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The Purdue Boilermakers will look to defend their home field on Saturday against the Illinois Fighting Illini at 3:30 p.m. ET at Ross-Ade Stadium. Purdue is out to stop a 4-game streak of losses at home.
Purdue gave up the first points and the most points on Friday evening. They found themselves the reluctant recipients of a 38-17 punch to the gut against Wisconsin. Purdue has struggled against Wisconsin recently, as Friday's match was their eighth consecutive lost matchup.
The losing side was boosted by Tyrone Tracy, who rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Illinois was not the first on the board last Saturday, but they got there more often. They snuck past FAU with a 23-17 win.
Luke Altmyer did his thing and threw for 303 yards and a touchdown, and also rushed for a touchdown. That's the first time this season that Altmyer passed for 300+ passing yards. Illinois also got help from Isaiah Williams who showed off his sure hands for 120 receiving yards.
While only Purdue took care of their fans the last time they played, neither team managed to cover. Looking ahead, they are the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by one point. Anyone thinking of taking Illinois against the spread should keep this in mind: the team hasn't covered the last four times they've played Purdue.
Purdue has traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost three of their last four games. Admittedly, the team was facing some tough opposition over that stretch, including 3-1 Wisconsin (Purdue's opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 81.3% over those games). Meanwhile, Illinois' victory on Saturday bumped their record up to 2-2.
