Illinois will welcome back former defensive coordinator Ryan Walters as they attempt to obtain the Cannon Trophy in Champaign for the first time since 2010.

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

October 12, 2024

Purdue at #23 Illinois

Date/Time/Place: Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024: 2:30 p.m. CST, Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Ill.

Surface: Field Turf

Capacity: 60,670

Records: Purdue 1-4, 0-2 in Big Ten; Illinois 4-1, 1-1 in Big Ten

Betting Line: Illinois by 22.5

Series notes: Purdue leads the all-time series 48-45-6. Illinois has lost the last four in a row to Purdue and the last six games in Champaign. Illinois' last home win in the series came in 2010. Nathan Scheelhaase rushed for 118 yards and threw for 195 and four touchdowns to lead Illinois to the 44-10 victory. Scheelhaase was 16-for-20 passing with touchdowns to A.J. Jenkins, Mikel Leshoure, Darius Millines and Chris James. Illinois head coach Bret Bielema is 0-3 against the Boilermakers since taking over the Illini program.

TV: FS1; Eric Collins (play-by-play) and Spencer Tillman (analyst)

Radio (Illinois): Brian Barnhart (play-by-play), Kevin Mitchell (analyst), Michael Martin (sideline), and Steve Kelly (pre/half/post).  The broadcast can be heard live on TuneIn online radio, SiriusXM, the SiriusXM App, and at FightingIllini.com/live.

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Despite a four-game losing streak and a winless start to the 2024 season against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents, Purdue head coach Ryan Walters makes his return to Champaign thinking it is very possible his Boilermakers can salvage something in this campaign starting on Saturday afternoon.

And do you know who agrees with him? The Illini coaches who will be on the home sideline.

Through losses to Notre Dame, Oregon State, Nebraska, and Wisconsin by a combined 184-44, Purdue (1-4, 0-2 in Big Ten Conference) has managed to fall out of the Top 100 among 134 FBS programs in the following statistical categories: Passing offense, passing yards per completion, rushing defense, sacks allowed, scoring offense, scoring defense, total offense, total defense, turnover margin, turnovers gained, fewest penalty yards and third down offensive percentage).

“You look at game management,” said Walters. “You look at how we’re using the roster. You look at schematic issues. Then you evaluate the play of the individual, you know, all those things and take an assessment and evaluate and try to improve the areas that you failed.”

Walters’ problems continued this week as it was revealed Purdue starting quarterback Hudson Card is not medically cleared to play Saturday after reportedly being placed into concussion protocol. The top candidate to start in place of Card is redshirt freshman quarterback Ryan Browne, who has played in three career games. Browne played in Card's absence against Northwestern last season, going 12-16 for 104 yards and two interceptions, while also rushing for 85 yards on the ground. In two appearances this season, Browne has 68 passing yards while completing 7 of 11 attempts. Card joins a growing list of Boilermakers dealing with injuries, which includes starting defenders Mo Omonode and Antonio Stevens, as well as projected starting receiver CJ Smith. Rush end CJ Madden, tight end George Burhenn and receiver Jayden Dixon-Veal have also missed multiple games.

Despite all of this list of problems in West Lafayette, Ind. that have led to the Boilermakers being labeled as currently one of the worst power conference programs, Walters said Monday he believes the season can turn around against a schedule that includes five of Purdue’s final seven opponents being against ranked teams, including three ranked in the Top 5.

“I think I believe it can,” said Walters. “I don’t see any reason why it can’t. Whenever I’ve been in a struggling time or adverse time, the thing that you do is you take lessons from the struggles. You take lessons from the adversity. You identify problems and you fix them.”

One of those ranked opponents comes Saturday as No. 23 Illinois (4-1, 1-1) hosts Purdue following an open week to self-scout and identify concerns coming out of a 21-7 loss at then-No. 7 Penn State. The coaches who remained at Illinois under fourth-year head coach Bret Bielema when Walters left to take the Purdue head coach position on Dec. 13, 2022, aren’t publicly buying the idea that Purdue isn’t a capable opponent despite being a 20-point home favorite against a Big Ten team for the first time since 2010 when the Illini lost to Minnesota 38-34 on Nov. 13.

“Despite what they’re dealing with and what they’re going through, I know two things,” Illinois defensive coordinator Aaron Henry said Monday. “One is they have good players. Two is they have damn good coaches.”

Henry is obviously very familiar with the personnel on the opposing sideline as one his better friends on the Illini staff from 2021-22 was Walters. The seminal moment of their friendship could be identified in St. Louis, Missouri three days before Christmas 2021 when Henry, who was wearing a No. 1 Trent Frazier jersey, Walters and current Purdue assistant head coach Cory Patterson all sat courtside across from the Illini bench to watch Illinois win the Braggin’ Rights Game against Walters’ former employer Missouri.

“I think it’s natural that when you have relationships with people that you don’t want to see them struggle,” Henry said. “For example, I got a daughter, and I watched her fall down (Sunday) and she was crying, and I didn’t want to see her fall down, but I know there’s a lesson involved in that.”

The trip to Illinois will conjure memories for Walters and many of his current staffers, who left Champaign for West Lafayette after the 2022 season.

“Gotten to know them very well, so expect them to play the best brand of ball they can play,” said Walters, who was the Illini defensive coordinator in 2021 and 2022. “That’s what they been doing up to this point this season. You know, fully expect them to come out guns blazing.”

As Illinois continues a remarkable start to this 2024 season that has included Illinois is 4-1 including two wins over Associated Press Top 25 opponents for the first time since 1991, all Bielema sees is an empty trophy case inside the Smith Family Football Complex where the rivalry game trophies are to be kept.

“Never had it, never saw it, never touched it, never smelled it," Bielema said of the Cannon Trophy given annually to the winner of Illinois-Purdue. “Everybody always asks me before the year, 'Coach, what's the definition of a successful season?’. As a head coach and even when I was a coordinator, what you want to do is get through a season without regrets. All my years of doing it, I haven't been able to do that yet. We're a 4-1 team that's trying to go 1-0 this week, but I think there's some teams as you go back and look at it, they probably regret what they'd done that day of their loss or the way they played or the way they approached the game. Right now, I don't have that regret in any of our phases overall.”