Gold and Black Radio: Purdue-Illinois preview

The staff of GoldandBlack.com and host Derek Schultz break down Saturday’s battle for the Cannon Trophy when Purdue faces Illinois in Champaign. 

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Purdue at Illinois, from a matchup perspective.

Date/Time: Saturday, October 12, 3:30 p.m. E.T.

Location: Memorial Stadium

Surface: FieldTurf

Capacity: 60,670 (tickets)

2024 schedules/records: Purdue 1-4 (0-2 Big Ten), Illinois 4-1 (1-1 Big Ten)

Series notes: The Purdue Cannon will be up for grabs on Saturday as Purdue hopes to maintain possession for the fifth straight year. The recent series history strongly favors the Boilermakers, who hold a 15-4 edge in the series dating back to 2003. In the successful run, the all-time series flipped to favor Purdue, which now leads 48-45-6. The last Purdue loss in Champaign came in 2010, as Purdue took the ride back on I-74 with the Cannon in its possession each of the last six times.

TV: FS1 (PxP Eric Collins, Analyst Spencer Tillman)

Radio: Purdue Sports Properties (PxP Tim Newton, Analyst Mark Herrmann, Sidelines Kelly Kitchel)The video player is currently playing an ad. You can skip the ad in 5 sec with a mouse or keyboard

Line: Illinois -23, O/U 48.5

Weather: Early forecast shows a high of 85 degrees with significant breeze

Purdue Roster | Purdue Game Notes

Illinois Roster | Illinois Game Notes

Illinois running game versus Purdue against the run

When Illinois won eight games in 2022, it did so on the back of a powerful rushing attack. While the Fighting Illini look destined for a strong record in 2024, they’re doing so without that same rushing strength. Illinois ranks 14th in the conference, averaging just 132 rushing yards per game. Though sack yards skew the numbers slightly, Illini ballcarriers average less than four yards per carry.

Illinois spreads carries throughout the running back room. Kaden Feagin takes the lead, averaging a team-best 61 yards per game on roughly 13 carries, and he’s found the end zone three times. Veteran Josh McCray will see touches, as will youngsters Ca’Lil Valentine and Aidan Laugery, both of whom average north of five yards per carry. Purdue will need to keep an eye on quarterback Luke Altmyer, too, who can improvise and extend plays with his legs.

Purdue’s run defense continues to struggle, allowing a whopping 239 yards per game on the ground. The Boilermakers rank 131st out of the 133 FBS teams in run defense, and that statistic gets a boost from the performance against Indiana State. Without the performance against an FCS foe? Purdue’s allowing north of 270 yards on the ground against FBS competition. Opponents average 5.5 yards per carry, and Purdue continues to struggle to stop runs on the edges. Jet sweeps and off tackles continue to haunt the Purdue defense, which doesn’t force opponents into second-and-third-and-long situations. The absence of Mo Omonode didn’t help Purdue last week, nor did the injury of Jeffrey M’ba in the second half. Both statuses will need monitoring ahead of this weekend.

Illinois passing game versus Purdue against the pass

Through five games, Illinois couldn’t ask for a better start from Altmyer. The veteran Ole Miss transfer is completing 70% of his passes for 209 yards per game with 11 touchdowns to just one interception. He plays a heady style of quarterback, not putting the ball in danger and taking what the defense gives him. At over eight yards per attempt, he’s efficiently moving the ball downfield for the Fighting Illini.

Altmyer works with two high-level receivers in Illinois veteran Pat Bryant and transfer addition Zakhari Franklin. Bryant, who led the team with seven touchdown catches last season, looks primed to shatter his previous bests at Illinois. He’s averaging nearly 70 receiving yards per game and has reached the end zone 15 times in the blue and orange. Meanwhile, Franklin made a name for himself wearing the blue and orange of UTSA, where he earned first-team All-Conference USA honors twice. He played in just four games at Ole Miss a season ago before transferring to Illinois, where he’s made an immediate impact. The combination of Bryant and Franklin through five games: 47 catches for 634 yards. The next leading receiver after those two? Just eight catches on the year.

Purdue’s first three opponents didn’t challenge the secondary much, but Nebraska and Wisconsin threw the ball against the Boilermakers. After Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola turned in a nice performance, Wisconsin’s Braedyn Locke enjoyed a career day. A career 50% passer, Locke threw for 359 yards on Purdue, finding holes in zone defense and attacking Purdue’s weaknesses in man-to-man coverage.

The lack of a pass rush adds to the struggles, as the Boilermakers sit with just nine sacks through five games. Purdue’s secondary often breaks down without pressure on the passer, allowing big plays for opponents. The Boilermakers recently turned to more zone coverage, but it’s not delivered positive results. In Madison, the Badgers scored on 52-yard and 69-yard touchdown strikes. At least one came against Purdue’s zone coverage. The departure of Markevious Brown from the team adds a void to overcome on the back end, but Purdue did finally force a turnover last week when Kyndrich Breedlove picked off a pair of passes.