PURDUE-ILLINOIS PREVIEW
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SATURDAY'S OPPONENT THE LAST TIME...
BY GOLD AND BLACK STAFF WORTH NOTING
play right away. "As for the staff, they
erable for Illinois, but what does it mean for the future of the pro- gram? "When a team goes 2-8 over the first 10 games, you can expect major changes the next year,
R This season has been mis-
said Doug Bucshon, publisher of OrangeandBlueNews.com. "Tim Beckman has indicated that he is looking for junior college players who may be able to come in and
• Champaign News-Gazette: What's wrong with Il- linois? How much time you got?
OPPONENT NEWSSTAND
• Chicago Sun-Times: Illinois needs a real football coach
• University of Illinois:
Purdue game notes Blue text are live links to the stories mentioned.
• Springfield Journal-Register: Beckman threatens per- sonnel changes on of- fense
"
are coaching for their own futures. Will there be ma- jor changes on the staff next season? It's something that the entire Illinois press corps has been buzzing about. There are even calls from some fans to make a change at the head coach- ing position, but I don't see that happening after one season. Tim Beckman has to be given time to get his players into the system and try to build a solid program at Illinois.
mic offense, Beckman has threatened the playing time of those not producing. The Illini offense scored
R Fed up with an ane- "
QB Nathan Scheel- haase lost an important fumble against Minnesota Saturday, deep in his own territory with Illinois down just 10-3 in the fourth quarter. The Gopher touchdown that the turn- over set up in effect iced the
ing to have to get maybe a different guy in there, on the line or maybe in the backfield.
"
ILLINOIS Date
Sept. 1 WESTERN MICH. Sept. 8 @ Arizona State
Oct. 13 @ Michigan Oct. 27 INDIANA Nov. 3
@ Wisconsin
Nov. 10 MINNESOTA Nov. 17 PURDUE
@ Ohio State Nov. 24 @ Northwestern
17 or fewer points in each of its Big Ten losses — its de- fense scored off a fumble re- turn in a 52-22 loss to Ohio State — and managed just three against Minnesota this weekend. "If it means personnel changes," Beckman told re- porters this week, "we're go-
game for Minnesota. R Illinois is playing without its best defensive player and one of the Big Ten's top linebackers. Jonathan Brown has been sidelined with a shoul- der injury since the Ohio State game two weeks ago and isn't listed on the Illini
depth chart this week. R Beckman is 1-1
In Purdue's most recent victory in Memorial Stadium, Curtis Painter ignited a third-quarter Boilermaker rally with this 42-yard touchdown run that cut the Illinois margin to 23-21. It was the longest scoring run by a Purdue quarterback in 33 years. Just 7:18 later, Purdue held a 42-23 lead en route to an 11-point victory thanks to another Painter scoring run and touchdown pass.
Tom Campbell
against Purdue as a head coach, coaching against the Boilermakers in 2009 and 2010 while at Toledo. In 2009, Purdue rolled
2012 SCHEDULE Opponent
Result
Sept. 15 CHARLESTON SOUTH. W, 44-0 Sept. 22 LOUISIANA TECH Sept. 29 PENN STATE Oct. 6
W, 24-7 L, 14-45
L, 24-52 L, 7-35
L, 14-31 L, 0-45
L, 17-31 L, 22-52 L, 3-17 — —
rushing for 234 yards and two touchdowns in the first game of his sophomore season. But in 2010, the Rockets won
at Purdue 31-20 after quarter- back Robert Marve injured his knee and missed most of the game.
52-31 in Ross-Ade Stadium in its first game under Dan- ny Hope, with Ralph Bolden
punt return this season. 26: The percentage of Illinois'
in rushing, marking the most complimentary of its major of- fensive rankings. It's 105th in passing; 115th in total offense; and 118th in scoring. 1.7: Illinois' average gain per
NUMBER CRUNCHING 99: Illinois' national ranking
169 points this season that came in a 44-0 win over Charleston Southern in mid-September.j
GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 23, EXPRESS 11 • 9
