The No. 24 Northwestern Wildcats take on the Purdue Boilermakers this week in a game that will feature the Big 10’s third-leading rusher, Justin Jackson (917 yards, 1 TD). The Wildcats are 7-2 while the Boilermakers are 2-7. The game starts at 12:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov 14 and will be available on BTN and BTN2.
Northwestern won a close one over Penn State 23-21 last week. Justin Jackson had a big game on the ground in the victory, rushing 28 times for 186 yards. Purdue is hoping for a different outcome after losing big against Illinois 48-14. DeAngelo Yancey had a good game for the Boilermakers, grabbing five receptions for 51 yards and one TD. Markell Jones put up 84 rushing yards on 14 attempts.
Northwestern is a 13-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 49 points.
Sitting at 7-2 Straight Up (SU) and 6-3 Against The Spread (ATS), the Wildcats will look to improve heading into Week 11. In the past five games, Northwestern is 3-2 for both SU and ATS. Northwestern’s offense will face a weak Boilermakers run defense that ranks 108th in the country with 206 rushing yards allowed per game. Turning to the Wildcats defense, a few key spots could be deciding factors this week. The Wildcats have the 10th-best pass defense in the nation and give up 172.8 yards per game through the air.
Over on the other sideline, the Boilermakers have 2-7 SU and 4-5 ATS records this season. In the previous five games, Purdue has a record of 1-4 SU and 3-2 ATS. The Boilermakers like to keep the ball in the air. On average, they pass 39.4 times per game. Shifting to the other side of the ball, it might be tough for the Wildcats to keep up with Purdue’s defense in a few areas. The Wildcats are matching up with Purdue’s defense at an inopportune time. Over the last five games, Purdue’s opponents have only averaged 232.6 yards through the air.
Predictions: SU Winner – Northwestern, ATS Winner – Northwestern, O/U – Over
Notes
Northwestern is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Northwestern’s last 5 games.
Northwestern is 6-13 ATS in its last 19 games at home.
Northwestern is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Northwestern’s last 16 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Northwestern’s last 8 games when playing Purdue.
Northwestern is 5-10 SU in its last 15 games when playing Purdue.
Northwestern is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games when playing at home against Purdue.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Northwestern’s last 5 games when playing at home against Purdue.
Purdue is 2-1 SU when leading at the start of the 4th quarter this season. Northwestern is 7-0 SU when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter.
Remarkably, Northwestern is only 1-2 SU in games where it comes out ahead in the turnover battle, yet undefeated (6-0 SU) when losing the turnover battle.
The Northwestern offensive passing attack is ranked only 119th in the nation, while the Purdue pass defense is ranked 86th. The Boilermakers passing game is ranked just 75th, compared to the 10th-ranked pass defense of the Wildcats.
