Purdue Football Opens as Favorite in Home Matchup Against Iowa on Saturday

Purdue is a 4.5-point favorite in its upcoming game against Iowa on Saturday. The two teams are scheduled to kick off at noon ET in front of a sold-out crowd inside Ross-Ade Stadium.

D.J. Fezler | Oct 31, 2022

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Purdue Boilermakers

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue football returns to action this weekend after a bye week and can lay claim to the top of the Big Ten West with four straight victories. The team's final surge of the season begins with a matchup against Iowa on Saturday.

The two teams are scheduled to kick off at noon ET inside Ross-Ade Stadium. It will be the 93rd meeting between both programs, with the Boilermakers owning a 50-39-3 record in the all-time series. They earned a 24-7 victory last season on the road and have won four of the last five matchups.

Iowa is coming off a 33-13 victory over Northwestern and improved to 4-4 on the season, which includes a 2-3 mark in Big Ten play. Entering the matchup, Purdue is a 4.5-point favorite, according to SISportsbook.com. The over/under is 42.5 points as of Monday morning.

"Our team understands they're an opponent that every year presents numerous challenges," Purdue coach Jeff Brohm said. "They're very well coached. Outstanding on defense, they are every year, make you earn everything you get. Force you into making mistakes and take advantage of that."

Iowa started the year by winning three of their first games before a trio of losses. The team was downed by ranked Big Ten foes Michigan, Illinois and Ohio State before bouncing back with its win over Northwestern.

Senior quarterback Spencer Petras threw for 220 yards and a touchdown while the Hawkeyes' defense allowed just 177 yards in the victory over the Wildcats.

"This past week the offense played as good as they played all year long," Brohm said. "Put up good numbers, moved the ball and got points. I think if you look at their schedule, they played a very difficult schedule. Two losses to two of the top four teams in the country in Ohio State and Michigan, which no one has come close to beating; and then they had a loss by three to Illinois and another loss to their rival by three points."

A win for Purdue on Saturday would give the team a 6-3 record in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2000 and 2001 while also marking a three-game winning streak over Iowa.

The Boilermakers will play in front of a sold-out crowd at Ross-Ade Stadium for the second consecutive home game, and the matchup will be broadcast on FS1.

"We're going to have to play efficient football, we know that, in all three segments," Brohm said. "We're going to have to play as well as we have all year in order to get a win, and our guys need to understand that. That's how you're going to have to play to win in our conference against the opponents we have coming up, starting with Iowa."

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