Some observations comparing UC's game against UT-M and PU's game against EKU. UT-M and EKU are in the same OVC conference.
My prescription for beating UC:
Prediction: Purdue 35, UC 31. But it could easily be 42-7 UC. Who knows?
- Beat FCS foe UT-Martin 28-7, after trailing 6-7 at the half, at home. (Imagine the pandemonium on this board if that happened to Purdue today)
- UT-M was picked to finish 4th in the OVC, two spots below EKU
- Was not dominant on Offense despite their history of being a high flying offense.
- Struggled to run the ball consistently, 4.1 ypc average, compared to PU 6.7 ypc against EKU
- Their QB was more efficient than ours (7.6 vs 5.7 ypa), and threw 3 TD vs 1 Int
- Their Defense was pretty much dominant against their FCS foe, despite UT-M driving for a TD in their opening drive
- They held UT-M to 3.6 ypc as a team, but did allow Jamie Bowe to rush for 102 yars on 18 carries (5.7 ypc)
- 2 int's, including a pick-six to seal the game in the 4th
- Didn't allow another score the rest of the game after the first TD drive.
- Purdue, however, was decidedly NOT dominant, against EKU.
- Gunnar Holcomb (UTM) looked more like Mauk than Coney, however. He was terrible.
- UT-M had their share of penalties in the red zone, spoiling an opportunity for another score.
My prescription for beating UC:
- Run, Markell, Run
- Play action pass
- Force QB Moore into bad throws and INTs
- Stop the run
- Purdue is unable to pressure Moore and he throws for 400 yards and 4 TDs, 2 ints
- Their running game is stymied, however
- Purdue runs for 250 yards and 4 TDs, total
- Blough will need to win this game with a TD pass or two.
Prediction: Purdue 35, UC 31. But it could easily be 42-7 UC. Who knows?