The Purdue Boilermakers were picked to finish in last place in the Big Ten Conference. After back-to-back convincing wins over Illinois and Minnesota, Purdue is showing they may be better than we were giving them credit for in the preseason polls. Purdue will now have the chance to continue their winning streak on Friday when they travel to take on the Washington Huskies. Washington is coming off a 41-24 loss on their home field against the Iowa Hawkeyes. It was Washington’s third straight loss. The Huskies are currently sitting in last place in the Big Ten with a conference record of 0-3. Will the Huskies be able to pick up their first conference win of the season, or will Purdue continue its winning streak?
If you would have told a fan of the Big Ten in the preseason that between Washington and Purdue, Purdue’s offense would be the one in rhythm while Washington is struggling to find consistency, they would have thought you were crazy. But here we are. Purdue has found its rhythm under quarterback Ryan Browne, who has thrown for more than 1,500 yards, nine touchdowns, and only one interception. The Boilermakers rank 4th in the Big Ten in passing and 19th nationally. Washington is right behind Purdue in passing with 279.5 passing yards per game, but quarterback Demond Williams Jr. is unlikely to play against Purdue due to a rib injury.
With Williams out, backup quarterback Elijah Brown will take his place. Brown transferred in from Stanford in the offseason. Brown played for a majority of the game against Iowa, completing 28 of 39 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns. The Huskies will need Brown to play well if they want to compete against Purdue. Washington likely will not lean on their running game that only averages 90 yards per game opening this game for a potentially quarterback battle. After seeing Washington allow Brown to throw the football 39 times against a top defense like Iowa, I get the sense that the coaching staff trusts their back up quarterback. Brown will get the chance to continue his momentum against a Purdue defense that has been vulnerable against the pass. This season, Purdue has allowed 243 yards per game through the air and have only totaled a little over 1 sack per game. These numbers rank them 111th or worse in both categories. After Washington allowed 41 points to Iowa, and with Purdue’s defense ranking near the bottom of college football against the pass, I see this game as a potential shootout, especially if Brown can play like he did against Iowa.
Washington vs Purdue prediction: Over 52.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at 53.
