The 19th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers will travel to the legendary Wrigley Field on Saturday afternoon to take on the Northwestern Wildcats in a Big Ten Conference matchup. The Boilermakers are 6-4 (4-3) this season and are coming off a 59-31 road loss against the fourth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. Senior quarterback Aidan O’Connell finished 40-of-52 for 390 yards with four touchdowns. The Wildcats are 3-7 (1-6) thus far and are riding a four-game losing streak and are coming off a 35-7 road loss to the 18th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers. Sophomore quarterback Ryan Hilinski finished going just 3-of-8 for 25 yards with an interception.
Purdue at Northwestern Betting Analysis
On the Purdue Boilermakers side
Junior wide receiver David Bell has been playing extremely well this season for the Boilermakers as he has 75 receptions for 1,106 yards (14.7 yards per catch) with five receiving touchdowns as well as three carries for 39 yards (13 yards per rush). In his last game against the Buckeyes, Bell had 11 receptions for 103 yards (9.4 yards per catch) with a seven-yard rushing attempt.
The Purdue Boilermakers have been doing well on the defensive side of the game as they are giving up 22.5 points per game. In their previous game against the Ohio State Buckeyes, Purdue allowed 59 points on 624 total yards of offense (361 passing, 263 rushing). Ohio State went 4-7 on third down and converted their only fourth down attempt. The Buckeyes were able to run the ball extremely well as they averaged 8.5 rushing yards per attempt.
On the Northwestern Wildcats side
Sophomore running back Evan Hull has been doing a solid job as he has 139 rushes for 812 yards (5.8 yards per carry) with five rushing touchdowns as well as 25 receptions for 216 yards (8.6 yards per catch) with two receiving touchdowns. He struggled in his last game against the Badgers, Hull had 12 carries for 21 yards (1.8 yards per rush) and three catches for 11 yards (3.7 yards per reception).
The Northwestern Wildcats have been struggling a bit defensively as they are allowing 26.9 points per game. In their previous game against the Wisconsin Badgers, Northwestern finished giving up 35 points on 497 total yards of offense (229 passing, 268 rushing). The Wildcats struggled defensively as the Badgers went 6-of-11 on third down attempts. However, Northwestern did a phenomenal job forcing three turnovers (two fumble recoveries, one interception).
Boilermakers at Wildcats Prediction
The top sportsbooks are listing the Purdue Boilermakers as a double-digit road favorite in this game. The Wildcats are struggling as they are 3-7 against the spread this season and that is going to be the difference there. Northwestern is scoring just 10 points per game in their previous four games while Purdue is averaging 33 points per game in their last three games. Looking at Aidan O’Connell’s throwing numbers in his last three games, he is 114-of-151 (75.5 percent) for 1,159 yards with nine touchdowns without an interception. All in all, go with the Purdue Boilermakers to cover the spread on the road and dominate here.
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