Three Matchups to Watch in Big Ten Championship Between Purdue, Michigan

Purdue football takes on the undefeated No. 2 Michigan Wolverines on Saturday in the Big Ten Championship. Here are three matchups to watch in this game.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – No. 2 Michigan (12-0) is a 16.5-point favorite over the Purdue Boilermakers (8-4) in Saturday's Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. 

The Wolverines are headed to the College Football Playoff, but Purdue can become the first Big Ten West team to win the conference championship since realignment in 2014. With a win, the Boilermakers would punch their ticket to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 2000 with Drew Brees.

Here are three matchups to watch in Saturday's game. 

1. Purdue handling Michigan's dominant front seven

Georgia and Illinois are the only FBS teams to allow fewer points per game than Michigan's 12.7, and much of the has to do with the Wolverines' suffocating defensive front. The 6-foot-6 Mike Morris won Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year, recording 7.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss. 

At 6-foot-3 and 326 pounds, Mazi Smith is a run stuffer in the middle and also earned first-team All-Big Ten honors. Add Kris Jenkins and Jaylen Harrell, and Michigan built the nation's third-ranked run defense at 84.8 yards per game while sacking the quarterback 32 times, ranking second in the Big Ten. Purdue running back Devin Mockobee had a breakout season after flying under the radar, and he and the Boilermakers' offensive line will have their hands full against Michigan. 

2. Donovan Edwards replacing Blake Corum

Michigan star running back and Heisman Trophy candidate Blake Corum is out for the season with a knee injury. He carried the ball twice in Michigan's 45-23 win over Ohio State last week, which made way for a heavy workload for Donovan Edwards.

Edwards iced the game with touchdown runs of 75 and 85 yards in the fourth quarter, but his remaining 20 carries led to just 56 yards. With Michigan's imposing, veteran offensive line, there's reason to believe the Wolverines will be alright without Corum. Coach Jim Harbaugh replaced 1,300-yard rusher Hassan Haskins with Corum at the start of this year, and Purdue's defense ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 128.8 rushing yards allowed per game. 

2. Charlie Jones versus DJ Turner, Mike Sainristil

Purdue lost 2021 Big Ten Receiver of the Year David Bell to the NFL Draft last year, but replenished its receiving corps through the transfer portal with Iowa's Charlie Jones. In his first year as a Boilermaker, Jones leads the Big ten 97 receptions – 25 more than Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr. in second – for 1,199 yards and 12 touchdowns. He's been quarterback Aidan O'Connell's go-to target all year, bolstering Purdue's passing attack that ranks second in the Big Ten with 280.7 passing yards per game.

But it won't be an easy pitch-and-catch game for O'Connell and Jones against Michigan's talented secondary. DJ Turner earned second-team All-Big Ten honors, while Mike Sainristil and Gemon Green received honorable mentions. The trio helped hold Ohio State's potent offense to 21 points below its season average, including interceptions from Makari Page and Taylor Upshaw and a key pass breakup from Sainristil in the end zone against Ohio State.

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