On Saturday, Illinois football plays one of the worst teams in the Big Ten, and some would say the country.
Purdue hasn’t been a good team since former Illini defensive coordinator Ryan Walters bolted Champaign and took a handful of coaches and players with him. That experiment fell flat, and now they have former Missouri and UNLV head coach Barry Odom at the helm.
Despite already doubling the win total from 2024, Purdue’s two victories this season aren’t anything to write home about. Taking down the worst MAC program and an FCS team won’t move the needle.
All the losing aside, Purdue does have a decent offense entering the Saturday matchup between the two programs. Ryan Browne is back behind center, and he has looked good. It is also scary to think a one-win Purdue squad about took Illinois down last season behind Browne’s 297 yards passing, 118 yards rushing, and three touchdowns.
With that being said, Illinois is a better team than the Boilermakers. We have better and more talent on paper. But sports aren’t played on paper. Anything can happen on Saturday, and that is why this is a huge barometer game for the Illini.
That Indiana loss by 53 points rattled Illinois fans to the bone. Losing in that fashion to any team in the country will make you second-guess the team, even if the entire secondary and multiple offensive starters were out.
The rebound win over No. 21 USC was big for the program. It showed that Illinois wasn’t in freefall, and it got us back on track.
Saturday’s game against Purdue isn’t a game that will help put us over the top when it comes to potentially making the College Football Playoff. But the value of this game isn’t about wins, losses, and rankings. The value of this game is perception.
Illinois football needs to not play with our food when it comes to the Purdue Boilermakers
There are numerous teams that have a positive perception regardless of wins and losses. Most of the top of the SEC is always in a favorable light because people think the SEC is a gauntlet. And then you have a team like No. 16 Vanderbilt, which could knock off No. 10 Alabama to give the Crimson Tide their second loss of the season. Vanderbilt needs that win more than Alabama can’t afford the loss.
Notre Dame is another perception program. They are 2-2 this season and struggled against Purdue in the first half. The Fighting Irish are still ranked ahead of Illinois despite the Illini’s only loss being to a top-10 team in the country.
Perception now, in the eyes of the AP Top 25 voters, which really doesn’t matter, helps determine the early-season rankings. There is no doubt that some of the voters consider perception, whether they know it or not.
When it comes down to the only ranking that matters at season’s end, the College Football Playoff rankings, that is when perception rears its ugly head.
Those selection committee members will lay out all of the teams. I am sure they will look at the good and bad wins and losses. And if Illinois is in consideration, and let’s say we have two losses, both to top 10 teams, the committee will then likely look at wins.
The committee will see that Purdue game and know the Boilermakers aren’t good. They will look over to see the score. And at that moment, perception matters. Will the committee see a close game, or will they see Illinois handling business? That could be the make-or-break for the College Football Playoff.