Matchup Preview: Purdue-Rutgers

Rutgers at Purdue

Time: Saturday, 4:00 P.M. EST

Location: Ross-Ade Stadium

Surface: Natural Grass

Capacity: 57,236

2020 Schedule/records: Rutgers (1-4 overall, 1-4 Big Ten); Purdue (2-2; 2-2)

Series notes: Purdue and Rutgers have met just once, with the Scarlet Knights defeating Purdue 14-12 on Oct. 21, 2017 in a contest played in Piscataway, N.J. In that contest, the Boilermakers, under first-year coach Jeff Brohm, out-gained the host team 474-217. Purdue had a chance to send the game into overtime in the contest's final minute, but a two-point conversion failed.

TV: FS1 (Kevin Fitzgerald, play-by-play; Sam Acho, analyst)

line: Purdue -11.5

Radio (Purdue): Sirius 132/ XM 207/ Tunein.com (Tim Newton, play-by-play; Pete Quinn, analyst; Rob Blackman, studio host, Kelly Kitchel sidelines)

Pregame: Gold and Black Radio

Purdue roster | Purdue Schedule/Results | Purdue Game Notes (PDF) | Game Morning Depth Chart

Rutgers roster | Rutgers schedule/results | Rutgers Game Notes (PDF)

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Rutgers’ run game is paced by junior tailback Isaih Pacheco, who averages 4.7 yards per carry and has reached the end zone twice this season. The only other Knight with more than 20 rushing attempts on the year is quarterback Noah Vedral, who provides a running threat for opposing defenses to look out for. Backup quarterback Johnny Langan will come in near the goal line for read option plays, which have been effective for the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers’ offensive line has experienced plenty of struggles this season, which is reflected in its 3.6 average yards per carry.

Last week, Minnesota ran the ball with relative ease against Purdue for most of the game due to Purdue’s lack of a push up front on defense. With George Karlaftis sidelined and Anthony Watts potentially still dealing with an injury, it will be difficult for Purdue to generate a lot of disruption. Purdue will rely on its linebackers to clog up holes and keep the Rutgers ballcarriers from getting into the defensive backfield. Neither side has demonstrated much consistency in this facet of the game, but I’ll give a slight advantage to Rutgers.

Vedral, a Nebraska transfer, lacks the accuracy that is needed from him. This has been very evident as he has thrown three interceptions in a game twice in the young season. He completes 64% of his passes and doesn’t throw the deep ball particularly well. Bo Melton is the top target for the Rutgers offense, averaging 16 yards per reception and scoring five times in as many games. Aron Cruickshank will see a lot of targets from the slot position, though he isn’t a dynamic yards after reception threat. Vedral is coming off his best performance of the year in the overtime loss to Michigan and will look to continue that against a Purdue defense which doesn’t generate much of a pass rush.

Purdue fell victim to the deep ball from Minnesota last week, but Tanner Morgan is a better quarterback than what the Boilers will face this week. Still, Purdue’s lack of a pass rush is a major concern. The Boiler defense has gone two straight games without sacking the opposing quarterback, and the somewhat mobile Vedral will make that a challenge again this week. Purdue doesn’t want to let Vedral have time to make deep throws the way Morgan did, though the Rutgers offense isn’t as threatening as the Gophers. Purdue will rely on its secondary to keep big plays to a minimum from the Scarlet Knights.

The return of Rondale Moore sparked a different dimension in Purdue’s run game a week ago (though the forward tosses are technically counted as passes). Moore’s ability to get to the outside and make guys miss sets up the traditional run game well. Zander Horvath looks to build off a nice game where he averaged 6.8 yards per carry against the Gophers. When he gets some momentum going, he is one tough back to tackle. King Doerue will continue to see carries behind Horvath, though he still may not be 100% after missing the first two games with a hamstring injury.

Rutgers allows just 3.9 yards per carry on the season. Opponents have not been shy to rely on the run, as the Knights are facing more than 40 rush attempts per game. Rutgers has the ability to make big plays, with 37 tackles for loss on the season thus far. Purdue’s offensive line looked solid last week, and they’ll need to do it again to keep Greg Schiano’s defense guessing.

Jack Plummer will take snaps for the Boilermaker offense again this week after a spectacular performance a week ago. His ability to keep plays alive greatly helped the offense extend drives, and he reaped the benefit of Moore’s return. Purdue’s deep receiving corps will see lots of action, but I expect Moore and Bell to see the ball coming their way all evening long on Saturday.

Rutgers corner Avery Young is off to a fantastic start to the season, but he hasn’t faced a challenge like he will when covering either Moore or Bell. Rutgers’ safeties have really struggled in pass coverage this season, and the defense as a whole has only intercepted two passes on the year. I expect Purdue to challenge the Knights deep a few times early on, and I think they’ll have success doing it.

Overall, expect a tougher fight from Rutgers defense than Purdue saw in Minneapolis this past Friday. Coach Jeff Brohm said they will be a challenge that belies its 1-4 record.

JD Dellinger had an uncharacteristically rough night in Minneapolis, where he missed a late field goal and had an earlier attempt blocked. Purdue will hope his memory in short and can return to the consistently solid form he has been in since taking over in 2019. Purdue still hasn’t exhibited any explosion in the return game, and the punting efforts will again be split in hopes of finding some consistency.

Rutgers had a crucial missed field goal of their own last week, but they are 6-7 on the season. Valentino Ambrosio has handled the kicking duties the last few games and has a long of 42. The Knights have a more solidified punting game, with Adam Korsak averaging 42.5 yards a punt. There have been a few big returns which Purdue will need to prevent..

Purdue faces some serious adversity this week as they look to move past last week’s controversial finish that had the attention of the college football world. Losing Karlaftis to COVID certainly doesn’t help the team, either. though Big George was far from 100 percent coming off his lower leg injury. Jeff Brohm seemed to try and move past last week’s finish in his pressers this week, but is the locker room in the same spot?

Likewise, Rutgers has to move on following their heartbreaking primetime loss to Michigan last week, a game they probably should have won. Chris Ash’s tenure at Rutgers was a disaster, but the return of Schiano has this program re-energized. After back-to-back close losses, they’ll look to get back in the win column despite entering the contest against Purdue as double-digit underdogs.

As are most games in this very strange season, it will come down to the little things. Rutgers is dead last in the Big Ten in penalties. Naturally, that has been a concern for Schiano who wants his teams to be aggressive, but not that aggressive.

Still, Scchiano has his team giving consistent effort in 2020, and with COVID-19 at its peak, it is a challenge to determine who will be on the field for either squad. On paper, this game appears more even than the two-touchdown spread indicates. It should be an entertaining game late Saturday afternoon in Ross-Ade.

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