Illinois Travels to Purdue for First Big Ten Road Game

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois will be on the road in Big Ten play for the first time this season when the Fighting Illini travel to West Lafayette to take on Purdue on Saturday. The game is scheduled to kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT on Peacock.

The matchup will be the first between Illinois head coach Bret Bielema and former Illini defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, who is now the head coach at Purdue. After leading the Illinois defense for two seasons, Walters moved to West Lafayette in December 2022 and hired four former Illini staffers at Purdue as full-time assistant coaches for the Boilermakers. 

Saturday's game will be Illinois' first on Peacock, NBC's streaming platform. Fans will need to purchase a Peacock subscription to watch the game, which is available starting at $5.99 per month. For more information on Big Ten football on Peacock and to purchase a subscription, visit PeacockTV.com. Peacock offers a student rate of $1.99/month and an alumni rate of $39.99/year.

The Busey Bank Illini Sports Network has the radio call with Brian Barnhart, Martin O'Donnell, and Michael Martin.

Press Conference

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema will hold his weekly press conference on Monday at 1 p.m. CT live at FightingIllini.com/watch.

Notes

The Law Firm of Newton and Randolph
• Defensive tackles Jer'Zhan "Johnny" Newton and Keith Randolph Jr., who go by the nickname "The Law Firm," are one of the top defensive tackle duos in the nation over the last two seasons
• Newton is tied for third in the nation in QB pressures among DTs with 15, according to PFF.
• Newton had seven pressures against #7 Penn State in Illinois' Big Ten opener, the second-most by a Power-5 defensive tackle in a game this season. Newton was the highest-rated Power-5 defensive tackle in the nation during Week 3 vs. Penn State (minimum 30 snaps), according to PFF.
• Randolph is tied for the national lead in tackles (27) among defensive linemen, including both interior and edge rushers. He has four more tackles than any other Power-5 defensive tackle.
• Among defensive linemen (both interior and edge), Newton is tied for third in the nation in PFF's defensive stops statistic with 13.

#1 Among Nation's Most Reliable
• Isaiah Williams leads the Big Ten in receptions (24) and ranks second in receiving yards (333), only three yards behind Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr. Saturday's game features the two top pass-catchers in the conference, as Purdue's Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen ranks second in the Big Ten in receptions (22). 
• Williams has at least one catch in all 29 games since he switched from QB prior to the start of the 2021 season, which is the second-longest active streak in the Big Ten behind Penn State's Dante Cephas (31) and tied for the 12th-longest active streak in the nation.
• Williams has at least three catches in 18 straight games.
• Williams has 17 first-down receptions this season, tied for the most in the Big Ten with Purdue's Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen. The 17 first-down receptions ranks tied for the ninth-most in the nation. Six of Williams' eight receptions last week against Florida Atlantic went for first downs.

Tobe's Huge Game against FAU
• Playing in his first significant playing time against Florida Atlantic, corner Zachary Tobe was the highest graded true freshman defender in the nation during Week 4 (87.0), according to PFF.
• Tobe allowed only one reception for four yards on 53 snaps (37 coverage snaps) and six targets.
• Tobe totaled three pass breakups, whic tied for the second-most by a Big Ten player this season and tied for the most in the Big Ten during Week 4 along with fellow true freshman teammate Saboor Kareem.
• Tobe was the highest graded freshman in the Big Ten (all positions) during Week 4 (87.0), according to PFF.
• Tobe was the No. 22 rated defender in the nation during Week 4 and the No. 6 rated cornerback, according to PFF.
• Tobe's 88.3 coverage grade by PFF was No. 6 in the nation among cornerbacks and No. 2 among Big Ten corners during Week 4, behind only Michigan All-Big Ten selection Mike Sainristil.

