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Posted at 9:15 AM EST.

12:00 PM EST. The Hoosiers recently snapped a six-game losing streak with an emphatic 47-28 win at Maryland last week. Conversely, Purdue enters this one with three more losses than Indiana, but many of Purdue’s losses require further analysis. It is duly noted that Purdue has also had some hideous losses this year as well but they have had noteworthy moments of brilliance against stellar competition. On the year, the Boilermakers played tough against Michigan State, Bowling Green and Northwestern. In those three games against what is construed as high-caliber opposition, the Boilermakers lost by a combined 17 points. Furthermore, Purdue’s two wins on the year were both achieved in the friendly confines of Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue’s most recent victim was the visiting Nebraska Cornhuskers who were amiably spotting a touchdown-plus as a road favorite. Now, we have Indiana visiting in a rivalry game series that has been evenly matched over the past decade with five wins a piece.

The Hoosiers have lost three of their last four on the road. In two of these three games, Indiana was outright humiliated, losing by 22 to Penn State in Happy Valley and 26 to Michigan State in Sparta. Sure, the Maryland result will raise eyebrows but Maryland is also enduring one of their worst seasons in recent years. The Terps are tied with Purdue for wins, but they have lost eight straight games and were only competitive in one of their eight consecutive defeats. The aforementioned lone victory is a reference to a newly spawned rivalry game against Penn State in October. When you compare Indiana’s defense to Purdue’s, there is a significant difference. Indiana ranks 115th or worse in scoring defense, total defense and passing yards per game and these figures are the likely culprit of the Hoosier’s regression as they simply cannot stop opposing defenses. Just like many teams with this flawed profile, Indiana relies heavily on their offense to win games. However, we have documented results that show that a grim fate awaits teams that incorporate this reckless style of football. As for the Hoosiers, this strategy hasn’t worked out for them in the last month and a half and we don’t see anything changing here.  

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