Iowa loss means Purdue will play in Big Ten title game with win at Indiana
Win and Purdue is in the Big Ten championship game on December 3.
That’s the scenario the Boilermakers (7-4 overall; 5-3 Big Ten) will face when they play at Indiana (4-7; 2-6) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET in one of the biggest games in school history.
If Purdue beats the Hoosiers to retain the Old Oaken Bucket, they will play the winner of Saturday’s Michigan (11-0; 8-0) at Ohio State (11-0; 8-0) for the league title in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis a week from tomorrow. The Boilermakers are a 10.5-point favorite vs. Indiana, which ended a seven-game losing streak last week with a 39-31 double OT win at Michigan State.
Jeff Brohm is 3-1 vs. the Hoosiers. Purdue beat IU, 44-7, last season. This will be the Boilermakers’ first trip to Bloomington since 2018, as the 2020 game at Indiana was cancelled due to COVID. Indiana last beat Purdue in 2019, taking a 44-41 double OT victory in West Lafayette.
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Purdue is in this situation because Iowa was upset 24-17 at home by Nebraska on Friday in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes were a 10.5-point favorite and had won seven in a row vs. the Cornhuskers (4-8; 3-6). Had the Hawkeyes (7-5; 5-4) won, they would have played in Lucas Oil Stadium in the Big Ten championship game for a second season in a row.
If Purdue pulled off an upset in the Big Ten title game, it would secure a spot in the Rose Bowl for the first time since the 2000 season. The Boilermakers last played Ohio State in 2021, losing 59-31 in Columbus. Purdue last played Michigan in 2017, falling 28-10 in West Lafayette.
The Boilermakers never have played in the league title game, which began in 2011, nor have they won even a share of the West Division title. The East-West divisional format is expected to be eliminated in 2024 when USC and UCLA join the Big Ten. The conference is expected to have no divisions and pair the top two finishers in the league title game.
If Purdue loses to Indiana, Illinois (7-4; 4-4) will play in the Big Ten championship game if it wins at Northwestern (1-10; 1-7) on Saturday. If Purdue and Illinois both lose, Iowa will go to the title game.
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