couple days been like for you with players out?
"Adversity, you never know when your last game is going to be, I'm happy to be able to play and we need to trust this process and push through the rest of the season. It's basically an injury, next guy up."
How do you feel about this all?
"Obviously a lot of frustration, there are definitely some positives. Really happy with the guys that stepped up, we just have to be a little bit better and figure things out."
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DL Jer'Zhan Newton
Is this what you were expecting?
"It definitely is, I was expecting to play, that's what Coach said would happen if I worked hard and that's what happened."
The forced fumble when Purdue was about to score, take my through that play?
"They blocked down and I shot the gap. I didn't even know I got the ball out, but I forced the fumble and I helped my team out to get to the next level."
Talk about that final drive, you guys had a chance to stop them, what was the defensive mentality?
"We just wanted to shut them down and we gave it all we had. Unfortunately they got the first down, it was a pretty good catch but we wish we could have done better."
