Game Week | Purdue football at Illinois

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Welcome to Purdue at Illinois Game Week. 

This is a one-stop shopping for news, notes and takeaways to supplement our regular coverage leading up to Saturday's matchup at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff at 3:30 p.m. on FS1. 

The game is for The Cannon. The Boilermakers won both trophy games last season - beating Illinois and Indiana. 

All-time series: Illinois leads 44-43-6. Purdue has won 13 of the last 18 meetings, including two straight. 

Last games: Purdue was off last week but did defeat Nebraska 42-28 on Sept. 29. Illinois won at Rutgers, 38-17.

SATURDAY, OCT. 13

Happy Game Day. Crisp, cool morning. Temps in the 50's for kickoff in Champaign. 

Morning line from Vegas: Purdue favored by 10. You might be able to get it at 9 at some shops. 

In case you missed our coverage throughout the week, here you go: 

SIMEON SMILEY:Purdue safety quickly recovers after scary collision

IN THE HUDDLE:Purdue kicker Spencer Evans | Leader of the band

PREVIEW:3 things to watch

MATCHUPS:Who has the edge

OPPONENT PREVIEW:Illinois building momentum

FIGHT ME!:Cornel Jones making sure Purdue maintains its edge

DAVID BLOUGH:Purdue quarterback motivated to face Illinois again

TRACKING THE DEFENSE:Dealing with another spread offense

TRACKING THE OFFENSE:Stretching the field

TURNOVERS:Ball security looms large as Purdue prepares to face Illinois

RECRUITING:Texas running back commits to Purdue

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Expecting tight ends Cole Herdman, Brycen Hopkins and Jess Trussell to be available today. Trussell will play, despite a big wrap on his hand. Herdman and Hopkins are questionable. Check back during warmups. 

FRIDAY, OCT. 12

Purdue remains a 10.5 point favorite. 

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Saturday's Big Ten picks

Purdue 43, Illinois 36

Maryland 41, Rutgers 15

Michigan 31, Wisconsin 20

Ohio State 59, Minnesota 8

Northwestern 38, Nebraska 36

Iowa 30, Indiana 26

Penn State 39, Michigan State 18

THURSDAY, OCT. 11

Update from Jeff Brohm following Thursday's practice. 

Asked about the status of the tight ends - Cole Herdman, Brycen Hopkins and Jess Trussell. Herdman wore a red mesh jersey both Tuesday and Wednesday - Brohm said after the Nebraska game the fifth-year senior was dealing with stingers.

Hopkins didn't dress for practice Thursday and Trussell has his hand wrapped to where you couldn't see his fingers. 

"We are getting some guys back healthy, we think," Brohm said. "It still will be a game-time decision to see where they’re at. All of them will try to go and see how they hold up."

Brohm did say Trussell, who is used mainly on special teams, can play with his hand wrapped. In fact, I saw him catch a pass Wednesday. 

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Also inquired about running back Richie Worship, who hasn't played this season. He suffered a torn ACL last year prior to the Boilermakers playing Iowa in November. 

Brohm said the chances of Worship playing this season are "less than 50 percent" but will do what's best for the junior. 

"Obviously, we would love to have him for one game or two games but we want to do what’s best for him, so as we get closer to when he’s healthy we’ll see where we’re at as a team and figure out what’s best for both, but in the end what’s best for him," Brohm said. 

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Although Elijah Sindelar is available to play, Brohm is going to ride the hot hand of David Blough. Sindelar suffered an undisclosed injury the Wednesday before the Boilermakers played Missouri and hasn't played since the second game of the season. 

Sindelar had three interceptions in the first half in the opener against Northwestern and replaced Blough in the second quarter against Eastern Michigan. 

"I feel bad for Elijah. He got in a bad rut in the beginning. It wasn’t all his fault. It was my fault, a lot of our faults," Brohm said. "David, though his hard work and perseverance, was in the right spot at the right time and he’s taken advantage of it. We’re going to go with David and Elijah is ready to go when we need him. David has done a good job for us and we'll let him run the show for us for now." 

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 10

What is Illinois coach Lovie Smith's impression of Rondale Moore? 

“He poses a lot of problems to any defense. I know he’s a freshman, a true freshman, but you look at what he’s done. Evaluating the player, he’s as good as — pretty early to start talking about him in this way — but he’s as impressive as anyone I’ve seen in a while, especially a young player like that.

"Tough matchup. Tough matchup carrying the ball. They find ways to get him the ball running on the jet sweeps and different things like that. But just as a matchup man-to-man, he can do it all. Outstanding player. It’s a big challenge for our guys this week to play a player like that."

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Illinois offensive coordinator Rod Smith was in the same position last season at Arizona, which faced the Boilermakers in the Foster Farms Bowl in California. Purdue won 38-35 but quarterback Khalil Tate threw for 302 yards and five touchdowns. 

