NCAAF Week 8 Betting – Purdue Boilermakers at Northwestern Wildcats
The Purdue Boilermakers (2-4 SU, 2-2-1 ATS) have been overwhelmed by a difficult early schedule. On Saturday they will try to start turning things around when they face the Wildcats of Northwestern (5-1 SU, 2-3 ATS) in NCAA football action in the Big Ten Conference, scheduled to get underway at Noon ET at Ryan Field (natural turf) in Evanston, IL.
Saturday, October 18
BetUS NCAA Football Betting Odds: NORTHWESTERN -4, Total 47
Here are some of the NCAA college football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* PUR has lost four of its last five games SU
* PUR has played four of its last five games UNDER the total
* PUR is 2-3-1 ATS in its last six road games
* PUR has lost its last five road games SU
* NW has won five of its last six games SU
* NW has won four of its last five home games SU
Also….
* PUR has covered four of the last six meetings
* PUR has won nine of the last 11 meetings SU
* Five of the last six meetings have gone UNDER the total
* PUR has covered five of the last six meetings as the road team
* PUR has won four of the last five meetings SU as the road team
The Boilermakers have played a tough early schedule, which included Oregon, an improved Notre Dame team, and Big Ten front-runners Ohio State and Penn State. The rest of the slate is something Joe Tiller’s team could conceivably sweep through, as players want to send Tiller out with a bowl appearance (he’s retiring).
Perhaps this game will represent a relief for Purdue, which scored just nine combined points in its last two games. Of course, that was against two outstanding defenses, and Northwestern, although not porous, does not fit the “stopper” category.
Kory Sheets, Purdue’s star running back, has said it is “baffling” that his team can not score points, and indeed that has not been a bad question. Curtis Painter has struggled, but it would be a mistake to sit him down, as was the gossip. With 364 yards, Painter would get to move into second place all-time in Big Ten passing yardage on Saturday. He would pass a former Northwestern QB, Brett Basanez, to get there.
Meanwhile, Tiller, who thought he had some of the best defensive talent in his tenure at Purdue, particularly on the front line, was proud of the way his team performed against Ohio State, as the B-Makers gave up just 222 yards to the Terrelle Pryor-led Buckeyes.
We figure Painter is more reliable than C.J. Bacher, who has thrown three TD’s with seven interceptions since the opener against Syracuse. And even though we like Northwestern’s versatile Tyrell Sutton (603 yards, 24 receptions), we think Sheets can match him stride-for-stride. We like Purdue, the four-point underdog in the BetUS NCAA college football betting odds.
