EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Saturday, October 27^th, the (4-3) Purdue Boilermakers will be on the road to take on the (4-3) Michigan State Spartans.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of Michigan State 27.6 – Purdue 26.4 with an over/under of 54.0.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of Purdue 34 – Michigan State 17.

Mark is predicting a final score of Purdue 26 – Michigan State 17.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: Purdue 337.6 YPG > Michigan State 244.0 YPG

Rushing offense: Purdue 176.7 YPG > Michigan State 107.6 YPG

Scoring offense: Purdue 35.7 PPG > Michigan State 23.4 PPG

Scoring defense: Michigan State 22.1 PPG > Purdue 22.7 PPG

Passing defense: Michigan State 275.7 YPG > Purdue 296.4 YPG

Rushing defense: Michigan State 79.6 YPG > Purdue 136.7 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Michigan State +0.1 > Purdue 0.0

Summary:

Purdue is (4-3) with wins over #23 Boston College, Nebraska, Illinois, and #2 Ohio State.  They started the season with three straight losses to Northwestern, Eastern Michigan, and Missouri.  Purdue shocked the nation when they put up 49 points and nearly 600 yards off offense on #2 Ohio State last week.  The Boilermakers rank 31^st in points per game (35.7) and 39^th in scoring defense (22.7 PPG).  Quarterback David Blough has completed 66% of his passes for 2,073 yards with 13 touchdowns to 2 interceptions.  Running back D.J. Know has rushed for 668 yards and 8 touchdowns.  The Buckeyes had no answer for Rondale Moore who on the season has 728 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns.  The Boilermakers’ defense ranks 127^th against the pass (296.4 YPG) and 41^st against the run (136.7 YPG).

Michigan State is (4-3) with victories over Utah State, Indiana, Central Michigan, and #8 Penn State.  They were defeated by Arizona State, Northwestern, and #6 Michigan last week.  Michigan State was overwhelmed by a Wolverines defense that held them to under 100 total yards of offense.  The Spartans rank 108^th in points per game (23.4) and 37^th in scoring defense (22.1 PPG).  Quarterback Brian Lewerke has completed 56% of his passes for 1,653 yards with 8 touchdowns to 7 interceptions.  Michigan State’s ground game has been ineffective all year averaging a pathetic 3.2 yards per carry.  Running back L.J. Scott finally made his long-awaited return from injury but found no holes against a suffocating Wolverines defense.  The Spartans’ defense ranks 116^th against the pass (275.7 YPG) and 3^rd against the run (79.6 YPG).

Bottom Line:

Michigan State quarterback Brian Lewerke is playing through an undisclosed injury to his throwing shoulder and looked awful last week in the loss to Michigan.  Running back L.J. Scott was ineffective in his return and the Spartans’ best receiver Felton Davis III is out for the season with an Achilles injury.  This could be a trap game for Purdue who is coming off a huge win over Ohio State, but I think they can grind out a tough victory in East Lansing.

Purdue wins 24-14

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