Ron Turner threw the entire playbook at Purdue. Well, just the offensive playbook.

Turner did everything he could to get the Illini on the scoreboard. He tried a reverse for the Illini’s first play. He tried a fake reverse on a kickoff, setting up the Illini’s first touchdown.

So it boggles the mind that the Illini defense let Purdue complete three-yard passes – uncontested – on numerous third downs.

The Boilermaker receivers took two steps, stopped, caught the football and fell for first downs, play after play. A few times the Boilermakers turned the simple route into a 15-yard gain.

Even if the Illini forced the Boilermakers into a third and long, Purdue quarterback Kyle Orton would run around in the pocket and manage to find an open receiver for yet another first down. Or he would connect with a receiver for a touchdown. No matter what the Illini did, it didn’t stop the Boilermakers from moving the ball down the field.

“I think we gave them a lot of plays,” said Illinois senior safety Morris Virgil. “They didn’t make a lot of plays.”

The cushion the secondary gives opponents is not something new. It’s been a problem for a while, even through two defensive coordinators. Is it a coincidence? Or is there a deficiency in the secondary that is trying to be covered up?

I don’t see how Illinois can let the Purdue receivers run to the first down marker in short-yardage situations, untouched.

Illinois needed this Big Ten win. Turner knew this. Why do you think the Illini came out with the razzle-dazzle plays to begin the game? Illinois pulled out all of the stops Saturday.

A blowout, and the Illini would once again be swallowed whole by the Big Ten. A blowout, and Turner would be that much closer to the unemployment line.

A win would have given the team a win against one of the best teams in the conference. After a win, there wouldn’t be much else the team couldn’t do this season.

“There is no moral victory here,” said Illinois senior quarterback Jon Beutjer after the game. “A loss is a loss.”

Illinois put a lot of effort into trying to figure out every possible way to beat Purdue. It seems the Illini just overlooked the cornerback cushion.

With the detail and attention paid to everything else, it’s hard to stomach the team forgetting to pressure the receivers.

Sure, the Illini made mistakes and plays did not go their way. Forget about the fumble on the first play. Forget about the blocked punt that led to a Purdue first down. Forget about Beutjer continually throwing four-yard passes on third and ten. Forget about the offense having to settle for field goals.

Those things did not lose the game. The lack of defensive stops did.

Purdue consistently converted third downs. The Illni shouldn’t have given the Boilermakers their first downs without a fight. They should’ve given themselves a chance to get a stop.

And guess what? When Illinois started pressuring the Boilermakers in the second half, Purdue only put up 14 points.

But it was too late.

Every Illini player used the word frustrating to describe how it felt to come up short in their upset bid.

Frustration is also a perfect description for seeing the same thing defeat Illinois Saturday after Saturday.

Bobby La Gesse is a senior in communications. He can be reached at [email protected].