Illinois begins an eight-game stretch of Big Ten regular-season games on Saturday away from home, taking on Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana, in their first conference road game of the 2023 campaign. The matchup is one of two regular-season "trophy games" for the Fighting Illini this year, as the two sides will battle for The Cannon trophy once again.
The Boilermakers have taken home the coveted Cannon for the last three seasons, with the Orange and Blue last claiming the trophy in 2019. Though Purdue holds the narrow advantage in the all-time series, both programs have identical records in games played in West Lafayette between the two sides since their first meeting in 1890.
The Illini will square off with former Illinois defensive coordinator and current Purdue head coach Ryan Walters for the first time since he left the program, and he holds a 1-3 overall record thus far in his first year at the helm.
"It's an interesting situation, but it's not unique in football," said Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. "I've been a part of it one other time. We just have to worry about us. That's the big thing. We just have to worry about putting our best foot forward, going on the road, and playing the defending Big Ten West champions in a trophy game. We have to focus on putting our best foot forward, and that will be our focus no matter how familiar or unfamiliar we are with who's on the opposing sideline."
With the Illini looking to reclaim the Cannon and secure their first victory over the Boilermakers since 2019, here are a few key points to watch ahead of Saturday afternoon's kickoff on Peacock.
Learn more about Peacock
Saturday's kickoff, which is slated for 2:30 p.m. CT, is the program's first-ever game on Peacock, NBC's streaming platform. To watch the game, fans will need to purchase a Peacock subscription, which is available starting at $5.99 per month and $59.99 per year. For a limited time a Big Ten Fan discount is available for $39.99/year, and a student rate of $1.99/month is also available. For more information on Big Ten football on Peacock and to purchase a subscription, visit PeacockTV.com.
To subscribe to Peacock, visit PeacockTV.com and click "Get Started" to navigate to the subscription plan options. Choose your preferred plan, and follow the steps and fill out the information shown on the screen.
Select Illinois men's and women's basketball games during the 2023-24 season will be streamed exclusively on Peacock, with the broadcast schedules to be announced at a later date. Peacock will stream eight regular-season Big Ten football games, up to 47 regular-season Big Ten men's basketball games and 30 Big Ten regular-season women's basketball games this year.Â
Offense: Illinois looks to continue to get several players involved in the run, pass games
In each of the last two games, at least 10 different receivers caught a pass, including 13 against #7 Penn State on Sept. 16. Against Florida Atlantic last week, all four running backs – Reggie Love III, Josh McCray, Kaden Feagin, and Aidan Laughery – registered a carry for the first time this season. Each member of that running-back room recorded at least three carries, including Laughery's first three rushes – and touchdown – of the season.
Lunney has made it a point of emphasis to get looks to several different personnel groups. Isaiah Williams leads the team in catches with a Big Ten-most 24 receptions, though the Illini have been able to rely on several players to make plays when called upon. Williams' leadership and experience have been pivotal for Lunney and first-year starter Luke Altmyer, who put up a career-high 303 passing yards against FAU.
"Isaiah's hungry and always trying to learn, working extra, watching film," Lunney said. "He's a really special player. Really good things happen when he gets involved with our offense. I can't say enough good things about him. We just have to continue to find ways to inject him into the offense and get him the ball because good things happen when he touches it."
Each of the Orange and Blue's running backs bring something different to the Illini offense. While Love III currently leads the group in rushing yards and carries, Lunney is not afraid to put the ball in any of his four backs' hands.
McCray, who tallied a season-high 14 carries for 73 yards against the Owls, is quite familiar with Purdue's Ross-Ade Stadium. In his lone appearance in West Lafayette in 2021, McCray rushed for a career-most 156 yards, a mark that ranks fifth-most in a single game by a true freshman in program history.
After giving all four running backs the opportunity to shine against FAU, Lunney is hoping for another productive day for the rushing quartet.
