WEST LAFAYETTE, Ill., Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Kurt Kittner threw two touchdown passes and Bobby Jackson and Christian Morton returned interceptions for scores Saturday as 18th-ranked Illinois won its fourth straight game with a 38-13 Big Ten Conference victory over No. 15 Purdue.
Coach Ron Turner's rebuilding efforts are starting to pay off for Illinois (7-1), which matched its best start since 1989, when it finished 10-2 and defeated Virginia in the Citrus Bowl.
Kittner completed 15-of-34 passes for 299 yards for Illinois, which is 5-1 in Big Ten Conference play for the first time since it captured a share of the conference title in 1990.
Purdue (5-2, 3-2) lost for the second time in three games after a 4-0 start.
Illinois committed six turnovers, including four interceptions by Kittner, and spotted the Boilermakers an early 13-0 lead before taking control.
Kittner threw a 47-yard TD pass to Brandon Lloyd with 1:28 left in the second quarter, cutting the lead to 13-10.Illinois went ahead to stay at 17-13 on a one-yard TD run by Antoineo Harris 6:21 into the third quarter
Purdue had a chance to go back in front after Illinois botched a punt deep in its own territory. But Jackson, a safety, intercepted a tipped pass from Brandon Hance and raced 83 yards for a score.
Kittner threw a 20-yard TD pass to Walter Young with 25 seconds left in the third quarter to make it 31-13.
Morton, a cornerback, stepped in front of a pass from Hance and went 62 yards for a score early in the fourth quarter.
Hance completed just 15-of-29 passes for 132 yards with one score and was picked off twice.
