Meet the Opponent: 3 Things to Know About Northwestern
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue kept its bowl hopes alive last weekend with a 31-27 win over Nebraska. Now sitting at 3-6 with three games to go, the Boilermakers take a short trip up to Northwestern to take on the struggling Wildcats.
Purdue is 0-2 against Northwestern under Jeff Brohm since he arrived in 2017, and the Boilermakers have lost five straight to the Wildcats.Their last win in the series came all the way back in 2010.
Here’s a quick primer for you on the game:
The Details:
- Who: Purdue (3-6) vs. Northwestern (1-7)
- When: Saturday, Noon ET
- Where: Ryan Field, Evanston, Ill.
- TV: Big Ten Network
And here are three things to know about Pat Fitzgerald's Northwestern Wildcats:
Quarterback issues
Northwestern has had its fair share of problems at the quarterback position this season. The team's starting quarterback, fifth-year senior TJ Green, was injured in the season opener.
Since then, the Wildcats have used two different quarterbacks — Hunter Johnson, a Brownsburg, Ind., native who's a transfer from Clemson, and Aidan Smith. Neither has found any success, combining for only 2 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on the season. Through eight games, the Wildcats have only thrown for a total of 994 yards, a number that Purdue's quarterback at the start of the season, Elijah Sindelar, nearly reached in just his two appearances prior to his injury.
Touchdown drought
It's not just the quarterbacks who have struggled. Northwestern's entire offense has been in a drought this season. The Wildcats have gone a month since scoring their last touchdown on Oct. 5 at Nebraska, and that drought is even worse at home, where they haven’t scored since Sept. 21 against Michigan State.
In their last three games they have totaled just six points. Last week, they scored three at Indiana, the week prior they were shut out at home against Iowa and three games ago they scored just three points at home against Ohio State. This bodes well for a Purdue team that may struggle to score points as well with third-string quarterback Aidan O’Connell making his first career start.
Respectable defense
Northwestern still plays defense pretty well, despite its win-loss record. During the Big Ten season, the Wildcats have allowed just one team to rush for more than 200 yards, and that was No. 1 Ohio State. Overall they are giving up just 157 yards per game on the ground.
Through the air, teams have struggled as well. They have yet to allow over 300 passing yards in any game and are in the upper half of the Big Ten in that category, giving up just 191 yards per game. With a backup quarterback making his first start on the road, it will be difficult for Purdue to move the ball consistently against this defense. A 1-7 record doesn’t paint the whole picture for how well this defensive unit has played.
