Ryan Walters, Purdue coaches to take on old team in Illinois
WEST LAFAYETTE – Bret Bielema sat down at his assigned table in July for Big Ten football media days fully knowing a portion of questions coming his way would pertain to Purdue football.
And they did.
Ryan Walters. Cory Patterson. Kevin Kane. Grant O’Brien. Joe Dineen. Each of them were a part of Bielema’s staff at Illinois last season.
All are now on the staff of Bielema’s opponent Saturday when the Fighting Illini visit Purdue football’s Ross-Ade Stadium for Homecoming at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in the annual battle for The Cannon.
About the Illini
Illinois had a successful season a year ago, much in part due to one of the nation’s best defenses.
That led to Walters getting the head coaching job at Purdue and ultimately plucking four assistants from Illinois to come with him.
Illinois is 2-2 this season, beating Toledo and Florida Atlantic by a combined eight points with losses to Kansas and Penn State.
The defense is led by the defensive line duo of Keith Randolph and Jer’Zhan Newton, one of the nation’s top down linemen.
Quarterback Luke Altmyer, a transfer after playing two years at Ole Miss, is a dual threat QB. That’s troublesome for Purdue, which has been hurt by running quarterbacks each of the last two games.
Balanced backfield
Tyrone Tracy got the start for Purdue last week at running back and, so far this season, has had the hot hand among what we were told would be a three-headed monster with Tracy, Mockobee and Dylan Downing.
Mockobee had a huge game against the Illini last season and this could be a week where the redshirt sophomore finally snaps out of his funk. Not that averaging four yards per carry, and having received twice as many carries as Tracy, is bad. But fans likely expected more than 253 yards through four games out of what they perceived to be a star offensive weapon.
Sack attack
Shaun Phillips returns to Ross-Ade Stadium as Purdue’s honorary captain.
Prior to an NFL career where Phillips collected 81.5 sacks while playing for the Chargers, Broncos, Titans and Colts, he left Purdue with 33.5 sacks, including 14.5 in 2003 alone.
Prediction: Purdue 21, Illinois 17
Purdue really needed to go 3-2 in September considering the schedule ahead and the fact the Boilermakers played four of their first five games at home.
That’s out the window now, but a win makes Purdue 2-3, which sounds a lot better than 1-4.
The Boilermakers have a slight edge offensively and Illinois probably owns a slight edge defensively. So the key is how does Purdue’s offense compare to Illinois’ defense and vice versa.
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.