Illinois football looks to bounce back on Senior Day, take steps towards clinching Big Ten West
The Illinois football defense take down Michigan State’s offense during the first half on Saturday.
November 11, 2022
After a disappointing 23-15 loss to Michigan State at home, Illinois football will look to celebrate Senior Day with a win against Purdue.
Illinois is historically tied with Purdue in head-to-head matchups, going 45-46-6 since the teams started playing each other in 1890. In recent years, however, the Boilermakers have had the Illini’s number, going 2-5 since 2015. Additionally, Illinois has not beat Purdue at home since 2010.
The game will be riddled with matchups and an expectation of improvement throughout the field.
An NFL-caliber matchup will be on display as top Purdue wide receiver Charlie Jones will face off against top Illinois junior cornerback Devon Witherspoon. Witherspoon is tied for sixth in the nation in passes defended, holding opponents to seven catches and zero touchdowns throughout the season. Jones, on the other hand, has accrued 944 yards on 83 receptions for 9 touchdowns on the season. While a tall task for Witherspoon, he has proved himself capable of guarding massive talents after shutting down Nebraska’s Trey Palmer and MSU’s Keon Coleman.
The Illinois offensive and defensive lines will also look to improve after their respective performances last week. The offensive line was unable to establish a clear enough pocket for senior quarterback Tommy DeVito to throw in and for junior running back Chase Brown to break through.
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Meanwhile on the other side of the ball, the Illini defensive line will look to get more pressure on Purdue’s Aidan O’Connell after only accumulating one sack against MSU. A unit highlighted by All-Big Ten candidates will have to step up and cause the chaos in the pocket that they’ve established throughout the rest of the year.
Most notably, special teams, more specifically the punting game, will have to step up after an abysmal performance last week. Redshirt freshman punter Hugh Robertson accumulated 63 yards punting on three attempts with an average of 21 yards per punt. His worst punt on the day was one that hit his protectors right on the backside, in the third quarter.
Kickoff will start at 11 a.m. in Memorial Stadium and will be broadcast on ESPN2.
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