CHAMPAIGN—Purdue defeated Illinois 38-27 in a battle of Big Ten bottom-feeders at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
The defeat leaves third-year Illini coach Tim Beckman in an extremely precarious position.
Illinois (3-3, 0-2) is a virtual lock to be an underdog the rest of this season. And there has been widespread speculation that the Illini need to win at least six games to assure Beckman will keep his job.
After losing to the struggling Boilermakers, that shapes up as a monumental task.
It was the first conference victory for the Boilermakers second-year coach Darrell Hazell. Purdue (3-3, 1-1) had lost nine straight Big Ten games.
