Three keys for Illinois’ offense against Purdue

Barry Lunney Jr.’s offense has gotten off to a strong start in 2024 but will need to regroup a bit following the Illini’s loss to Penn State in which it was held to just seven points.

They’ll have a great opportunity to get things rolling again on Saturday against a Purdue, a defense that has mightily struggled and has been on the field just about as much as anybody in America through five games.

As detailed yesterday, it’s been a brutal go of things for Ryan Walters and the Boilers this year. Walters remains the defensive play caller, so it will be interesting to monitor how much his familiarity with Illinois plays a factor but on paper, this is a unit Illinois should be able to attack.

Let’s take a look at what’s in store on defense for the Boilermakers:

Purdue defense

As a whole, the Purdue defense has been downright dreadful. The Boilers are allowing 436.8 yards per game and 36.8 points per game, both last in the Big Ten by a wide margin and near the bottom of the entire FBS.

A big reason for that — the run defense. Purdue’s 239.2 yards per game allowed on the ground are third worst nationally, only ahead of New Mexico and Kent State. Context is important in that the Boilers have fallen significantly behind in every FBS game and opened itself up to clock management, but there’s been very little resistance to opposing runners so far.

The Boilers’ defensive line is relatively light and has been prone to being overpowered at the line of scrimmage, leading to a ton of explosive running plays. Notre Dame and Oregon State in particular were able to grind Purdue away with chunk run after chunk run to the tune of 340+ rushing yards a piece.

Against the pass, the Boilers haven’t been quite as pitiful, but they sure haven’t been good despite minimal volume given their run defense struggles. The secondary is led by safety Dillon Thieneman, a freshman All-American in 2023 who will move around quite a bit.

The back end of the Boiler defense did take a huge hit a week ago, however, when top cornerback Markevious Brown stepped away from the program. His loss showed up in a big way last week against Wisconsin, as Badgers backup quarterback Braedyn Locke threw for 361 yards, including two touchdowns of 52 and 69 yards.

Purdue has also been called for the most pass interference penalties among power four teams in 2024, bolstered by six in one game against Nebraska. And the two interceptions that nickelback Kyndrich Breedlove hauled in against Wisconsin were the first and only two takeaways the Boilers have all season.

The one trick that Ryan Walters does have up his sleeve is his complex blitzing schemes, which Illini fans are more than familiar with. The Boilermakers have been poor at generating pressure with traditional three and four-man rushes, but Walters still isn’t afraid to dial up his fair share of blitzes. Linebacker Kydran Jenkins has been a real weapon in those — compiling 11 pressures and four sacks in just 56 pass rush snaps.

Illinois will certainly have to be prepared for some special wrinkles in this matchup, but they’ll have plenty of avenues to light up the scoreboard if they execute.

Three keys for the Illini offense against Purdue:

1. Sustain drives — Purdue’s defense has been on the field longer than any power four unit in the country. Illinois can’t let them get a breather on Saturday. If the Illini can get their run game going against a Purdue defense that hasn’t stopped anybody on the ground and Luke Altmyer can attack the Boiler secondary with his go-to weapons, Illinois has a chance to cruise. The Boilermaker defense has especially been putrid in second halves, not surprising given their time on the field, and the Illini can really wear them out early with a couple long, punishing drives.
2. Find a new gear in the run game — The Illini rushing offense has struggled for much of the year, but this is the ultimate opportunity for that to change. And not just slightly, but preferably in a major way against the country’s second worst run defense. We haven’t yet seen a ton of explosiveness out of any of the Illini’s four running backs, but this matchup is that could easily see a guy break through with a long touchdown run. How about getting Kaden Feagin a 100+ yard game to boost his confidence ahead of huge matchups with Michigan and Oregon?
3. Be prepared for pressure — There isn’t necessarily any statistical evidence to back this up, but I have a feeling Ryan Walters is going to pull out all of the stops in this matchup against his former team. He’s been effective his entire career as a coordinator with his blitz packages — he just hasn’t had the personnel for many of them at Purdue. Illinois needs to be prepared, especially if they put themselves in some longer yardage situations, for some pressure wrinkles from Walters and Co. The offensive line will have to communicate well, and Luke Altmyer could need to make a few quick decisions. The good news is, that should leave some favorable matchups for Pat Bryant and Zakhari Franklin on the perimeter, and they’ll have the chance to eat.