Purdue Boilermakers vs. Wisconsin Badgers Pick & Prediction OCTOBER 5th 2024

Preview and Prediction

Following back-to-back lopsided defeats against ranked opponents, the University of Wisconsin is hoping for a rebound when they take on Purdue at home this Saturday. Both teams, who are members of the Big Ten conference, are looking to turn their season around in this matchup in Madison, Wisconsin.

The Badgers (2-2, 0-1 Big Ten) are coming off a disappointing 38-21 loss in their conference opener against 11th-ranked USC. The game took a turn for the worse in the second half when Wisconsin was outscored 28-0, resulting in a disastrous defeat.

Purdue (1-3, 0-1) also suffered their third consecutive loss last Saturday, falling 28-10 at home against Nebraska. The following day, offensive coordinator Graham Harrell was fired and replaced by offensive analyst Jason Simmons, who will now take over play-calling duties according to coach Ryan Walters.

"I have confidence in our team and believe that we are capable of more than what we have shown in the past three weeks," said Walters. "There is still a lot of football left to be played and if I didn't make a change now, it would be like giving up on the season."

Purdue started their season with a dominant 49-0 win against Indiana State, but then suffered two consecutive blowout losses to No. 14 Notre Dame (66-7) and Oregon State (38-21). In their most recent game against Nebraska, Purdue was held scoreless in the first half and only managed to put up 3 points before the Cornhuskers responded with 28 unanswered points.

On the other hand, Wisconsin began their season with unimpressive wins over Western Michigan and South Dakota before being crushed at home by top-ranked Alabama with a final score of 42-10.

In their game against USC, the Badgers struggled to stop their opponents and allowed the Trojans to convert 11 out of 17 third-down attempts. USC also dominated time of possession, holding the ball for 40 minutes and 7 seconds compared to Wisconsin's 19 minutes and 53 seconds.

Redshirt sophomore Braedyn Locke has taken over as the starting quarterback for Wisconsin after Tyler Van Dyke suffered a season-ending knee injury against Alabama. In his first game as the starter, Locke completed 13 out of 26 passes for 180 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Running back Chez Mellusi leads the ground game with 232 yards and three touchdowns.

Head coach Luke Fickell expressed his frustration with the team's performance, stating, "We're not at a point where we can rely on one side of the ball to make up for the other. We need both our offense and defense to perform well in order to win games."

Purdue has struggled offensively in their last three games, averaging just 12.7 points per game. Quarterback Hudson Card has completed 65.9% of his passes for an average of 156.8 yards per game with seven touchdowns and four interceptions this season. Running back Devin Mockobee leads the team in rushing with 317 yards on 49 carries, but the Boilermakers were only able to gain 50 yards on the ground in their last game against Nebraska.

Wisconsin has dominated this matchup in recent years, winning 17 straight games against Purdue. The Boilermakers' last victory against the Badgers was in 2003 at Camp Randall in Madison, with a final score of 26-23. In their most recent meeting last season, Wisconsin came out on top with a 38-17 win at Purdue.

PREDICTION

Purdue Boilermakers

Wisconsin Badgers

Purdue Boilermakers vs. Wisconsin Badgers Recap OCT 5TH 2024

Braedyn Locke passed for three touchdowns and Tawee Walker ran for three more as the Wisconsin Badgers dominated visiting Purdue, 52-6, for their 18th consecutive victory over the Boilermakers in a Big Ten matchup Saturday.

Wisconsin (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) bounced back after lopsided losses to now top-ranked Alabama and No. 11 USC. The Badgers had 589 total yards to 216 for Purdue (1-4, 0-2 Big Ten), which lost its fourth straight game.

Locke, who became the starter after Tyler Van Dyke suffered a season-ending knee injury against Alabama, completed 20 of 31 passes for 359 yards with two interceptions. Walker, taking over the workload after leading rusher Chez Mellusi left the team this week for health reasons, ran for 94 yards on 19 carries.

Walker's 1-yard run with nine seconds left in the half, followed by Locke's 69-yard touchdown pass to Trech Kekahuna on the opening series of the third quarter put the Badgers up 28-6.

Locke hit Kekahuna with a 25-yard scoring strike to cap a nine-play, 98-yard drive on Wisconsin's next possession to make it 35-6. Walker added a 17-yard touchdown run and Cade Yacamelli scored on a 30-yarder. Nathanial Vakos capped the scoring with a 26-yard field goal.

The loss capped a week of upheaval for Purdue, which has not beaten Wisconsin since 2003. Offensive coordinator Graham Harrell was fired earlier in the week and starting cornerback Markevious Brown was not with the team due to a "personal matter," but was expected back next season, the school announced before the game.

Wisconsin recovered a muffed punt at the Purdue 12-yard line to set up its first score. On the following play, Walker went off the right side to put the Badgers up 7-0 with 8:04 left in the first quarter.

The Badgers extended the lead to 14-0 on their next possession on a 52-yard touchdown pass from Locke to Vinny Anthony II. The Boilermakers helped the 91-yard drive with a pair of 15-yard penalties.

Kyndrich Breedlove intercepted Locke twice in the second quarter, but the Boilermakers settled for field goals of 21 and 23 yards by Spencer Forath to pull within 14-6.

Wisconsin responded with an 11-play, 75-yard scoring drive to go up 21-6 at the half. Locke hit CJ Williams with a 19-yard pass to set up Walker's 1-yard plunge.