CFB Handicapping: Broncos vs Boilermakers
Usually Big Ten vs MAC matchups happen in September, this is a rare December chance for the little sister conference to exact some revenge for early beatdowns.
Little Caesar’s Bowl
Western Michigan Broncos (7-5) vs Purdue Boilermakers (6-6)
Pontiac Silverdome – Detroit, MI
4:30PMMoneyline: Purdue -120, Western Michigan +140
Spread (ATS): Purdue -2.5
Over/Under: 60
Odds courtesy of 5Dimes
Western Michigan
Western Michigan had a solid season but even though they had the MAC most lethal pass catch combo the best they could do was a third place finish in the West division and a road victory at Connecticut.
That pass catch duo is Alex Carder and Jordan White. White had an outstanding season with 128 catches for 1646 yards. The senior receiver might not be the most physically imposing but obviously he knows how to get open and doesn’t drop many. If these guys can play pitch and catch against Purdue than they have a great chance to win the game. Playing inside will help.
Western Michigan enters the game on a roll having won their last 2 and covered in their last three games. They have been a strong ATS play all season long with a record of 8-4 and even though they are playing a team from the Big Ten they won’t be intimidated having done so twice already this season. This is one bowl game where going MAC might be the way to go.
Purdue
It is amazing that you can qualify for a bowl game without winning back to back games all season long. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
That is what Purdue did, needing to win at Indiana the last week of the season to become eligible. It is hard to know what you are going to get form week to week with the Boilermakers. They beat Ohio State a month ago at home but then fell totally flat against Iowa. This is a seriously mediocre team.
Coming into the season the coaching staff decided that Caleb TerBush was going to be their guy not Robert Marve, the touted transfer from Miami. TerBush was adequate, completing 60% of his passes but like the rest of the team his numbers aren’t all that impressive. Here is an interesting stat: TerBush only exceeded a meagre 200 yards in passing once this season and that was in the opener against MTSU. They have to maintain contact with WMU because he can’t bring this team back from a deficit.
On defense, the Boilermakers are near the bottom in every category in the Big Ten. Other than their win against OSU they beat up on the weak sisters of the league, in fact none of their league conquests finished with a winning record in conference. It is hard to like much about Purdue heading into this one other than they might travel well with the game being so close in proximity.
ATS Pick: Western Michigan +2.5
Over/Under Pick: Under
Score Prediction: Western Michigan 31 – Purdue 17
