By Jason Strait
The Associated Press

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A big lead was gone and so was the crowd's patience with Illinois and quarterback Dustin Ward.

Fans booed loudly when the Champaign-native ran onto the field after the Illini blew a 24-point lead to trail by a touchdown.

Two scores in their final two possessions and Ward ran off the field with a 38-31 overtime win over Purdue on Saturday.

"We were laughing about it in the huddle," Ward said. "There are critics and there are fans and you just have to roll with it. We did a good job of coming back and fighting."

Making his first start since the second game of the season, Ward threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Greg Lewis in overtime to give Illinois (2-5, 1-2 Big Ten) the win.

Ward's TD pass came after Illinois tied the score at 31 on Antoineo Harris' run from a yard out on fourth-and-goal with 7 seconds left to play. The 80-yard drive was the longest of the half for the Illini and their first points since the first half.

Purdue (3-4, 1-2) got the ball back with 3 seconds left in regulation and came within inches of a last-second comeback.

Quarterback Kyle Orton, benched earlier in the game, completed a desperation heave with no time on the clock, but John Standeford caught the pass less than a yard short of the end zone.

He didn't see it that way.

"I looked down and I saw the orange (end zone). I do not know what the refs saw," said Standeford, who had 11 catches for 161 yards.

After Lewis scored for Illinois in overtime, quarterback Brandon Kirsch's pass into the end zone on fourth down was well short of his receiver and Illinois players streamed onto the field.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Illinois and kept alive the hope, even if it's slim, of a winning season.

"Hell no it's not too late. We've got five games left and we're looking forward to the next one," Illinois coach Ron Turner said.

For the second straight week, Kirsch, a freshman, rallied the Boilermakers only to fall just short in the end.

Kirsch, who was 14-of-22 for 161 yards, took over for Orton after the sophomore threw interceptions on two straight possessions in the first half and later fumbled at his own 15.

Kirsch threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to running back Brandon Jones with about 5 minutes to go to put the Boilermakers up by 7 before Harris tied the game.

Purdue coach Joe Tiller said he wouldn't make a decision on who would start at quarterback until next week. He said he's more concerned with his defense that gave up two late touchdowns.

"On the last Illinois drive and on their overtime possession, someone has to step up and make a play," he said.

Jones, who got the bulk of the carries in the second half, finished with 126 yards rushing and one touchdown. He had just 86 yards on 24 carries entering the game.

Illinois scored on the opening play of the game when Eugene Wilson caught the kickoff deep in the end zone, ran it to the 10-yard line and handed off to Williams on a reverse. The freshman ran it up the right sideline and outlasted the lone Purdue pursuer for the touchdown.

After a 24-yard field goal by Peter Christofilakos, Harris had a 47-yard touchdown run to give Illinois a 17-0 lead. The senior also had an 82-yard run - the longest for Illinois since Ray Nitschke's 85-yarder in 1957.

Harris finished with 195 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Ward, who hadn't started since the second game of the season, also had an 11-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Lloyd.

Lloyd, who had 10 catches for 161 yards and two touchdowns, moved into second on Illinois' all-time receiving yardage list. It was his 12th 100-yard receiving game.

His only complaint after the game were those boos.

"Our fan support was excellent today, except for the people booing us. If they want to boo, they can stay home," he said.