The Purdue Boilermakers and the Northwestern Wildcats meet Saturday in college football action from Ryan Field. Purdue is fresh off a matchup versus Minnesota. In that game the 3-7 Boilermakers powered out a 19-point win. As for Northwestern, they played Wisconsin last Saturday. The Wildcats would improve to 5-5 with a 14-point win there. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.

Purdue Boilermakers 

The Boilermakers managed to win just two of their first nine games this season. Part of the troubles during that span stemmed from scoring, as Purdue averaged just 20.9 points per game. The Boilermakers managed nine touchdowns and eight interceptions through the air, with 13 scores and 132.3 yards per game on the ground during that time. 

In their latest matchup Saturday versus Minnesota, the Boilermakers outscored the Gophers 14-10 in three different quarters during a wild 49-30 victory. QB Hudson Card managed 251 yards with three touchdowns, but Devin Mockobee (153 yards; TD) and Tyrone Tracy (122 yards; two TDs) did most of the offensive work on the ground. 

Purdue Boilermakers Team Facts

• Purdue has won four of its last five November games as an underdog against non-AP-ranked teams.
• Purdue has covered the spread in each of its last five November games as an underdog against non-AP-ranked teams.
• Purdue has lost the first half in four of its last five games against conference opponents.
• Each of Purdue’s last four November games as an underdog against non-AP-ranked teams have gone OVER the total points line.

Northwestern Wildcats 

Over on the Wildcats’ side, they did a little better over their first nine outings with four wins in that stretch, but didn’t score any better. Northwestern bagged 20.1 points per game in those games, with 13 touchdowns, five interceptions and 193.6 yards per game from the pass. Rush-wise, the Wildcats averaged just 98.6 yards per game and scored eight times. 

Last weekend against Wisconsin, Northwestern was up 24-3 by halftime and powered out a 24-10 win despite not scoring from there. Ben Bryant finished with 195 yards and two scores, while Cam Porter led the rush on 72 yards. AJ Henning was tops in receiving with 70 yards and a TD off three catches. 

Northwestern Wildcats Team Facts

• Northwestern has lost 10 of its last 11 games in November.
• The underdog has covered the spread in each of Northwestern’s last five games.
• Each of Northwestern’s last four games against conference opponents at Ryan Field have gone OVER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

• Northwestern has recorded the equal-most home wins by a margin of three points or less of any FBS team this season (2).

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’ll take a stab on Purdue here. The Boilermakers put up a great offensive effort in the win over Minnesota, totaling 605 yards (353 rushing), 8.8 yards per play and 25 first downs. Of course, Purdue also gave up 407 yards (292 passing) on the other side in a high-scoring game. The 49-point total was a great sign after 14 or fewer points in four straight games prior to that. 

As for Northwestern, they managed 324 yards (195 passing) in the win over Wisconsin, as well as a nice 11-of-17 on third-down tries. The Wildcats have now scored 24 or more points in two of their last three outings. This matchup could go a lot of different ways, but I think it’ll be fairly close and fairly high-scoring in a Purdue cover/win. Should be an entertaining game to watch as well.