WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – After a come from behind win against Northwestern on the road, the Boilermakers are looking for a little magic as they head up to Madison this weekend. Sitting at 4-6 on the season, a loss this weekend against Wisconsin would eliminate Purdue from Bowl contention.
The odds, however, are significantly stacked up against the Black and Gold. Wisconsin holds a 13 game win streak against Purdue, which dates back to when ESPN’s College Gameday came to West Lafayette in 2004. In that game, the Badgers knocked off then 5th ranked Purdue. That loss spiraled four straight losses by 3 or fewer points for the Boilers, and they haven’t tasted even the top 10 since then. In fact, they have only had four winning seasons since then including the 2004 season.
This weekend, up at Camp Randall, the Boilers have a chance to put an end to the spiral where it started. An upset over Wisconsin would knock the Badgers nearly out of contention for a Big Ten Title, pending if Minnesota defeats Northwestern. It would also put Purdue one win away from Bowl eligibility, just needing a win over Indiana.
Though, easily said, the journey will be brutal. The Badgers have the third-best scoring defense in the conference, allowing only 13.4 points a game, a mark that ranks 6th nationally. On offense, they are the 15th in the country in rushing yards per game with 235.1 yards per game on the ground. That attack is led by Heisman Trophy candidate Jonathan Taylor, who is 2nd in the country with 1,463 yards on the ground. Taylor has also accounted for a career-best 17 rushing touchdowns this year, in his junior season. His 5,634 career rushing yards, have him 7th all-time in the history of college football.
Purdue, on the other hand, sits as a 24.5 point underdog for a reason. The Boilers allow 172.2 yards on the ground per game, good for 88th in the country. Diving deeper, Wisconsin has run the ball 33 or more times, in every game this season. Six times, teams have run the ball more than 30 times against Purdue, and only one of those times the Boilers were able to hold their opponent to under 100 yards. In that game though, they lost to Minnesota, who tallied up 396 yards through the air.
On the offensive side of the ball, things have been up and down all season for Purdue. After losing their starting quarterback, Elijah Sindelar, and star wide-out, Rondale Moore, on the same play against Minnesota, its been next man up. Unfortunately, though, it has been a continuous next man up mentality with injury after injury hindering the Boiler roster. They now have their 3rd quarterback of the year making starts, all due to injuries.
The man under center now is Aidan O’Connell, which may just be a benefit to Purdue. He enters Saturday scheduled to take just the 2nd start of his career, with the first ending in a comeback win over Northwestern. Ironically, O’Connell entered the Nebraska game after Jack Plummer when down, and led the team to a final minute comeback over Nebraska.
Could another comeback win be in store for the Sophmore quarterback? Only time will truly tell, however, Purdue will need him to shine if they have any hope of escaping Madison with their Bowl hopes intact. Good news shines out of the Boiler camp though this week, with the possible return of Rondale Moore. This would be huge news for O’Connell, giving him additional targets, as he has seemed to build good chemistry with Freshman David Bell. Last week Bell hauled in 14 receptions for 114 yards, bringing his season total to 791 yards.
Kickoff for the Big Ten West Showdown is set for 4 pm from Camp Randall on FOX. A lot rides on this one on both sidelines.
Written by Adrian Beecher
