Dicken leads Boilermakers to sixth straight win

Billy Dicken threw a pair of touchdown passes to Brian Alford and ran for another score in a huge first half as 23rd-ranked Purdue remained unbeaten in the Big Ten Conference with a 48-3 victory over winless Illinois.

Linebacker Mike Rose returned a fumble 26 yards for a score for the Boilermakers (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten), who kept pace with Michigan and idle Penn State in the race for the Rose Bowl. Purdue has won six in a row for the first time since 1980 and is off to its best start since beginning 7-1 in 1978.

There was not much fight in the Fighting Illini (0-7, 0-4), who have lost 13 straight games, the longest current losing streak in Division I-A and the second-longest in school history. They have been held to a touchdown or less in three straight games.