EVANSTON, Ill. — Purdue needs a victory either this week or next.
And it seems more likely this week, against Northwestern (although Iowa's 20 yards of first-half offense looks a little different than the Hawkeyes' effort last week vs. OSU).
I'm not sure what to make of Northwestern. The Wildcats' offense really has been rather mediocre during regulation recently, but it has come alive during the overtimes, with five touchdowns on five possession during three overtime games the last three weeks. All wins, of course.
Seems that Purdue's defense should be able to keep Northwestern in check, but the Boilermakers have historically struggled against Justin Jackson. The senior back has gone for more than 100 yards in each of his first there seasons against Purdue. If you're looking for one key stat, perhaps that is it; if Purdue holds Jackson to less than 100 yards, then the Boilermakers win. Sounds good to me.
To do that, though, Purdue needs a couple of its defenders back, linebacker T.J. McCollum and cornerback Da'Wan Hunte. Hunte has said he's "definitely" playing, but we'll see. The cold, I'd imagine, can't help getting warmed up to play. And it is chilly here, with temps in the 30s at the start and cooling. McCollum is 50/50, after having missed the last month.
Right now, Hunte is using those giant rubber bands to try to get his hip stretched out.
Elijah Sindelar will get the start, his fifth of the season. Really interested to see how he performs knowing that he's going to go, likely, from start to finish. Maybe that means he gets into a better rhythm. Maybe it means nothing.
In his last stint as the starter, he moved the ball, but didn't do a lot of scoring. And I felt like Purdue didn't have a lot of confidence then that it could get the ball into the end zone, without resorting to some sort of red zone tricks (which usually don't work really well). Purdue will need to run the football in the red zone, must, to have a chance to turn those into point.
Northwestern's portable lights are on, so we're be playing soon.
And it seems more likely this week, against Northwestern (although Iowa's 20 yards of first-half offense looks a little different than the Hawkeyes' effort last week vs. OSU).
I'm not sure what to make of Northwestern. The Wildcats' offense really has been rather mediocre during regulation recently, but it has come alive during the overtimes, with five touchdowns on five possession during three overtime games the last three weeks. All wins, of course.
Seems that Purdue's defense should be able to keep Northwestern in check, but the Boilermakers have historically struggled against Justin Jackson. The senior back has gone for more than 100 yards in each of his first there seasons against Purdue. If you're looking for one key stat, perhaps that is it; if Purdue holds Jackson to less than 100 yards, then the Boilermakers win. Sounds good to me.
To do that, though, Purdue needs a couple of its defenders back, linebacker T.J. McCollum and cornerback Da'Wan Hunte. Hunte has said he's "definitely" playing, but we'll see. The cold, I'd imagine, can't help getting warmed up to play. And it is chilly here, with temps in the 30s at the start and cooling. McCollum is 50/50, after having missed the last month.
Right now, Hunte is using those giant rubber bands to try to get his hip stretched out.
Elijah Sindelar will get the start, his fifth of the season. Really interested to see how he performs knowing that he's going to go, likely, from start to finish. Maybe that means he gets into a better rhythm. Maybe it means nothing.
In his last stint as the starter, he moved the ball, but didn't do a lot of scoring. And I felt like Purdue didn't have a lot of confidence then that it could get the ball into the end zone, without resorting to some sort of red zone tricks (which usually don't work really well). Purdue will need to run the football in the red zone, must, to have a chance to turn those into point.
Northwestern's portable lights are on, so we're be playing soon.
