Purdue Football vs. Indiana: Scouting Report, Prediction

BLOOMINGTON — Nyland Green is new to the Indiana vs. Purdue football rivalry, but it didn’t take long for the cornerback transfer from Georgia to know what that meant.

And now, in Green’s first Old Oaken Bucket game, the stakes are even higher than usual.

Indiana wins and the Hoosiers likely reach the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Purdue wins and Indiana is almost certainly out. Despite the reversed record, the Boilermakers are looking to win the latter with just one win against the 10-1 Hoosiers on Saturday in Bloomington.

“You can’t go? Good,” Green said. “If we can’t go, they can’t go. I don’t really care.”

Before coming to Purdue, Green played for two national championship teams.

While the 2024 season didn’t go as expected – neither for Purdue nor for Green, who struggled with injuries and played in just seven games – a win at Memorial Stadium that ruins Indiana’s dream season may take away some of what otherwise took a year has forgotten to make amends.

Scouting Purdue football opponent Indiana

Hoosier critics point to Indiana’s weak schedule8 and the fact that the only ranked team IU played resulted in a loss at Ohio State last week. The Hoosiers have prevailed with nine lopsided wins in their other 10 games and are currently the fifth team in the College Football Playoff field that Purdue will face this season.

How Curt Cignetti turned Indiana around in his first year as head coach was aided by a heavy load of the transfer portal. The Hoosiers rank second in the Big Ten in average margin of victory, behind only Ohio State.

More:“Consummate prep guy” Hudson Miller moves from Purdue football walk-on to starter

Quarterback Kurtis Rourke (2,478 passing yards, 21 TD, 4 INT) arrived as a fifth-year graduate from Ohio. Running backs Justice Ellison and Ty Son Lawson came through the portal, as did leading receivers Elijah Sarratt and Myles Price, all of whom helped transform an offense that is averaging nearly 100 more yards per game than a year ago.

Did the Purdue defense find something?

It was a stunning turn of events last Friday.

Purdue struggled to stop Michigan State for two quarters and then played meaningless defense in the final two quarters.

“I think we’ve really started to put it together,” rush end Will Heldt said. “We really implemented everything. D-line, supporters and especially on the back end. We really executed in the second half and we can build on that.”

It is only the fourth time this season that Purdue has held a team scoreless for a half. Two of those came in a 49-0 win over Indiana State to open the season. The other was the first half against Nebraska on September 28th.

Prediction: Indiana 48, Purdue Football 14

With a win, the Hoosiers will likely be in the College Football Playoff. However, don’t expect Indiana to leave anything to chance after last week’s loss at Ohio State.

More:Curt Cignetti: “Full focus on Purdue” as IU football clings to CFP spot

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