Illinois Football: Prediction for week four vs. Purdue

After a gut-wrenching loss against Maryland, the Illinois football team will look to bounce back in their week four rivalry game vs. the Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday.

The Illini seek to end their three-game losing skid as they travel to West Lafayette, Indiana, to take on Purdue in the “Cannon Game”.

What challenges will the Illinois football team run into against Purdue?

• A superior passing game

This Purdue offense is dangerous, especially through the air.  Led by junior quarterback Jack Plummer, the Boilermakers rank No.14 in the nation with its 362.3 passing yards per game. Plummer himself has thrown for 745 total yards this season, ranking him No. 39 overall of all NCAA DI quarterbacks.

The Boilermakers may be going into this one short-handed, however, as junior standout receiver David Bell’s status for this week is unclear due to concussion protocol.

Bell is arguably the reason for the success of Purdue’s high-powered passing game.  Through Purdue’s three games, Bell has recorded 21 receptions that have gone for a total of 319 yards, making for an absurd average of 15.2 yards per reception.  In addition, Bell has scored three touchdowns for the Boilermakers on the young season.

Bell ranks as one of the nation’s top receivers in a few different categories.  He ranks No. 14 in the nation with his 21 receptions, No. 15 with his 15.2 yards per reception, and No.19 with his 319 receiving yards.

If Bell is able to suit up for the Boilermakers, the Plummer-to-Bell connection certainly has the potential to haunt the Orange and Blue secondary, which allows 321.3 passing yards per game, ranking among the bottom half of all NCAA DI defenses.

• How can the Illini escape West Lafayette with the Cannon Trophy?

Purdue’s biggest weakness is its run game, as they rank among the bottom 18 of all NCAA DI teams in total rushing, averaging just 110.7 rushing yards per game.  If the Illini defense can shut down a potentially short-handed Purdue passing game, thus, having them rely on the run game, the Boilermakers could struggle to get points on the board.

This could lead to some momentum for the Illinois offense, which is led by senior quarterback Brandon Peters, who Illini head coach Bret Bielema had some encouraging words for when speaking to the media on Monday.

"“There was a lot of really good learning. Just as much as it was in that first game against Nebraska with Art, just as much as you learned from the UTSA game, just as much as everybody learned from the Virginia game, unfortunately from the way games are played out, you’ve got to learn from adversity. That’s exactly what I know BP is going to do,” Bielema said of Peters."

• The Prediction

After losing three straight games, the Illini are starving for a win.  They will get a chance to get their first win in nearly a month against a potentially short-handed Purdue team that struggles to run the ball.

Illinois takes full advantage of this opportunity, defeating Purdue in a close, hard-fought 24-21 victory.