Northwestern vs. Purdue gamethread

Northwestern will look to avoid a letdown after last week's shocking upset of Notre Dame today against the struggling Purdue Boilermakers (3-7, 1-5 Big Ten). Northwestern needs to win their last two games to become bowl eligible and both games are winnable contests.

Purdue comes into today's game having lost four in a row, but three of those opponents were ranked. They made a quarterback switch midway through the year from Danny Etling to Austin Appelby, and their offense has improved since then. However, their defense gives up 31.9 points per game, and it's tough to win games when your defense can't get stops when they need them.

Despite both teams being below .500 and having relatively disappointing years, this is a huge game for Northwestern. A win and they're one win away from bowl season. A loss would be a terrible setback for the program.

Northwestern will be without Traveon Henry, Miles Shuler, Stephen Buckley, and Jack Konopka.