Opponent View: Northwestern

Can Purdue make it two wins in a row? That’s what the Boilermakers (3-7 overall; 2-5 Big Ten) will be aiming for when they travel to Evanston, Ill., to take on Northwestern (5-5; 3-4) on Saturday at noon ET on BTN.

Purdue holds a 30-19-1 lead in games played at NU. The Boilers enter on a two-game winning streak against the Wildcats, as Purdue won at Wrigley Field in 2021 before taking down Northwestern last November in West Lafayette.

Pat Fitzgerald is gone, abruptly ousted after a hazing scandal. Enter interim head coach David Braun, who has Northwestern alive for a bowl bid despite walking into a difficult situation.

Louie Vaccher of WildcatReport.com breaks down Northwestern.

GoldandBlack.com: What can we expect from the Wildcat offense on Saturday?

Vaccher: They really surprised me on Saturday against the Badgers (24-10 win in Madison). They scored the first four times they had the ball, three touchdowns and a field goal. Got 24 points by the half. This is a Northwestern offense that’s been really grinding all year.

They got QB Ben Bryant back. He looked sensational. They got a little bit of a running game going. I think the offensive line played its best game of the year and kept Bryant clean in the pocket. It was a very encouraging performance for an offense that’s struggled to score all year.

GoldandBlack.com: What can we expect from the NU defense?

Vaccher: I think this is where David Braun really has made the most impact as a head coach. He’s still the defensive coordinator. He calls the plays for the defense.

They’ve really been rock solid. This is a fundamentally sound defense. They play much more of a bend-but-don’t-break kind of system that (former DC) Mike Hankwitz ran for all those years for Northwestern’s best defenses under Pat Fitzgerald. They keep everything in front of them, don’t allow the big play and they’re solid.

Their front seven is solid. They have two outstanding linebackers that have played a lot of football in Bryce Gallagher and Xander Mueller and they will fly to the football.

GoldandBlack.com: How do you see this game unfolding?

Vaccher: Northwestern is a fun team this year. They haven’t won or lost two games in a row all season. If they stick to the schedule, they will lose this game on Saturday. So, we’ll see if they can string together two wins for the first time all year.

They won away from home for the first time last week, too, in Madison. But I think right now with Bryant at quarterback and if the offense can get some kind of decent rhythm going and just move the chains semi-regularly and keep the defense off the field a little bit, I would give Northwestern an edge.

I think it’s going to be a tight game, as always, it’ll be low-scoring typical Big Ten West tug-of-war. The team that makes the fewest mistakes will probably win. I’d say Northwestern by a field goal is probably my hunch right now.

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