WEST LAFAYETTE—Illinois entered Saturday’s game at Purdue ranked last in the Big Ten in rushing, averaging 114.6 yards in all games and only 67.2 yards during its first four conference games.But the Illini solved that problem for at least one week, getting 16 carries for 180 rushing yards and two touchdowns from Ke’Shawn Vaughn, 12 carries for 133 from Josh Ferguson – in his first game back from injury – and a total of 382 yards on the ground Saturday in a dominating 48-14 victory against Purdue.Wes Lunt threw three first-half touchdown passes, and Illinois (5-4, 2-3) snapped a three-game losing streak.The Illini came into this game with 917 total rushing yards and only 269 in their first four conference games. But they were playing a Purdue team that ranked last in rushing defense, allowing 183 rushing yards a game. ”You can tell the difference in our offense when Fergie is in there,” Illinois coach Bill Cubit said of the back who had been sidelined with a shoulder injury. ”It’s a little bit different of an offense when he is in there. Ke’Shawn played really well, too. We also got some big plays from Wes in the passing game.Josh never exceeds my expectations. My expectations for him are pretty high. On third downs, he just makes things happen. Today just validates a lot of things we always talk about. You can be at the bottom of the barrel one minute, and at the top the next.” Ferguson said he and Vaughn finally had a game together in which each could excel. ”We were just waiting on Vaughn to fix a few things, and he is starting to learn how to run in the Big Ten,” Ferguson said. ”We’re very happy with what he has done. For me, I just wanted to get back out there today with my teammates. The offensive line played well, our quarterback play was awesome and we just executed well as a team.” Illinois, which had scored 33 total points in consecutive losses to Iowa, Wisconsin and Penn State, drove 76, 58 and 72 yards for touchdowns during the opening 30 minutes, running 44 plays for 295 yards and 17 first downs before halftime. The Illini finished with 595 yards total offense. ”This feels great,” Lunt said. ”Purdue had an extra guy in the box all day, and for Ferguson and Vaughn to find windows like that was impressive. Having a running game helps me out a ton. Being able to run on first and second downs and move the chains was huge for us.” Purdue (2-7, 1-4), which defeated Illinois last season in Champaign and beat Nebraska this past Saturday, gained only 25 yards in the first quarter on homecoming and finished the opening half with 39 plays for 105 yards. Purdue finished with only 263 total yards.