Opponent View/Scouting Northwestern

Another week, another chance to stop a losing streak that now numbers four for Purdue.

But winning at Northwestern (4-2 overall; 2-1 Big Ten) won’t be easy. The Wildcats have won three in a row, coming off a 22-21 victory at Penn State that put a fork in the James Franklin era in State College, Pa.

Meanwhile, the Boilermakers (2-4; 0-3) are fresh off an exasperating 27-20 defeat at Minnesota, a game Purdue dominated … but failed to win.

Purdue has a 55-29-1 all-time record vs. NU, but the series have tipped decidedly toward the Cats of late. Northwestern enters on a two-game win streak vs. the Boilers. Last season, Northwestern won in overtime in Ross-Ade. The Wildcats are 10-4 in the last 14 encounters vs. Purdue.

Dave Eanet, the voice of Northwestern, breaks down the Wildcats in advance of Purdue’s trip to Evanston on Saturday (3 p.m. ET, BTN).

GoldandBlack.com: What can we expect from the Northwestern offense?

Eanet: It’s a run-oriented team with Caleb Komolafe and Joseph Himon, the two running backs who are really, really playing well and behind a veteran offensive line that’s also developing as the season goes along.

And a smart veteran quarterback, something Northwestern really has needed. Preston Stone, a transfer from SMU, has gotten better as the season’s gone along. He kind of had a rocky start in the first game against Tulane, where he turned it over some. But since then, he’s seen three straight games without an interception. He’s got a very talented wide receiver, also a transfer, by the name of Griffin Wilde, who is one of those guys who has a knack for getting open and a knack for catching the ball when he is open.

Those are the keys to this offense. But I think ultimately, they want to run the football. They’ve been doing a very good job of that.

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

Eanet: It’s a defense that is sort of taking on the personality of its defensive coordinator, Tim McGarigle, who’s the all-time leading tackler in Northwestern history. They’re a physical defense. They haven’t come up with a lot of takeaways, kind of like Purdue on defense. But lately, those takeaways have started to come. They came up with a couple of them on Saturday against Penn State in their big win over the Nittany Lions.

They have had some injuries in their secondary, but what that’s done is create some depth back there because they had to give some other guys some playing time. Now, the guys who were out are back. Josh Fussell, a starting corner, and safety Damon Walters both played Saturday against Penn State. Fussell had missed a couple of games. Walters hadn’t played at all this season. They didn’t start Saturday, but they did play, and I think we’ll see more of them this week against Purdue.

The defense is led by their middle linebacker, Mac Uihlein, who’s been one of the top tacklers in the Big Ten and one of those guys who just seems to be all over the field, and safety Rob Fitzgerald. And it’s a good defensive line with Aidan Hubbard. Anto Saka missed the game Saturday at Penn State because of an injury, but he’ll play this week and he’s one of the top edge rushers in the Big Ten.

So, that’s kind of what you’re looking at. It’s a pretty good defense. They’re good at stopping the run, and they have not allowed a quarterback to throw for 200 yards yet this season.

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

Eanet: There could be rain in the forecast. Purdue is a team that I know is going to want to throw the ball. They’ve had success in the passing game and the running game. I think Northwestern is a team that really wants to run the football. And I think if it is raining, I think that they’re going to stick to their plan, right?

And they’re going to honor the 1995 Rose Bowl team this weekend. It’s the 30th anniversary. So, coach Gary Barnett and that group, they’re all coming back for this game. I think they want to put on a good show for them. And, look, let’s face it, Northwestern is coming off a big win at Penn State, coming off three straight wins, that win over UCLA is looking better and better every week. And they don’t want to get trapped, but this kind of has the makings of one of those types of games against a Purdue team that looks better. There’s no doubt.

I know they don’t have a lot of wins to show for it yet, but they certainly look like they’ve made some strides in year one under Barry Odom. So, you know, Northwestern is mature enough to take care of business, keep their winning streak going, playing at home in the last game they’ll play in that temporary lakefront stadium. But I think that this will be a game that goes down to the fourth quarter.

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