Wisconsin and Purdue square off in West Lafayette at noon, and there shouldn't be a shortage of points for this one. The Badgers play good defense, but UW is a prototypical Big Ten team. They are built to defend offenses built around the run, and the Boilermarkers wide-open, non-traditional attack has generally done fairly well against them.
For their part, Purdue just does not play a whole lot of D against anyone. Last year in Madison, they played fairly well against the run. But we have yet to see evidence this year that suggests they can slow down P.J. Hill. One matchup that will be vital is the trench battle between Wisconsin tackle Joe Thomas and Purdue defensive end Anthony Spence. Getting some sacks is the most reliable way to take the Badgers out of their running game. And in a game like this, each offense has to have a backyard mentality--every possession is precious and you don't even want to think about not scoring.
Michigan hosts Iowa in the game placed in the 3:30 EST time slot--a kickoff time that will give everyone just enough to leave the Big House and find a TV set for Game 1 of the World Series that night, beginning in Detroit. The Wolverines are nicked up in the secondary, but Mark Snyder of The Detroit Free Press reports that it's more a source of humor then concern amongst the players. Iowa's injury report is looking better in recent weeks.
Comments