Illinois actually matched Purdue on the ground - although a bit less consistent, they were also slightly more explosive (a 65 yard run always helps). Mikel LeShoure is establishing himself as the #1 running back, and the coaches recognize that. Unfortunately, it's difficult to focus on the run when Illinois always falls behind early. Meanwhile, Purdue established the run and QB Joey Elliott was quite effective when he did throw. Juice continued to struggle, taking four sacks and turning the ball over twice. He had some good plays, but continued to make crippling mistakes when under pressure. He had a near-interception in the first quarter where he forced a pass into double coverage rather than run or throw the ball away, and driving into Purdue territory with the score 7-7, he did the same thing again, and was that time rewarded with an actual interception.
So believe it or not, I actually like Ron Zook's idea to continue using two quarterbacks - Juice and Jacob Charest. The Eddie McGee experiment was short-lived but a failure, as McGee is a Juice clone through and through, right down to the horrifying passes into double coverage. Charest, on the other hand, looks like a more accurate passer, though he had one bad near-interception of his own. Some fans might want to see Charest play the entire game, but that would limit the Illinois offense, since Juice was fairly effective on designed rush plays (10 carries, 47 yards, 5 successes). So against Michigan, I would like to see Juice be used more for quarterback runs and Charest used more for pass plays. Then we can find out if Charest is really a more effective passer than Juice or if he is too inexperienced at this point. Illinois is only a 7.5 point underdog against Michigan and covered the spread for the first time all season against Purdue (by a half point) so they have a chance at the very least.