"I think the backs ran hard. We made some halftime adjustments, a few small things that I think helped us," Lunney said. "We had good communication from the staff. I think that probably helped a little bit. We strained better, our backs ran harder, the perimeter did a good job blocking, and that was really encouraging to see.Â
"At the end of the day, you want to be able to look at the stat sheet after the game and all four of those guys touched the ball and were able to impact us."
Defense: Illinois secondary continues to bring "next-man-up" mentality
With Matthew Bailey and Demetrius Hill both sidelined with season-ending injuries, the Illini secondary has turned to a plethora of different faces to fill in and produce. Against FAU, Illinois had several contributors on defense, including a few underclassmen.
True-freshmen Saboor Karriem and Zachary Tobe notched three pass breakups against the Owls, which set career-highs for both Illini defensive backs in their first game getting major playing time. Tobe, playing in his second-ever college football game, was the highest-graded true-freshman defender during the Week 4 slate, while Karriem recorded his three PBUs in his college debut.
Nicario Harper recorded his first interception with the Orange and Blue and was one of several faces who saw time in the secondary against the Owls. Illinois brings a combination of youth and experience on defense, giving them the opportunity to give a number of guys the chance to get reps.
As the Illini resume Big Ten play, defensive coordinator Aaron Henry needs everyone to be ready for action at any moment.
"During spring ball and fall camp, we moved guys around a lot for these exact potential issues," Henry said. "We try guys at different positions. We move them around. We end up putting them at their home spot, but the reasons we call them DBs is because the way our system is set up, it's set up for guys to play multiple positions. We obviously had some guys go down at safety and corner, so for these young guys coming along, we are making the game easier for them so they can go out there and play fast.Â
"Hopefully we don't have guys who continue to go down, but if it does happen, we have the flexibility within our secondary."
Opponent: Purdue poses threats, boasts talent on offense, defense
Though the Illini and Boilermakers squared off in Champaign last season, both teams have a different look from one year ago. Each side brings a new starting quarterback to the table for Saturday's contest, though Purdue also returns a group of talented wide receivers under a new coaching staff.
The Boilermakers are the only Big Ten program with two receivers ranked among the top six in receiving yards among conference teams, with Deion Burks and Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen each tallying over 280 yards and at least 15 receptions on the season. The Boilermakers lead the Big Ten West in passing yards behind first-year starter and Texas transfer QB Hudson Card, who has thrown for over 200 yards and at least 30 pass attempts in all four appearances this season. Purdue is also one of two teams in the conference with four different receivers ranked among the top-25 in receiving yards on the year (Burks, 4th; Yaseen, 6th; TJ Sheffield, 21st; Max Klare, 22nd).
"They have some good wide-outs, but I think we have good defensive backs," Henry said. "It's going to give us the opportunity to go against some really good talent. Any time you play in this conference, you're going to play against a plethora of really good wide receivers. They have talent on that side of the ball like any other team does.Â
"Now, you're going into a stretch of games where everyone is going to have talent. It's just a matter of matching up and doing what you do better than they do what they do. At the end of the day, it's going to boil down to fundamentals and technique."
Devin Mockobee leads the team in rushing with 53 yards on the ground per game, a mark that ranks 14th in the conference. Mockobee recorded over 100 yards against the Illini last season.
On the other side of the ball, the Boilermaker defense is led by former Illinois assistant and current Purdue defensive coordinator Kevin Kane, who spent two seasons in Champaign. The Boilermakers consistently get to the quarterback, sitting tied for fourth among conference teams with 11 sacks through four games.Â
With both teams looking to pick up their first conference victories of the season, head coach Bret Bielema is eager to take the field against the Boilermakers in the Illini's first of six Big Ten West showdowns of the year.
"I know our guys are champing at the bit to get back into it," Bielema said. "To get this opportunity to go on the road and play the defending Big Ten West champs, it's something we're excited about. Give a lot of credit to Purdue. Over the last two years, we haven't come out on top in a trophy game, and it's something our guys have talked about for a long time, so we're excited for the opportunity this week."
