#2 Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Purdue Boilermakers Game Center

The Iowa Hawkeyes are fresh off an historic win in week six as they took down the #4 Penn State Nittany Lions in the first matchup of top-5 teams inside Kinnick Stadium since 1985. For their come-from-behind victory, they’ve jumped to 2nd in the AP poll for the first since 1985 as well.

Now, they must move past the major win and avoid a letdown against our most hated rival: the Purdue Boilermakers. The Boilers are coming off their bye week and should be well rested after 14 days off. As our very own Boiler, BoilerHawk, pointed out earlier this week, Iowa is 8-1 against teams coming off 14+ days rest dating back to 2017.

But Purdue has had Iowa’s number of late and they’ll be hungry for a win in this one. While Iowa now holds a 1.5 game lead in the Big Ten West halfway through the 2021 season, Purdue is one of two teams within striking distance of the Hawkeyes and fresh off a loss to the other - Minnesota. A win this weekend would be a defining moment for the Boilers and put them into the race for a trip down the road to Indy.

Here’s an early look at what you need to know about this week’s matchup.

Date: Saturday, October 16th
Time: 2:30pm CT
Matchup: Purdue Boilermakers (3-2, 1-1) at #2 Iowa Hawkeyes (6-0, 2-0)
Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA
TV: ABC
Preliminary Weather Forecast: sunny with temps in the low-60s, 5% chance of rain
DraftKings Opening Line: Iowa -11.5, O/U 44

History

The Hawkeyes and Boilermakers are set to face off for the 89th time in the series, which dates back to 1910. While many Iowa fans will recall the streak of nine-straight wins the Hawkeyes had in the series from 1983-1991 and extrapolate that experience over the entirety of the series, Purdue actually holds the all-time lead at 49-39.

Importantly, current Boilermaker head coach Jeff Brohm in 3-1 against Kirk Ferentz, including a win in West Lafeyette last season. After winning seven in a row and 10 of the previous 11 matchups, Brohm stepped in back in 2017 and has found a way to attack Phil Parker’s defense.

Image from Winsipedia.com

Purdue’s margin of victory in those three wins has been five points while the Hawkeyes took home a 6-point victory in 2019. Prior to Brohm’s first win in the series back in 2017, Purdue hadn’t won a game in Iowa City since 1992.

The Hawkeyes enter this week riding a 12-game winning streak overall and a 9-game winning streak against Big Ten opponents. That’s just the second time in program history Iowa has rattled off nine straight against conference foes. The other came in 2001-2002. The current streak began in week three of the 2020 season after Iowa opened with back-to-back losses to Purdue and Northwestern.

The weekend’s game will serve as Iowa’s homecoming. Details on the homecoming festivities can be found at the University of Iowa’s website here.