The Illinois-Purdue Series
• Purdue leads the traditional trophy series by a 41-30-2 mark dating back to 1943, while the overall series is 47-45-6 in Purdue's favor.
• Saturday marks the 99th meeting between the Fighting Illini and the Boilermakers.
• Illinois dropped a 31-24 matchup to Purdue in Champaign last year, that proved to be the difference in the Boilermakers earning a trip to Indianpolis for the Big Ten Championship Game. The game was tied 21-21 going into the fourth quarter before Purdue scored 10 fourth-quarter points. Chase Brown rushed for 98 yards, snapping his 100-yard game streak at 10 straight.
• In Illinois' last trip to West Lafayette in 2021, Purdue beat Illinois 13-9 in a defensive battle. Josh McCray led Illinois with 156 rushing yards while Chase Brown was sidelined. 
• The away team has won eight of the last 11 meetings between the two teams.
• Illinois rushed for a season-high 242 yards in 2019 when they won 24-6 on a rain-soaked field at Ross-Ade Stadium, the Illini's last win in the series. It was the second game of what ended up being a four-game winning streak that propelled Illinois to bowl eligibility in 2019. 
• Mike Dudek set Illinois' freshman single-game receiving yards of 200 against Purdue 10/4/2014.
• David Williams set Illinois' single-game receptions record of 16 against Purdue 10/12/1985.
• Dan Beaver made the longest field goal in Illinois history (57 yards) against Purdue 10/18/1975. 
• Illinois' most receiving yards vs. Purdue: 200 Mike Dudek 10/4/2014, 169 Steve Hull 11/23/2013
• Illinois' most rushing yards vs. Purdue: 195 Antoineo Harris 10/12/2002, 180 Ke'Shawn Vaughn 11/7/2015
• Illinois' most passing yards vs. Purdue: 413 Jack Trudeau 10/12/1985, 360 Tony Eason 10/10/1981
• Illinois' longest rush vs. Purdue: 84 Antoineo Harris 10/12/2002, 78 Ke'Shawn Vaughn 11/7/2015
• Illinois' longest pass vs. Purdue: 77 Dave Wilson to Mike Martin 10/18/1980
• Last 100-yard receiving game vs. Purdue: Malik Turner, 129, 10/8/2016
• Last 100-yard rushing game vs. Purdue: Josh McCray, 156, 9/25/2021
• Last 300-yard passing game vs. Purdue: Wes Lunt, 332, 10/8/2016
• The Cannon more accurately known as the Purdue Cannon, made its first trip to Champaign-Urbana in 1905 when a group of Purdue students brought it to fire after a Boilermaker victory. Purdue won the game, 29-0, but the Cannon was never fired. Illinois student Quincy Hall found the Cannon hidden near the old Illinois Field. Hall and a group of Delta Upsilon brothers confiscated the Cannon and held it until 1943, when they donated it as a symbol of the Illinois-Purdue rivalry. Tomahawk Service and Leadership honorary at Purdue and Illini Pride of Illinois maintain the trophy when the respective school has won it. The Cannon was last fired Nov. 4, 2001, at the Illinois football complex following the victory, but is no longer functional.
• The Cannon is one of three rivalry trophies the Illini play for along with the Illibuck (Ohio State) and the Land of Lincoln Trophy (Northwestern).
• Illinois co-defensive coordinator/DL coach Terrance Jamison was the DL coach at Purdue in 2020.
• Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman is a native of West Lafayette, Indiana.
• Purdue head coach Ryan Walters is in his first season after two years as Illinois' defensive coordinator. Walters gave four Illini staffers promotions to come to West Lafayette as assistants: Purdue associate head coach/wide receivers Cory Patterson was Illinois' running backs coach, Purdue defensive coordinator Kevin Kane was Illinois' outside linebackers coach, Purdue outside linebackers coach Joe Dineen was a graduate assistant at Illinois, and Purdue safeties coach Grant O'Brien was an analyst at Illinois. Purdue senior defensive analyst Preston Gordon and director of operations Pete Roley were also at Illinois prior to leaving for Purdue.