The Boilermakers didn't let Tate - or the ground game - generate a lot of rushing yards (128). This year's Illinois offense is run-heavy with quarterback AJ Bush, Jr. 

Just something to track in Saturday's game. 

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Jeff Brohm made an emphasis on winning the rivalry games when he arrived at Purdue. That's Illinois and Indiana. Both series' feature trophies - The Cannon and Old Oaken Bucket. 

The Boilermakers currently hold both trophies after beating the Fighting Illini and the Hoosiers. It marked the first time since 2012 that Purdue had defeated Illinois and Indiana in the same season. 

"That was one of our goals," quarterback David Blough said. "We want to win all of our rivalry games, whether you play Notre Dame or you just get Illinois and Indiana. You want to win those rivalry games. Got them both now."

Purdue is seeking its third straight win against the Illini. 

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We've written about big plays from both sides - producing them and allowing them. Big plays are usually defined as 20 yards or more. How do Big Ten teams stack up when comparing the number of big plays the offense generates and how many big plays the defense allows?

My theory - The more big plays a defense allows, the more pressure it puts on the offense to equal or surpass the number given up.

As you can see below, Penn State is producing a high number of big plays but is limiting opposing teams, which doesn't force the offense to create those chunk plays on every possession. 

Ohio State leads the Big Ten with 35 plays of 20 yards or more but has allowed 28, placing a little more pressure on the offense. As for Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights are hopeless. 

The three teams that have a positive double-digit margin are a combined 13-3. The four teams with a negative margin are a combined 9-12. 

Penn State +18 (generated more big plays than given up)

Michigan +16

Iowa +12

Wisconsin +8

Ohio State +7

Nebraska +6

Michigan State +5

Maryland +4

Indiana +2

Purdue +1

Minnesota -2

Illinois -8

Northwestern -8

Rutgers -23

TUESDAY, OCT. 9

David Blough's thoughts on Drew Brees becoming the NFL's all-time passing yardage leader Monday night. 

"Drew, personally for me, has been somebody that I’ve idolized my entire life. He laid a foundation for all of us to follow as Purdue athletes and shows if you work hard, you can doanything, like he told his kids. 
"For me, as an undersized quarterback from Texas with a below average arm, that means a lot to see him do that on the biggest stage in the biggest moments."

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Updated passing game targets: 

Rondale Moore 53 targets/44 catches (77.3 percent)

Isaac Zico 29/15 (51.7 percent)

Jared Sparks 28/17 (60.7 percent)

Brycen Hopkins 22/17 (77.2 percent)

Terry Wright 20/9 (45 percent)

Cole Herdman 12/7 (58.3 percent)

Markell Jones 8/6 (75 percent)

D.J. Knox 6/6 (100 percent)

Jackson Anthrop 5/5 (100 percent)

Tario Fuller 3/3 (100 percent)

Zander Horvath 2/2 (100 percent)

Jarrett Burgess 1/1 (100 percent)

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Recruiting note - Texas running back set to announce Wednesday. 

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Line up to 10.5 points for Saturday's game. 

MONDAY, OCT. 8

Illinois bringing out the gray uniforms to match Lovie Smith's beard for Saturday's game. 

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Illinois leads the Big Ten in turnover margin (plus 8) and has 10 interceptions, which collides with Purdue's ability to take care of the ball in recent games. 

Jeff Brohm explores the importance of ball security leading up to Saturday's game. 

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Former Purdue quarterback Drew Brees is set to break the NFL's career passing yardage mark, probably Monday night when New Orleans hosts Washington. He needs 201 yards. He'll deal with former Purdue defensive standout Ryan Kerrigan on the other side. 

Plenty of stories out there about Brees and the record but this one from Sports Illustrated's Tim Layden has several Purdue references and insights.  

SUNDAY, OCT. 7

Purdue opens as a 10-point favorite at Illinois. Big number to digest. 

This is the first time since 2007 the Boilermakers are a double-digit road favorite, assuming it stands by Saturday's kickoff. 

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Our first-and-10 segment. As we start the week, 10 questions about the Boilermakers and Saturday’s matchup at Illinois

--Can Purdue reach the .500 mark after starting the season 0-3?

--Will quarterback David Blough continue his solid play?

--What will Rondale Moore do in his sixth collegiate game?

--Is the defense ready to contain a spread attack?

--Will Jeff Brohm utilize the tight ends more in the red zone?

--Can Purdue’s defense slow down the Illini’s running game, led by quarterback AJ Bush, Jr?

--Are the Boilermakers ready to win back-to-back road games for the first time since 2012?

--Can the defense generate more pressure on the quarterback?

--Has Spencer Evans taken control of the kicking situation?

--How do the Boilermakers continue their big-play production?