As bad as things got under Darrell Hazell (and they got really bad) we at least could look at Illinois and think about a victory. Dollar Bill Darrell was 2-2 against the Illini, winning twice in Champaign. Even in the dreadful 2013 season Purdue lost to Illinois (an extremely bad Illinois team) 20-16 for the closest we came to a victory against an FBS foe that season. Purdue has not been great for about 15 years now, but we have at least stayed above the level of Illinois.
Aside from brief runs in 2001 and 2007, the Illini have been mostly dreadful.