The Big Ten announced Saturday night that Purdue's visit to Illinois on November 12 would carry a Noon ET/11:00 AM CT kickoff in Champaign. The game will be on ESPN2. Both teams are coming in off of losses when they each had a chance to make a statement in the Big Ten West race. Purdue lost 24-3 at home to Iowa and Illinois was upset at home by Michigan State 23-15. The Illini still lead the Big Ten West at 4-2 in the conference, while Purdue is in a logjam of teams in second place at 3-3 along with Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

The Boilermakers do still have a chance at winning the division, but they pretty much have to win the final three games of the year. Because of tiebreakers due to losses to Wisconsin and Iowa in consecutive games, the Boilermakers also need some help down the road. Wisconsin and Iowa play each other on Saturday, and it would benefit Purdue greatly for the winner of that contest to lose to Minnesota, as both still have to play the Gophers.