
Trench Report: Purdue
By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst
October 7, 2025
(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)
Illinois put in a workmanlike effort and generally outclassed Purdue to record a 43-27 win in West Lafayette Saturday. It wasn't a work of art by any means, but it was nice to know that Illinois is at a point where it can put in a vanilla game plan and still secure a road win in the Big Ten. And for those who would dismiss Purdue, keep in mind that USC beat Purdue by the same 16 point margin a few weeks ago. Barry Odom is a quality coach and he brought 54(!) transfers with him to Purdue. So, while PU is not ready for prime time, they're in better shape than they were under Ryan Walters the last few years. However, while Odom is known as a defensive whiz, his offense looked pretty good Saturday, while his defense looked like it was lacking.
I'm going to start with the Illini defense because of a play I got completely wrong on game day, but on second watching I saw a well-run QB draw. On Saturday I cursed our defense for