Indiana at Purdue

Date/Time/Place: Saturday, Nov. 30 , 2019: noon ET, Ross-Ade Stadium

Surface: Natural Grass

Capacity: 57,236 (Tickets Available)

Schedule/records: Indiana 7-4 in 2019, 5-7 in 2018; Purdue 4-7 in 2019, 6-7 in 2018

Line: Indiana: -6.5

Series notes: Purdue leads the all-time series 71-41-6 and is 38-22-4 in games played at Purdue. Purdue leads the Old Oaken Bucket battle (since 1925) 60-31-3 including 15 of the last 22. Purdue won 28-21 last year in Bloomington and 31-24 in 2017 each were the first Bucket games that coaches Jeff Brohm and Tom Allen had led teams into the traditional battle.

TV: ESPN2 (Anish Shroff, PBP; John Congemi, Analyst; Kris Budden, Sidelines)

Radio (Purdue): Sirius 83 / XM 83/ Tunein.com (Tim Newton, play-by-play; Kelly Kitchel sidelines, Pete Quinn, Analyst)

Pregame: Gold and Black Radio

Purdue roster | Purdue Schedule/results | Purdue Game Notes

Indiana Roster | Indiana Schedule/Results | Indiana Game Notes | Indiana Depth Chart

West Lafayette Weather

MORE: Opponent View: Indiana | Twin City Superstore Videos: Brohm, McCann, Wright talk Indiana and more | Brohm talks Senior Day, Bucket, trick plays and more | Twin City Superstore Video: Purdue coach Jeff Brohm on IU, seniors, more | Coach's Corner: McCann ready to punctuate a 'good career' | Holt will be emotional coaching son in last game

Indiana coach Tom Allen said on Wednesday that Stevie Scott (No. 8) was still questionable for Saturday's game. And that could be big if it is a wet track in Ross-Ade Stadium as the Hoosiers figure to have an advantage in the run game. Purdue has struggled to stop the run in the last two games, but at times this season coach Nick Holt's unit has risen to the occasion.

If Scott can't go, the Hoosiers were revert to Sampson James (24) or Ronnie Walker (23) who have yet to break out in limited appearances in 2019.

Quarterback Peyton Ramsey, (12) who was also dinged up last week, will play, has some running skills. But since having taken over for freshman starter Michel Penix Jr. , who was lost for the season a few weeks back with a broken collar bone, Ramsey has had to be a bit more selective when choosing to run.

Simply put, the Hoosiers may have an advantage in this category, but it figures to be relatively slight. If it ends up being a large advantage, it spells big rouble for Purdue.

Ramsey has been highly accurate to date completing over 70 percent of his passes and has several talented receivers from which to choose. Whop Philyor (1) is an All Big Ten caliber wideout with 61 catches and is expected to play despite being in concussion protocol and missing last week's 39-14 loss to Michigan.

Ramsey generally works the short passing game, and Purdue has to keep the Hoosiers from getting in a rhythm. Keep an eye out for tight end Peyton Hendershot (86) who has put up numbers close to Purdue's Brycen Hopkins and had six catches last week against Michigan. Also freshman David Ellis (10) may not have put up big numbers consistently, but if Philyor is out any period of time Allen and Co.. may look to find him in addition to the Hoosiers' second most productive receiver Ty Frygogle (3).

You might remember returnees Donovan Hale (6) and Nick Westbrook (15) from last year's game. They combined for 18 catches and Ramsey threw for 345 yards in Bloomington last year, so all should be comfortable seeing the Gold and Black across the line of scrimmage.

Purdue's struggles in the ground game have pretty much been a constant in 2019. And if weather is a factor on Saturday, it will be a concern for a Purdue offense that hopes not to repeat a weather-slowed performance it had five weeks earlier against Illinois. The Boilermakers simply have to find a way to manufacture enough of a ground game to give the visitors something to think about.

Brohm has had success running the football against IU before, as Markell Jones' 217-yard effort in 2017 will attest to. Jones had 95 yards last year too in the seven point win at Bloomington. So maybe Brohm's scheme can help manufacture some yardage for Xander Horvath or King Doerue,. It could be a deciding factor in this one. We will rate this one even on that premise that Brohm may have something up his sleeve. He often does.

Sophomore quarterback Aidan O'Connell has been stellar in his first two starts, and will need to be again if the Boilermakers are to prevail. Look for Purdue to try to manufacture ball control and enough offense with a short passing game. Hopkins, who is playing his final game, figures to be targeted often as he has been in recent weeks. And David Bell will also be given his chances to finish the season as the league's leader in receptions. Both will be key, as they have been of late, to O'Connell's and the Boilermaker's offensive success.

Purdue's line will also have to be wary of the Hoosiers' attacking defense. The Cream and Crimson have 25 sacks on the season, and will figure it necessary to try to fluster O'Connell. Turnover margin will likely be the biggest key to victory in this one.

Indiana has an excellent kicking game led by place-kicker Logan Justus (82) has yet to miss a field goal in 14 attempts and punter Haydon Whitehead (94) has averaged nearly 42 yards per punt.

J.D. Dellinger remains a constant positive for Purdue, but Purdue's rugby punt game needs to be better this week than it was in Madison, especially if weather dictates the need for field position to be at a premium.

Neither team has been spectacular in the return game, though Philyor, if healthy, can be a threat for the Hoosiers. One might guess that it will be special teams that will determine the winner of this one, but both team's ability to date in 2019 to make a game-changing play in this phase of the game has been relatively dormant this season.

It is Senior Day at Ross-Ade, and while there aren't many seniors on the active roster to celebrate, it will be interesting to see who take part in the pregame ceremonies. This is a game where the Hoosier have advantages in several of the categories but that may not be enough to bring the visitors victory.

Indiana has pressure on it, not to defeat Purdue to get to a bowl game, but a win can improve the Hoosiers' bowl position. IU is also the favorite in this one, so the Boilermakers, in theory, can play free and easy in this one.

Still, this game is important for Purdue. For the Boilermakers and Brohm, you get the sense that the Bucket Game has the ability to be the launching pad for the 2020 season. Will that provide the motivation for the Boilermakers to pull what would be a minor upset? Purdue has had to work all the edges and angles just to remain competitive in 2019, there is no reason to think that this one won't go down to the wire.

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