For those college football fans that believe in the power of momentum, Saturday's Illinois-Purdue game provided an example of why clinging to such a theory means absolutely squat.
Illinois was coming off an embarrassing 39-point shutout loss against Penn State in which the Illini crossed midfield only four times. Purdue, meanwhile, secured a thrilling victory against Nebraska that marked the Boilermakers' first home win against a league opponent since 2012. Those results seemed to indicate the teams' game Saturday afternoon at Ross-Ade Stadium would be fairly competitive.
Not. Even. Close.
Illinois rolled past Purdue, 48-14, despite the fact both teams entered the day with the same conference record.