Ten observations from Purdue's 13-9 win vs. Illinois

Here is what has us talking after the Purdue win vs. Illinois made the Boilermakers 3-1 in September for the first time since 2012.

1. Jeff Brohm made the right call when he replaced Jack Plummer with Aidan O'Connell late in the third quarter and the offense floundering in a 6-6 game.

The fifth-year senior, who came on late last week at Notre Dame, sparked the offense. But he was hurt by two interceptions, one that occurred in the end zone with the Boilermakers threatening to take the lead with a touchdown. O'Connell also calmly led Purdue to the winning TD, capped by a 14-yard scoring toss to T.J. Sheffield on a drive that began at the Boiler six-yard line and took 10 plays.

"We just felt because we became one-dimensional, Aidan has played for us," said Brohm. "We think he's our most accurate passer. That's no disservice to Jack. Jack's a really good quarterback. Aidan is an accurate football thrower. And that's kind of what his strength is ...

"He's poised. He played to the end and he found us a way to win."

O'Connell finished 12-of-19 passing for 182 yards with a touchdown and two picks.

Will O'Connell be the starting quarterback next week? Stay tuned.

2. The defense played another solid game, but it slowly wore down in the second half.

Illini running back Josh McCray rushed 24 times for 156 yards, as the Boilermaker defenders struggled to bring down the 240-pound freshman back.

But when Purdue had to make one more stop on defense after taking the lead late in the fourth quarter, the Boilermaker D delivered. Illinois had just 275 total yards and never scored a TD.

"We have a lot of defensive linemen," said Brohm, whose unit didn't allow a TD for the second time in three weeks. "It has helped our defense function better. We have a lot of linebackers, and even though maybe not a lot of them play, we have depth there. We're a little short in the secondary. But we have a big group of guys that have played a lot of football.

"Sometimes when you play a lot of football and you haven't won like you'd like to, it makes you hungry, makes you want to go prove yourself. And for four games, those guys have proved themselves."

3. Not the best day for Jack Plummer. He hit 10 of his first 13 passes for 107 yards, then went 1 for 6 for 22 in the second quarter. The junior continued to struggle and was replaced by Aidan O'Connell. Plummer finished 12-of-21 for 95 yards.

"Well, I like both of our quarterbacks," said Brohm. "I wish we could develop a little more balance. I think it would help Jack play more efficient. When we have some simple throws and completions, we have to hit them. It's valuable and he was a little off. ... he's still a very good football player, and we liked him. ... "

4. Purdue played without star junior receiver David Bell, who remained in concussion protocol after taking a big hit last week at Notre Dame.

The Boilermakers also were without Mershawn Rice, who hurt his foot at Notre Dame. Purdue's aerial attack struggled to generate yards consistently during a day when the rushing attack struggled. The final numbers look solid: 277 yards on 24-of-40 passing

"I never ruled him out," said Brohm. "Because I would never do that. But, you know, they go through concussion protocol and it's out of our hands. So, it's up to the trainers and the doctors, and we're always hopeful he can get out there and play again. At the same time, we want to do what's best for David. He's got a bright future.

"He made a lot of progress, and he got close. Just didn't turn the corner. To come back in one game is tough."

5. With David Bell out, Purdue needed a wideout to step up. And a few did.

Redshirt freshman Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen did just that. He made three grabs for 77 yards, including a beautiful 43-yard reception--which was the first of his career. Yaseen underwent knee surgery last offseason and has been slow to round into form. It looks like that is happening for a wideout who made a late recruiting flip from Northwestern to Purdue.

"We had Abdur step up and make big catches," said Brohm. "He's coming off a knee injury that, you know what, it takes a while to get healed and feel comfortable. We've kind of developed a pattern of one practice on for him and one practice off to take care of his knee because it's probably still not 100 percent."

Milton Wright also showed good hands after being plagued with some key drops earlier this season. He had seven catches for 88 yards, both team highs.

"Well, I was proud of Milton," said Brohm. "He's a guy that's played second fiddle to David (Bell) for a while, played second fiddle to Rondale (Moore). But he works his tail off every single practice and every single day and he's never complained one time."

And TJ Sheffield provided a big lift with a 14-yard touchdown catch late in the game to give Purdue a 13-9 lead. He had four catches for 44 yards.

"TJ Sheffield played hard and got some more snaps," said Brohm. "Made a tough catch on a tightly contested slant, got in the end zone. So I was happy for him."

Take a bow, fellas.

6. For the second game in a row, the offense struggled.

The attack had just 129 yards in the first half. Purdue kicked field goals on its first two possessions and then punted on its next five drives followed by two interceptions (one in the end zone) before scoring the winning TD with 3:42 left in the game.

The offense struggled to generate big plays. The long pass was 43 yards, with a 27-yarder, too. The long run? Only nine yards.

This was an Illinois defense that entered the game last in the Big Ten in total (481.5 ypg) and scoring defense (30.3 ppg).

Regardless, the offense delivered when it needed to, which is what matters.

7. Purdue played without running back King Doerue, who missed the game. No. 1 back Zander Horvath already was out 4-6 weeks with a broken leg. That left the offense with walk-on Dylan Downing and true freshman Ja'Quez Cross as the top running options. The duo did a solid job, but the rush game still had issues gaining traction.

"(Doerue has) got some medical condition I really can't elaborate on that," said Brohm. "I'm not for sure how long he will be out, unfortunately. He's been fighting through it. Unfortunately, some things flared up and he was not able to go at all."

Purdue had just 38 yards on 26 carries (1.5 ypc).

"You know, we got a lot of work to do," Brohm said about his rushing attack.

8. The injury bug continues to bite this team.

Tight end Payne Durham took a hard hit that dislodged his helmet in the first half and was helped off the field. And defensive tackle Branson Deen was shaken up while helping with a sack late in the first half, needing to be assisted off the field. Leo DaMarcus Mitchell also was hurt.

"Payne, I'm not for sure (what happened)," said Brohm. "I am sure he probably got nicked in the head. If I told you, I would be guessing right now. So, I don't have the full update on him. Branson obviously didn't finish the game, was in street clothes. You know what, I probably will know more by Monday if they'll have a chance to be available next week."

9. Jack Ansell seems to have settled his punting issues.

A week after struggling at Notre Dame and seeing Brendan Cropsey take some turns, Ansell handled all of the punting today. He averaged 45.8 yards on five punts.

10. This was a game that Purdue needed to win. And, it did.

It wasn't pretty. Doesn't matter. It's a victory.

Now what? Minnesota visits next weekend coming off an upset loss at home to Bowling Green when it was a 30-point favorite. Gophers coach P.J. Fleck is 3-1 vs. Jeff Brohm, winning the last three meetings. No one will forget last year's game in the Twin Cities.

The Boilermakers still have a shot to start 4-1 as they make a push for bowl eligibility. Purdue needs all the wins it can before an off week after the visit from the Gophers, because the final seven games are filled with challenges.

"That was a big win for us," said Brohm. "It was hard-fought. As you guys know, we needed to win to get this Big Ten season started off right."

Purdue did just that.

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