NCAA football preview: Purdue trying to end losing streak against Michigan State
The Purdue Boilermakers will be looking to end their four-game losing streak on Saturday 20 November against the no. 12 ranked Michigan State Spartans.
Michigan State’s season to date
The Spartans started the season like every team could wish, winning their first eight games. Western Michigan, Florida Atlantic, Notre Dame, Northern Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and Northwestern all fell victim to the Spartans.
Their winning streak ended against the Iowa Hawkeyes who beat the Spartans handily, 37-6. They rebounded last weekend against Big 10 foe Minnesota to get back into the winning column.
They sit tied for first in the Big 10 with Wisconsin and Michigan but the Spartans control their own destiny.
"What we can control is we can be at the very minimum co-Big Ten champions. I know we can control that," head coach Mark Dantonio said according to espn.go.com. "We'll need a little help to be outright
(champions), to go to the Rose Bowl. The main thing to me is be a champion. That's what we'll try to do, strive to do."
Purdue’s previous games
The Boilermakers started their season off with a loss to Notre Dame, 23-12, but rebounded over the next two weeks with victories over Western Illinois and Ball State.
Toledo ended their modest winning streak with a victory in week four and after a bye week Purdue went on another two-game winning streak against Northwestern and Minnesota.
The Boilermakers’ last four games have been a mess for them with losses coming against Ohio State, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan.
The cause for the losses has been the injur- plagued offence which started with quarterback Robert Marve, who's season ended with a torn ACL and his backup Rob Henry, who has been dealing with tissue damage
in his finger.
"We'll have to see how he holds up in warm-ups," head coach Danny Hope said of Henry according to espn.go.com.
Michigan State’s keys to victory
The Spartans have a steady offensive scheme, ranking 43rd in passing and 39th in rushing. Quarterback Kirk Cousins has 15 touchdowns and has thrown for 2277 yards this season with most of the passes going to his two favourite
receivers, Mark Dell and B.J. Cunningham. Both have caught 41 passes and have a combined yardage of 1180 and ten touchdowns. It is extremely tough to block two talented receivers, and the more Cousins passes to these two it will leave holes for the running
game to take control.
Running back Edwin Baker has 11 touchdowns on 979 yards. He will need to be explosive against the Boilermakers to give the offense a second dimension.
Purdue’s keys to victory
The Boilermakers need to get tough on offence and defence. Forget about injuries, forget about the season, forget about everything and concentrate on football.
The offence needs a spark, and it will not come from the air as their passing game sits at 115th. Their strength, if you can call it that, lies in their rushing game, which ranks 40th
and averages 168.3 yards per game. The Spartans know this and will clog the line of scrimmage forcing Rob Henry to throw the ball.
Short passes will be mandatory, which will give the offence confidence.
The defence will need to step up their play as well in order to be successful as Michigan State’s potent offence will not waste time in exploiting their weaknesses.
Prediction
Purdue fans should brace themselves for five losses in a row.
Michigan State 35 – Purdue 10
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