Purdue and Illinois is the most competitive series in Big Ten history. At least if you measure it by the fact that the teams have split the 96 games to date with 45 wins each and six ties.

Yes, Purdue leads 37-30-2 in games played for The Cannon, which date back to 1943. But it has been hard for one team to get separation from the other.

Yet, there aren't really many classic games played between the schools, especially in the past 20 years or so. During that period, only five games have been decided by a touchdown or less, and two of those have been in the last two meetings. Yet, even those games didn't feel like donnybrooks.

The last three games have been decided by 39 points (a Purdue win in 2018), 18 points (a 24-6 Illini win in the rain at Ross-Ade in '19) and seven points on Halloween last year. In that contest, Purdue built a 31-10 lead after three quarters but had to fight off a late Illinois rally.

Here are some of my most memorable games over the past 55 years of watching the two teams battle.

In this one, the Boilermakers seemed to be suffering a hangover after getting thumped the week before at No. 2 Michigan State. All-Americna quarterback Bob Griese threw a career-high five interceptions, including a pick-six that allowed the visiting Illini to pull to a 21-10 lead in the fourth quarter.

But like all the legends seem to do, Griese rallied his team in the fourth quarter with two scores, including a last-minute pass to Jim Finley that sealed the deal. The rest is history, as Purdue became the Rose Bowl representative of the Big Ten and headed to Pasadena a couple months later.

Old-time Purdue fans will never forget the name Dan Beaver.

The Illini field-goal kicker became the first Big Ten player in the modern era to hit five field goals in a game in a record that remains to this day (though it has been tied by 14 others).

What was memorable from a Purdue perspective is that the Boilermakers, under first-year coach Alex Agase, looked as if they were going to get out of Champaign with the win. But the referees had other plans, as defensive back and punt returner Fred Cooper fumbled an Illini punt in the game's closing minutes, giving the Illini and Beaver a chance to win the game with 24 seconds left on a 32-yard field goal.

The rub was that Cooper was clearly interfered with (if you have Gold and Black glasses, it was plain as day) when trying to catch the punt, but the referees' whistle stayed silent and the Boilermakers went home a loser.

In a situation somewhat similar to tomorrow's matchup, Purdue was looking to end a five-game losing streak to open the '75 season. Yet, it found itself in the same situation it was in '73, with Beaver poised to beat Purdue at the buzzer.

With 27 seconds remaining, Beaver lined up for a 43-yard field goal into a stiff wind. Still, the kicker had plenty of leg to make it, as he had nailed a 57-yarder earlier in the game.

But, in a play that is no longer legal, defensive lineman Roger Ruwe jumped on the back of 6-7 defensive tackle Ken Novak, timing the leap perfectly and blocking Beaver's kick.

In a passing dual between two future NFL quarterbacks, Purdue's Jim Everett had a little more success than Illinois' Jack Trudeau in this six-point win for the Boilers.

It wasn't for lack of trying, as Trudeau launched a Purdue opponent record 66 pass attempts, a mark that lasted until 2012 when Marshall's Rakeem Cato threw two more times.

Trudeau amassed 413 yards, but Everett completed 27-of-47 passes for 464 yards and four touchdowns. It was one of Everett's best days as a Boilermaker.

Illinois made the game close with a fourth-quarter touchdown, but Purdue was in control most of the way. Still, the game ended with Trudeau slinging it down the field and the Boilermaker defense having to make a play.

This victory might have been the pinnacle of the Jim Colletto Era, as the Boilermakers went on the road and defeated a No. 24-ranked (Coaches' Poll) Illinois team with the nation's top defense.

Purdue, a 16-point underdog, was able to move the ball enough (351 yards) and make a big play at crunch time. And, the game ended with Illini tight end Kent Dilger being tackled by Purdue DB John Jackson at the goal line as time expired.

The victory snapped an eight-game conference losing streak, as the Boilermakers had finished winless in the league the year before. It also gave Purdue its first win at Memorial Stadium since 1980.

The Boilermakers nearly posted their greatest comeback in school history by rallying from a 24-0 first-half deficit by scoring 31 unanswered points. In fact, they came three seconds away from getting it done in Champaign, but the Illini knotted it up to send the game into overtime where they won it.

Of course, the final three seconds were crazy, as it appeared that All Big-Ten receiver John Standeford had caught a "Hail Mary" pass from Kyle Orton (and appeared to have crossed the goal line) but was ruled down at the one-yard line to force the overtime.

It was one of many heart-wrenching losses in 2002 (Ohio State, Iowa, Wake Forest, Notre Dame were the others) as the Boilermakers finished the season 7-6 but could have easily been 10-3. Remember, Ohio State and Iowa were both undefeated in the regular season, and could have, if not should have, been beaten by coach Joe Tiller's team. Of course, the Buckeyes went on to win the national title.

I put these games on the list because they were two games with, in essence, lame duck coaches. In 2012, Danny Hope's team kept its bowl hopes alive with a 20-17 win, the second leg in the Boilermakers three-game run to the postseason. It was a foregone conclusion that Hope's job at Purdue was going to end soon, and it did eight days later.

In 2016, the Boilermakers, under fourth-year coach Darrell Hazell, beat Illinois in overtime. Hazell was fired the next week. The Boilermaker boss had success in Memorial Stadium, winning both of his games there. The problem was, the Illini (and Nebraska) were the only league teams he could defeat in four years.

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