Purdue vs Illinois Preview and Predictions

The Boiling Point: Preview and predictions for the Purdue vs Illinois game.

Trophy they’ll be battling for also known as the Purdue Cannon.

Purdue(3-3 ,1-1) vs Illinois (5-1, 2-0): 12pm Eastern
Location: Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
TV: ESPN2- Two announcers return to Purdue this week with Beth Mowins having play-by-play and former Oregon coach Mike Belloti having color commentary.
Radio: Sirius channel 128, XM channel 190, 96.5FM in Lafayette area-Tim Newton has play-by-play, Pete Quinn is color commentator, and Kelly Kitchel is on the sideline.
Fun Fact: Purdue will be going for their 4th home win in a row over Illinois as well as trying to get the Cannon Trophy back after losing it for the first time in 6 games last year.

Predictions

Scott-The key to winning this game is the Boilers shutting down Illinois’ Nathan Scheelhaase at QB. He is also their leading rusher. Last week O$U was able to beat Illinois by only throwing 4 passes(1 for TD) which is interesting since Illinois’ rushing defense ranks 17th in the country. If Purdue is able to get their running game going, which they showed they can do against a tougher defense last week, they should be able to put a good number of points on the board. I think this is the Boilers first win over a ranked team this year. Purdue 28- Illinois 21


Zach- I know Leroy is about to talk about how good Illinois’ offense is and how it is going to destroy Purdue’s defense. I don’t deny that Illinois CAN have a good offense, that Scheelhaase CAN dominate, but Illinois also has shown it can struggle. The Illini only threw up 23 points in a 23-20 win over Western Michigan, just 17 in a 17-14 win over Arizona State the week before and last week lost to Ohio State 17-7. Purdue will need to play at its highest level to beat Illinois, but it is do-able. I’m going to be optimistic, hope that Hope realizes his team needs to run the ball and control the clock, and pick the Boilers. Purdue 24-Illinois 17 (Bonus prediction: Wiggs goes 1-2)


Leroy- Purdue surprised me last week with a game it should have won against a quality program in a really tough venue to play. But, once again, the Boilers are going to have to WIN a game against quality competition before I actually pick them to win. Honestly, I don’t see them even competing in this one. We all saw what Notre Dame’s offense did to Purdue’s defense and Illinois’ can run circles around it. Behind dual-threat quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase and big-time wide out A.J. Jenkins, the Boilers are going to get exposed, again, defensively. That’s not even mentioning Purdue’s struggle for offensive consistency. Homecoming is a bust this time around. Illinois 35-Purdue 14

As always, let us know your predictions/analysis below. Boiler Up!