Why Purdue presents one of the toughest matchups Wisconsin has seen this season

Wisconsin needs a win this weekend to maintain momentum and keep the Big Ten West in its sights. A loss wouldn’t knock them out of contention, but it would make a late-season run to Indianapolis nearly impossible.

On the opposing sideline will be the No. 25 Purdue Boilermakers, a team coming off a massive 24-7 victory over then-No. 2 Iowa. Purdue hasn’t beaten Wisconsin since 2003, though this matchup may point towards that streak coming to an end.

Here’s why:

Purdue is great in the areas where Wisconsin struggles. Defensive end George Karlaftis is an absolute force off the edge while Wisconsin’s tackles haven’t had success against good defenses, wide receiver David Bell is explosive while Wisconsin’s secondary has shown signs of weakness at times and the Boilermakers excel in a few statistical areas where Wisconsin finds trouble.

Put simply: Wisconsin’s offense struggles on third down, Purdue’s defense is quite good in that area. Wisconsin’s pass defense is the second-least efficient in the country, Purdue’s pass defense ranks in the top 20.

Where is Wisconsin great? Rush defense. Well, that area won’t have a huge effect because Purdue is already one of the worst rushing teams in the country.

The statistics do not match up well for Wisconsin on either side of the ball. The good thing going for the Badgers is football often comes down to a few key areas: third-down efficiency, red zone success and turnovers,

So the result on Saturday may end up coming down to one main thing: Does Graham Mertz or Aidan O’Connell take care of the football better.

Either way, this is not the matchup against Purdue many foresaw entering the season

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