WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Illinois fell to Purdue, 44-19, at Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Isaiah Williams caught a team-high six passes for 113 yards, his seventh game with at least 100 receiving yards in his career.Â
Josh McCray tallied his second rushing touchdown of the season, while Kaden Feagin recorded a career-most 85 yards on 11 carries, both of which were also team-high marks.
Pat Bryant reeled in his third touchdown of the year, a 10-yard reception in the fourth quarter.
Dylan Rosiek forced his second fumble of the season, which set up the Fighting Illini's touchdown in the second quarter.
Caleb Griffin made his two field-goal attempts, including a career-long 53-yard kick at the end of the first half.
The Orange and Blue return to Memorial Stadium for a showdown with Nebraska on Friday night. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. CT on FS1.
NEXT HOME GAME
PRESS CONFERENCE
NOTES
- Three Illinois true freshmen - Â Jaheim Clarke, Malik Elzy, Mac Resetich - played in their fifth games, going over the four-game redshirt limit.
- Junior WR Isaiah Williams recorded 6 catches for 113 yards.
- It marked Williams' seventh-career 100-yard game.
- Williams now has 1,695 career receiving yards, moving past Shawn Wax (1,614 from 1987-90) into 10th in the Illini record book, 109 yards behind No. 9 Malik Turner (1,804 from 2014-17).
- He has at least one catch in 30 consecutive games since switching from QB to WR and has recorded at least three receptions in 19 consecutive games and 5+ catches in six straight contests.
- Caleb Griffin hit two field goals on the day, including a career-long 53-yarder in the second quarter which:
- Tied for 6th-longest overall in program history.
- Marked the longest in a road game in program history.
- Is the third-longest in the series vs. Purdue behind Dan Beaver's 57-yarder on Oct. 18, 1975, and Taylor Zalewski's 54-yarder on Nov. 17, 2012.
- Freshman RB Kaden Feagin, who entered the game with 48 yards through his first three collegiate games, nearly tripled his season output with a team-leading 85 yards on the ground.
- Redshirt freshman LB James Kreutz recorded the first sack of his career in the third quarter.
- Illinois snapped Purdue's streak of nine straight games with an interception, which was the longest active streak in the nation.
QUOTES
Opening statement:
"Obviously, very disappointed, especially in the second half. Coming into it, I knew it was going to be a four-quarter game. I thought our guys persevered through the first half. Obviously, to give up the strip-sack touchdown and come in the locker room, 16-13, knowing that we missed on a touchdown and the defense held their own to get into those three field-goal opportunities, I felt really good about it.
"The tale of the game was probably third downs. We were invisible on offense, and they were pretty successful on defense. We have to make plays when those opportunities come. I know there's a wide-open touchdown pass early on where we overthrew Henry Boyer in the first series. Coming out of a couple of games this year, on the first series we've moved the ball, did some things, but we didn't come away with points.
"We did convert that one fourth down, but I just felt we wanted to take points there at the end of the first drive which did get us on the board. I felt good with where we were at, and they had the strip sack, which put them ahead, and then battled back. Bottom line, you have to make plays in this league. As coaches, we just have to do so much better.
"Obviously, we have a short week. We don't have a lot of time. We are a little bit banged up. Our guys have to get healthy. We have to overcome."
On what the offense needs to focus on moving forward:
"It takes all 11. There might be plays where the o line does a great job, but we also need the receivers to do a good job, the running backs and quarterback to do a good job. It takes all 11.Â
"We know we can do it because we have times where one group might do it or another group might do it, but we need all 11 to do it at one time, and we need to do it consistently. The biggest thing right now is everybody getting on the same page and being able to consistently do your job every time."
On learning from the loss and the team's approach this week:
"Starting tomorrow, we're going to do a great job getting everything back on track, letting everybody know we have a big season ahead of us. It's tough when you're hearing the same thing over and over. We had this same talk two weeks ago. That's the tough part, when you're hearing it over and over again.Â
"The biggest thing is we just have to figure it out. We're going to be good. The leaders, the coaches, when tomorrow comes, we're going to watch the film and get better from it because that's all we can do. We'll then go into practice looking to get better. One of the biggest things Coach B said after the game was, 'These next five days, we have to make the most progress of any team in the country.' That starts with practice."
On establishing an identity on offense:
"We have to be a team that can run the ball effectively on first down and stay ahead of the sticks. I think we are a power-run team. We have physical running backs. Hopefully we can get (Kaden Feagin) in the game some more, and just start winning some games."
On the focus inside Smith Center this week:
"We definitely have to have some uncomfortable conversations. I think everyone has to look in the mirror as a team, but individually as well. Look in the mirror and ask yourself if you gave your all today, and if you didn't, something has to turn around."
On the team's mindset moving forward:
"Everybody is ready to turn the page and get better. There's a lot we have to build on. They did enough to end up getting the win, and we didn't. We have to come back in tomorrow and get right back to work."
On the keys to the team putting the loss behind them ahead of a shortened game week:
"I think it's getting in tomorrow, watching the film, getting the corrections. As far as adjusting off of it, it's about getting your body back ready. That's really it."
On his immediate thoughts after the game:
"We just hate to lose. We go out with the intention to win. We put in the work all week to win, but it just didn't come out in our favor this week."
On what the team has to do to regroup this week:
"Going into this week, we're just taking it one game at a time, grinding, putting our heads down, and keep moving forward. That's all we can do."
