First Look: Illinois
Last year's highlights....
Here's an early look at Purdue's second opponent in 2020, the Illini Fighting Illini:
Time: Saturday, Noon ET, 11 a.m. local time CT
Location: Memorial Stadium
Surface: Natural Grass
2020 Schedule/records: Illinois (0-1 overall, 0-1 Big Ten); Purdue (1-0; 1-0)
Series notes: Series notes: Thanks to a 24-6 win in a rain-soaked Ross-Ade Stadium last season, Illinois now leads the all time series 45-44-6). Purdue has won six of the last nine meetings and three in a row. Jeff Brohm is 2-1 versus Illinois coach Lovie Smith, having also won 29-10 in 2017 in West Lafayette and 46-7 last year in Champaign in 2018. The Boilermakers have won four in a row in Champaign. While the Purdue-Illinois series in recent years has been dominated by the road team, Illinois has not lost a home opener since 1997 when they went winless under first -year coach Ron Turner.
TV: BTN
Early line: Purdue -5.5 after opening Purdue -4
Can Purdue start 2-0 in Big Ten for first time in 10 years?
Purdue needs to built upon Saturday's mild upset win over Iowa. The Boilermakers haven't been 2-0 in Big Ten play since Danny Hope's second season, and have a golden opportunity to break that streak on Saturday in Champaign. Coach Jeff Brohm, who was an assistant at Illinois the last time the Illini beat Purdue in Memorial Stadium (2010), is expected to return to the sidelines after a one-game hiatus due to testing positive for COVID-19 back on Oct. 18.
Illinois quarterback Brandon Peters a running threat?
In last year's deluge in Ross-Ade, a low point in the Jeff Brohm Era, Illinois quarterback Brandon Peters threw the ball just six times. In the 2020 season opening loss this past Friday night at Wisconsin, Peters completed just 8-of-19 passes for 87 yards, but surprised by netting 75 yards rushing. Peters, the Avon, Indiana native, had three long gains on read options.
Against Wisconsin, running backs Mike Epstein, Chase Brown, Jakari Norwood, and Reggie Love combined for just 47 yards on the ground. Dre Brown and Reggie Corbin are gone and that duo combined for 178 yards against the Boilermakers last year.
Is Illinois back in the depths of despair under coach Lovie Smith?
After a 38-point season opening loss, doubt about the direction of the Illinois program has crept back in to the picture. Smith is just 15-35 at Illinois in his fifth season, and despite getting the Illini to the Redbox Bowl game last season, sustaining that momentum may prove difficult. His teams are just 8-29 in league play during that period, with half of those wins coming in last year's fourth place West Division finish.
Illinois will be trying to replace defensive tackles Jamal Milan and Tymir Oliver, linebacker Dele Harding and safety Stanley Green who exhausted their eligibility.
The Illini also lost both defensive ends from last year. Oluwole Betiku Jr., who was second in the Big Ten with nine sacks in 10 games, bypassed his final year of eligibility to enter the NFL draft and wasn’t selected. And Ayo Shogbonyo, who had 9½ tackles for a loss, elected to step away from football.
Brohm on Illinois week
"Illinois beat us bad last year, they embarrassed us, they outplayed us, they out-coached us.
"They are talented, they are physical and they play downhill and we expect them to be ready for us. They had a good year last year and we know they want to build from that.
"We have to be ready to play, or we will experience the same result. They flat-out kicked our tail last year.
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