EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

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Overview:

On Thursday, August 30^th, the (0-0) Northwestern Wildcats will be on the road to take on the (0-0) Purdue Boilermakers.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of Purdue 28.4 – Northwestern 26.6 with an over/under of 55.0.

2017-18 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: Purdue 251.5 YPG > Northwestern 233.8 YPG

Rushing offense: Northwestern 174.2 YPG > Purdue 151.5 YPG

Scoring offense: Northwestern 29.2 PPG > Purdue 25.2 PPG

Scoring defense: Purdue 19.3 PPG > Northwestern 19.8 PPG

Passing defense: Purdue 237.6 YPG > Northwestern 247.6 YPG

Rushing defense: Northwestern 111.3 YPG > Purdue 133.3 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Northwestern +0.5 > Purdue +0.3

Summary:

Northwestern is coming off an (10-3) season under head coach Pat Fitzgerald and were very impressive in conference play (7-2).  Northwestern defeated the Kentucky Wildcats in the Music City Bowl.  Clayton Thorson returns as the winningest quarterback in school history but there are still questions surrounding his health after his injury in last year’s Music City Bowl.  Running back Justin Jackson will be hard to replace but Jeremy Larkin impressed in his limited action a year ago.  The Wildcats will return their top two receivers Bennett Skowronek and Flynn Nagel along with four starters on the offensive line.  Northwestern had one of the better defenses in the country last season and were downright stingy against the run.  A strong front seven should be the strength of the defense while a young secondary will have a lot to prove.

Purdue was (7-6) in 2017 and defeated the Arizona Wildcats in the Foster Farms Bowl.  Head Coach Jeff Brohm has done an excellent job turning around a program that was in a state of disaster before he arrived.  The Boilermakers will have to replace more than a few starters from an imposing front seven that made up one of the better defenses in the country last season.  Linebacker Markus Bailey is back after leading the team in tackles.  The defensive backfield will have to be the strength of the team if Purdue wants to remain a top 25 unit once again.  Purdue’s two quarterback attack worked at times last season but that is one area they could improve.  Elijah Sindelar returns from a torn ACL and is expected to be fully healthy.  Purdue will lose their most electric offensive player Anthony Mahoungou but   Brycen Hopkins and Cole Herdman are playmakers from the tight end position.  The Boilermakers feature an impressive stable of four running backs who all contributed last season.

Bottom Line:

Purdue has a strong group of running backs but they may find holes hard to come by against a tremendous Northwestern front.  If Elijah Sindelar can take advantage of a weak Northwestern secondary than Purdue should eek by at home.

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