Purdue Preview

Purdue currently sits at 4-7. It has been an up and down season for them as well. After starting out 1-0 the boilers lost 4 straight games by 7 points or less to Oregon, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame and Northwestern. At this point I knew that there record didn't indicate there potential. Then a few weeks later they upset Ohio State and shocked a whole bunch of people. I was worried that after beating Ohio State they would use that momentum to really carry themselves for most of the season. Luckily they are 2-2 from that game suffering a blowout 37-0 loss to Wisconsin and a 3 point loss to Michigan State last week. This puts them out of any chance of becoming bowl eligible. Even though we have the same record they still are a dangerous team. Here is a look at some other things you should know about the boilers.

The offense is lead by senior Joey Elliott. He has thrown for just under 3000 yards this year with 18 touchdowns. However he has also thrown 13 interceptions. Ralph Bolden leads the boilers in rushing with 931 yards and 9 touchdowns. He's not a very big guy but he is extremely quick and can create some big plays. IU will have to do a good job preventing the big plays this week. Purdue's receiving core is really dominated by Keith Smith (86 catches, 1015 yds, 5 TD's) and Aaron Valentin (50 catches, 601 yds, 7 TD's). On defense the big name to know if Ryan Kerrigan. He has 11 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss on the year.

For some good news, Purdue ranks 107 in turnover margin. They have lost 15 fumbles and have thrown 14 interceptions. The bad news, IU hasn't really been able to capitalize on other teams turnovers this year. IU actually ranks 8th in the nation in turnover margin. Purdue has had 3 running backs the last three weeks run for over 100 yards on them. This could be a big day for our offense. Although we can't become bowl eligible this year, this game still provides ultimate bragging rights and a step forward from last years team.