Illinois Football: 5 key players for the Illini to beat Purdue

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Jan 2, 2023; Tampa, FL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini linebacker Tarique Barnes (8) leaps over Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Will Rogers (2) in the first quarter during the 2023 ReliaQuest Bowl at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports /

Illinois football travels over to West Lafayette to take on the Purdue Boilermakers this Saturday.

The Illini are coming off a win over Florida Atlantic in which they looked pretty good in the final three quarters. This victory was much-needed, and I expect the momentum to carry over to this weekend against the Boilermakers.

Purdue, while just 1-3 on the season, has a coaching staff that knows the Illinois program pretty well. They know our tendencies and how we coach. That is an advantage for Purdue. But there are a few players for the Illini who I think could change the game completely.

Here are five key players for the Illinois football team to beat Purdue

1. Tarique Barnes

After his okay game against Toledo to start the season, Tarique Barnes took a bit of a dip for the Illinois football program.

The following week, he had a Pro Football Focus grade of 38.7. Barnes followed that poor performance with a grade of 41.5 against Penn State. Each week, the Illini continue to shrink Barnes’ snaps as well. He has gone from 86 snaps in week one to 55 snaps in week two, 31 snaps in week three, and 27 snaps in week four.

Barnes still remains the starter for the Illini, though. He suited up once again against Florida Atlantic, and I am not sure if that will change moving forward. I do know that Barnes is a crucial piece for Illinois if we want to come away with a win over Purdue.

Purdue quarterback Hudson Card loves to throw over the middle of the field. In fact, short over the middle is his most thrown pass, and it is his strength on the football field.

29.1% of Card’s passes are in this range, and he has a completion rate of 86.0%. That means he is going to be targeting the middle of the field between 0 and 10 yards for a lot of the game. This is where Barnes covers.

If Barnes can lock down the middle of the field, which is something that he hasn’t been particularly good at this season, then Illinois can do some damage to Card. This is a big task for Barnes this weekend.

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