First Look: Indiana

Here's an early look at Purdue's next opponent, the Indiana Hoosiers:

Time: Noon ET

Location: Ross-Ade Stadium

Surface: Grass

Capacity: 57,236 (Tickets available)

Records: Indiana (5-6 overall, 2-6 Big Ten); Purdue (5-6 overall, 3-5 Big Ten)

Series notes: Purdue leads the all-time series 72-41-6. Since 1925, when the Old Oaken Bucket came into play, Purdue leads, 58-31-3. Purdue is 37-22-4 in West Lafayette. Indiana has dominated the series of late, winning the last four. A victory for the Hoosiers on Saturday would give the Cream and Crimson its first five-game winning streak against Purdue in the series, which dates back to 1890.

TV: ESPN2

Early line: Purdue -2.5

For the first time in the history of the series, a postseason appearance is on the line for both teams in the contest. For all practical purposes, this is a win-or-go-home game, though Indiana's APR could get it a bowl bid at 5-7, though at this point it appears all 39 bowls will be filled by teams with six or more wins.

The Hoosiers had eight sacks and allowed only 33 rushing yards at Illinois on Nov. 11 and gave up just 186 total yards, including 83 on the ground, in a 41-0 shutout of Rutgers. IU recorded four more sacks while posting its first shutout in Big Ten play in 24 years against the Scarlet Knights.

Of course, it bears noting that Purdue's defense was dominant for the most part against Rutgers and Illinois.

Running back Cole Gest and Morgan Ellison have gained momentum in the last two weeks, combining 253 yards vs. Rutgers after 131 yards in the win at Illinois.

Quarterback Richard Lagow has been restored as the starting quarterback by Peyton Ramsey’s injury and has been good since late October. He threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns last week and has now thrown eight touchdowns to just four interceptions in the last three-plus games.

"I've played against Coach (Tom) Allen before, and this is his second year at Indiana. He's coached a lot of football. He's a very good defensive coach, is a good person, does things the right way. Got a chance to know him a little bit, and they're an attacking style defense. I think you can see the adjustments he's made between this year and last year, and they're going to press you. They're not going to give you easy completions. They're going to bring guys from the field, the boundary, up the middle, overload you, give you different fronts. The safeties are active playing the run, and they're going to challenge you to throw it deep.

"It'll present challenges for us. We've had numerous struggles against certain looks, and I think we've gotten slightly better, but we're still going to have to be physical and win some one-on-one battles to win the football game."

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