Starting at noon Saturday in Ross-Ade Stadium, someone's going to match their win total from all of last season when Western Michigan visits Purdue.

The parallels between the Boilermakers and Broncos - both of them 1-11 last season in their first years under new staffs - are many, one of those common denominators being the need to get the 2014 season off on the right foot.

Below, GoldandBlack.com staff members offer their predictions, some more serious than others.

Kyle Charters: Purdue's strength will be in its ability to hit big plays out of the running game, with Raheem Mostert and Akeem Hunt able to do damage in space.

That will likely bode well for Saturday - Western Michigan's rush defense was terrible last season, its front is still young and its front is still undersized - but might not have the same effectiveness later in the year.

Why?

I think Purdue, especially considering others will soon have film to scout, needs to show it can consistently pass the ball down the field. It hasn't shown the ability, certainly consistently, to be able to do so. If it can't, Big Ten teams especially will start to load up the box, taking away the lanes for Purdue's runners. So it's on Danny Etling and the offensive line.

For this game: Well, I think the Boilermakers' speed just overmatches the Broncos' defense. And Purdue's defense looks improved, certainly enough so to keep WMU in check.

Stacy Clardie: Finally, a chance to gauge the Boilermakers against a team that's not the Boilermakers.

Though Purdue appears to be a more physical, more efficient, tougher, better-prepared team now than at any point in 2013, it still has to show it in a game. A young, rebuilding Western Michigan program is probably the perfect opponent for that: A game that provides an opportunity to build some confidence with a victory.

Not sure the Broncos will be able to slow Raheem Mostert and Akeem Hunt - prediction here is both will have a 50-plus yard play - and that should take pressure off Danny Etling and the passing game.

The bigger interest is what Purdue's defense looks like against a smaller, less-experienced Western Michigan unit. The Boilermakers should be dominant, generating considerable pressure (and getting actual sacks from it) and creating turnovers. The most anticipated matchup here is cornerback Anthony Brown on WMU receiver Corey Davis, though it'll be interesting to see if Brown matches up exclusively on Davis. Purdue's corners aren't flipping sides - one playing boundary, the other playing field - this season, so Antoine Lewis could get a chance, too.

If the offense can produce four touchdowns, that'll show progress, and that's what it's about for this program now.

Alan Karpick: Any Purdue fan would love to think that things are better, and we will begin to find this out tomorrow.

Purdue looks to be doing all the right things headed towards an improved situation, but it is important it shows it tomorrow.

A good performance helps begin to win over the nearly 4,000 students that are expected to attend as guests of Mitch Daniels, Darrell Hazell and Morgan Burke.

Fan interest and involvement is near as much a storyline as the game.

Brian Neubert: P.J. Fleck is on a boat. Everybody look at him 'cause he's standin' on a boat.

And rowing.

Sorry, I digress.

Anyway, Saturday the boat sinks. Again.

Bold leap of faith there I'm taking in being so certain about Purdue in this Week 1 matchup considering the depths it slipped to competitively last season.

But this is as much about the Broncos as the Boilermakers.

Even if you see the exact same Purdue team as a year ago - which you will not; you will see a more experienced, maybe more physical, and just better one - this is still a MAC opponent that lost all but one of the 12 games it played last season.

Give me a compelling reason to think Western Michigan can come into a Big Ten stadium and win, a reason that's something more than, "Purdue was really bad last season." Yeah, I know, "Indiana State." OK, give me another one.

Maybe I'm wrong. Wouldn't be the first time and won't be the last. But at the very least, I'd expect to see a much more functional Purdue team, functional enough to get past what should be an inferior opponent in what amounts to as important a game as Purdue has played in years, quite honestly. That's just the reality of the situation right now: A crucial game played against a middling mid-major in front of scores of empty seats. But, again, it has to start somewhere.

Purdue needs to win this game - who knows how these guys will respond to success? - but more so can't afford to lose it.

It won't lose it.

I think Danny Etling will be improved over last season, he'll have more help and the sideline will put him in better positions to be successful. Same for Purdue's other offensive would-be weapons.

Defensively, well, I don't know. But, again, this is a Western Michigan offense that was just as toothless as Purdue's last season against lesser competition.

I'm convinced Purdue wins tomorrow, but largely for reasons that might not apply any other week this season beside this one. The opponent, that is.

I think Purdue will be better than last season, but it has a long way to go.

On paper, it looks like the ball is propped up on the tee for Purdue. All it has to do is smack it.

Saturday, Western Michigan and all its freshmen can row all day, but the boat's going to be overmatched.

Travis Baugh: Purdue has a very, very good opportunity to do something Saturday it failed miserably to do in 2013 - establish the running game.

Western Michigan allowed 3,000 yards and 30 touchdowns on the ground last season. The Broncos have more athleticism and depth in their front seven now, but they're light on size and experience. I think Purdue will use the run to open up the pass and have a well-balanced attack offensively.

The Broncos have playmakers at wide receiver and may have some success through the air, especially without Landon Feichter roaming the secondary in the first half. Yet a lackluster running game should keep Western Michigan's offense one-dimensional for the most part.

I don't see Purdue delivering a knockout punch and blowing out the Broncos like it used to blow out MAC opponents in the early 2000s. I do see Purdue being in control from the opening kickoff and starting 2014 with a much-needed victory.

[rl]

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