By now, the storylines are pretty well set for Iowa (4-4, 2-3 Big Ten) at Purdue (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten). Both teams need this game to help vault them to a strong finish.
“Great respect for Coach Brohm, his players. Done a great job since he’s gotten there. Not just a matter of them being good offensively, which they are, but they’ve upgraded their program in all three areas. They play well defensively, on special teams, on offense as well.
“We haven’t had much success the last couple outings against them, so that’s a goal of ours, to try to change that. Big challenge on our hands. They’re coming off a bye, so they should be well-rested and prepared. I’m sure they will be. We’re going on the road. A road challenge for us. Again, we took a big step forward last week. The idea now is to keep pushing forward and see what we can do. Certainly need to do that to be successful this week,” Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz said of Purdue.
Naturally, there’s plenty of respect from Purdue head football coach Jeff Brohm for Iowa.
“Our team understands they’re an opponent that every year presents numerous challenges. They’re very well coached, outstanding on defense. They are every year. Make you earn everything you get. Force you into making mistakes and take advantage of that,” Brohm said of the Hawkeyes.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at what the percentage numbers from ESPN’s Football Power Index say about the matchup.