Purdue v #19 Iowa Prediction
That loss sucked
But for some reason, this wasn't a bad loss unlike the EMU loss, we just couldn't get anything going on offense, Blough was pressured all game and could never get hot and threw 2 INT's one not being his fault as Hopkins took a beating, and overall very poor game by Purdue after a stellar performance 2 weeks ago against the Buckeyes. But now we need to put that behind us as we host our 2nd most hated rival, the #19 ranked Hawkeyes
Purdue
2018 Record: 4-4 (Lost to Michigan St.)
Purdue did not have their way last Saturday as they struggled to have any success anywhere on offense but like I said before, they need to put this game behind them. Purdue is becoming a more pass oriented team averaging 330 yds/gm but the run game is there too, but not as impressive as the pass with 162 yds/gm. Blough struggled last week as he couldn't find any rhythm with MSU pressuring the hell out of him and threw for 0 TD's and had 3 INT's, but other than that off game, he's done pretty well overall averaging 293 yds/gm through the air with 13 TD's and 5 INT's. But don't count out Blough's ability to run as well as he is averaging 7 yds/gm on the ground with 2 rushing TD's.
This offense will struggle as the Hawkeyes have a solid pass defense only allowing 180 yds/gm. and we struggled against MSU's rush defense last week. but Iowa has a terrific rush defense second only to MSU in the B1G allowing only 84 yds/gm. What the Boilermakers need to do here is to not rely on Moore too much, as there are several other play makers like Sparks, and Zico, and Hopkins that can really help the offense. As well as giving Blough some time to throw, because when he has time to throw, he is deadly.
#19 Iowa
2018 Record: 6-2 (Lost to #17 Penn St.)
Iowa is in a similar position as we are right now, as they are coming off a disappointing performance in Happy Valley as they lost 24-30 against Penn St. Iowa is a exact opposite of what Purdue is on offense as they are a more run-oriented team averaging 161 yds/gm on the ground but with a modest 229 yds/gm through the air. Nathan Stanley is currently listed as probable for this game as he injured his thumb at Penn St. But overall not that bad, Stanley is averaging 220 yds/gm with 16 TD's and 8 INT's with a really consistent passing rate of 56%. He's more of a pocket passer and not a runner as he has rushed for a grand total of 10 yards for an average of 1.25 yds/gm. But since Stanley is listed as probable, we need to look at his backup Peyton Mansell who as a redshirt freshman, hasn't seen a whole lot of time as he is averaging about 16 yds/gm in the 4 games he played, he is also averaging 6 yds/gm on the ground in those 4 games as well as 1 rushing TD.
Purdue is not that good when it comes to defensing the pass as the defense is giving up 299 yds/gm but are somewhat decent on the run game averaging 133 yds/gm. Purdue will need to bring constant pressure on Stanley to hopefully get him out of a rhythm as well as really covering those receivers and not letting them get 8-10 yards of cushion on each play. We also need to work on our 3rd down defense as we had plenty of chances to get our defense off the field last week against MSU but couldn't get any stops on 3rd down and that needs to change. As well as having our guys get some hands in their to try to force and INT or two.
Verdict
I do not know why we have a 47% chance to win according to ESPN, but are a 3 point favorite to win. I do know that there are some big steaks in this game. For Purdue, they need this win to become one game closer to bowl eligibility, as well as keeping some sort of faint hope for a conference game in Indy alive. For Iowa, this game will be the determining factor on if they go to Indy or not. This will be a shootout, as both teams are coming off of losses, and Purdue has been good against ranked opponents at home as they are 2-0, and I trust Brohm and Co. to get the job done. So I feel pretty confident in Purdue for this one.
Boiler UP
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