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The Purdue Boilermakers watched the action from their couches last weekend, but are set to take to the field. Purdue and the Iowa Hawkeyes will face off in a Big Ten battle at noon ET on Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium. The Boilermakers are out to keep their three-game home win streak alive.
Purdue came up short against the Wisconsin Badgers last week, falling 35-24. Purdue was down 35-10 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from. QB Aidan O'Connell had a pretty forgettable game, throwing three interceptions.
Meanwhile, Iowa ran circles around the Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday, and the extra yardage (393 yards vs. 177 yards) paid off. Iowa enjoyed a cozy 33-13 victory over Northwestern. Iowa QB Spencer Petras was slinging it as he passed for one TD and 220 yards on 30 attempts in addition to punching in one rushing touchdown. Petras hadn't helped his team much against the Ohio State Buckeyes last week, so this was a nice turnaround for him.
Special teams collected 15 points for the Hawkeyes. K Drew Stevens delivered a perfect 4-for-4 game.
The Boilermakers are the favorite in this one, with an expected 4.5-point margin of victory. But bettors beware: they are 0-2 against the spread when favored.
Purdue is now 5-3 while Iowa sits at 4-4. A couple defensive numbers to keep in mind before kickoff: Purdue ranks 17th in the nation when it comes to rushing touchdowns allowed, with only seven on the season. But Iowa is even better: they enter the matchup with only three rushing touchdowns allowed, good for second best in the nation. Looks like the running backs might have a tough go of it.
