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Wisconsin (4-2) got back on track again in the Big Ten West race with a thrilling win over Nebraska, but there’s still a lot of work to do and plenty of help needed to get back to the Big Ten title game. Purdue (1-5) is playing better than its record, but it’s still 1-5 with the only win coming over Indiana State. Check out the Purdue vs. Wisconsin prediction and game preview.

Purdue vs. Wisconsin Game Preview

Broadcast

Date: Saturday, Oct. 17
Game Time: 12:00 pm
Venue: Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, WI
Network: BTN

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Why You Need To Care

Purdue is in desperate need of a break. It played well in the opener against Marshall, up until all the pick sixes proved fatal. It played well against Bowling Green, and lost. It played well against Michigan State, and lost. Last week, it had a shot at home against a mediocre Minnesota team and got blown away. The Darrell Hazell era could desperately use a shot in the arm, and beating Wisconsin on the road would be it. Just being competitive with the Badgers would be nice, losing nine straight since a win in 2003.

The Badgers might have lost to Iowa two weeks ago, but there’s still time to do some big things. The Hawkeyes have to lose twice and Bucky has to win out, but it shouldn’t be too bad the rest of the way as the likely favorites in the final six games. This is a flawed team without any of the pop or explosion of normal UW offenses, but the defense is still solid and there’s just enough talent to put together a nice run of wins.

Why Purdue Will Win

Other than the win over Hawaii, the Badger running game hasn’t shown up. To put the dry spell into perspective, Wisconsin has rushed for more than 200 yards just once all year – going for 326 against Hawaii – and being under in the five other games. To put this into perspective, UW ran for fewer than 200 yards five times in the previous 29 games going back to 2012. Purdue might have been rocked by Minnesota’s running game last week, but the Badgers just aren’t able to generate a push. The Boilermaker front four can get behind the line.

Why Wisconsin Will Win

Purdue is absolutely miserable when it comes to hanging on to the ball. The defense has managed to come up with a solid ten takeaways on the year, and it hasn’t mattered thanks to an offense that’s given it up three times or more in five of the first six games. The big problem continues to be interception, throwing 11 on the year and three last week against Minnesota. Wisconsin has given it away just six times all year, with four of the turnovers coming against Iowa.

Player Who Matters

Wisconsin has a habit lately of being a one receiver team. Jared Abbrederis was the main man a few years ago, doing just about everything for the Badger passing attack, and over the last two seasons it’s been Alex Erickson, who caught 55 passes last year – the No. 2 guy, a tight end – caught 29. This year he has 33 grabs showing off his worth last week with a clutch seven grabs for 113 yards. Last year against Purdue he caught three balls for 27 yards – he’ll be a bigger part this time around.

What’s Going To Happen?

Wisconsin is at home against a bad team. You know the drill – the defense will dominate, the offense will be sufficient, and everyone will be relaxing in the fourth.

Purdue vs. Wisconsin Prediction

Final Score: Wisconsin 38, Purdue 13, Line: Wisconsin -24, o/u: 48
Must See Rating: 5: Trojan War – 1: The Muppets … 2

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