Purdue Football Opens as Heavy Favorite Against Northwestern in Final Home Game of the Season
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue football, among four teams tied atop the Big Ten West, looks to take care of business in the final two games of the regular season to have a chance to play for a conference championship.
Coming off a 31-24 victory over Illinois on the road, the team welcomes Northwestern to Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday, marking the final home matchup of the year. The Boilermakers and Wildcats are scheduled to kick off at noon ET.
It will be the 87th meeting between the two teams, with Purdue owning a 52-33-1 overall record that includes a 32-14 win in 2021 at Wrigley Field. Northwestern is coming off a 31-3 loss to Minnesota, dropping it to 1-9 and 1-6 in conference play.
Entering the matchup, the Wildcats are riding a nine-game losing streak, and the Boilermakers opened as a 19.5-point favorite according to SIsportsbook.com. The over/under is 49.5 as of Monday morning.
"Our guys are ready to get back to hopefully a good week of practice," Purdue coach Jeff Brohm said. "We understand that it's the last home game for a lot of guys that put in a lot of hard work and efforts, and we need to try to send them out on a good note.
"We also understand how football works, so we have to have a great week of practice. We gotta continue to tweak things here and there to make improvements to help our team. We've gotta work as hard as we've ever worked, we've gotta keep the same hunger that we had this past week."
Northwestern opened the 2022 college football season in Dublin, taking on a Big Ten opponent in Nebraska. The Wildcats took advantage of an unsuccessful onside kick attempt before escaping the overseas contest with a 31-28 win. They haven't been able to win a game since, and have been on the losing end of four one-score games.
Redshirt junior running back Evan Hull is the focal point of Northwestern's offense, accounting for 755 yards rushing as well as 509 yards receiving so far this season. He has also reached the end zone six times. However, the Wildcats have only been able to score 15.3 points per game, which ranks last in the conference.
"He's gotta be the main focus," Brohm said of Hull. "He's a really good running back. He's physical, he's tough, he's played a lot of football. We have to be able to stop him."
A win for Purdue would secure a winning record in Big Ten play in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1997-1998. The team is also aiming to earn at least seven wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2006-2007.
The Boilermakers have won two of its last three games against the Wildcats, but Brohm is just 2-3 in his career against this particular opponent.
"They have the capability to win football games, and I think they understand that," Brohm said of Northwestern. "Just like on every football team, it takes all three segments. So the defense has to play well, the offense has to play well, special teams do. And if you don't have all three, you're not going to win in this conference.
"I just think that they probably feel like they're very close to getting over the hump, just as we know that we're very close to falling off the edge if don't do a lot of things correctly."
Related Stories on Purdue Football
- Game Time Announced for Purdue's Matchup With Northwestern: Purdue football will play against Northwestern on Saturday, Nov. 19, at Ross-Ade Stadium for its final home game of the season. The two teams are scheduled to kick off at noon ET, and the game will be broadcast on FS1. CLICK HERE
- Purdue Keeps Big Ten West Hopes Alive, Defeats Illinois 31-24: Purdue held Illinois star running back Chase Brown to 98 yards on the ground and mustered enough yards against a stingy defense to escape Memorial Stadium with a win. The Boilermakers are still in the race for the top of the Big Ten West with two games left. CLICK HERE
- Aidan O'Connell Makes Plays With His Legs Against Fighting Illini: In a 31-24 win over Illinois on Saturday, Purdue quarterback Aidan O'Connell ran for a career-high 33 yards on two carries. Both rushing attempts sparked touchdown drives for the Boilermakers. CLICK HERE
- Purdue, Illinois Photo Gallery: Purdue football captured an upset victory over Illinois on the road Saturday, forcing a tie atop the Big Ten West Standings. Recap the action from the Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill., with our photo gallery. CLICK HERE
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.