Illinois Illini vs. Purdue Boilermakers
Fresh off their first loss of the season, the 23rd-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini will attempt to get back on track this weekend against the Purdue Boilermakers in Big Ten Conference action. To the surprise of many, Illinois opened the season with six straight victories, claiming three consecutive three-point decisions during one span. Unfortunately for the Illini, they were held in check offensively last weekend in a 17-7 home loss to Ohio State.
Third-year head coach Danny Hope has his Boilermakers off to a 3-3 start, as the team has rotated wins and losses consistently since besting Middle Tennessee in the season opener. Last weekend, Purdue put forth a solid effort on the road against Penn State, but fell by a 23-18 final. Illinois owns a 41-37-6 series advantage over Purdue, but the Boilermakers have won the last four meetings, the most recent of which took place in 2006.
The Illini had tremendous difficulty at home against a Ohio State team that has struggled all year and no-one should overlook the Boilermakers as they will be in this match-up till the end. Take the Boilermakers at home to cover and we wont be surprised if they won outright.
