No. 2 Michigan resumes play after bye and hosts Purdue amid NCAA sign-stealing investigation
Purdue (2-6, 1-4 Big Ten) at No. 2 Michigan (8-0, 5-0), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC)
Line: Michigan by 32 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Series record: Michigan leads 46-14.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Michigan is aiming to earn a third straight Big Ten title for the first time since winning five in a row from 1988 to 1992 and its first national championship since 1997. The Boilermakers, who won the West Division last year, have lost three straight and five of six and are in danger of being eliminated from bowl contention under first-year coach Ryan Walters.
KEY MATCHUP
Michigan’s passing game vs. Purdue’s pass rush. QB J.J. McCarthy, who is 20-1 as a starter, has completed 78.2% of his passes and is averaging 10.64 yards per attempt to rank second in FBS. The Boilermakers have combined for 24 sacks this season. Kyrdan Jenkins has a conference-high seven sacks and Nic Scourton has five, ranking fourth in the Big Ten.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Purdue: S Dillon Thieneman. Leads team with 6.5 solo tackles per game and FBS freshmen with 74 tackles and three interceptions. He has been the Big Ten freshman of the week three times.
Michigan: TE A.J. Barner. The Indiana transfer had career highs with eight catches and 99 yards with a touchdown his last game, a win at Michigan State. He had nine receptions for 93 yards over his first seven games.
FACTS & FIGURES
Purdue’s last two wins at Michigan Stadium were in 2009 and 1966. … The Boilermakers have an FBS-record 18 wins as an unranked team against Top-5 opponents. … The last two quarterbacks Purdue faced each completed six passes and no one has more than 18 completions against the Boilermakers. … Purdue RB Devin Mockobee has fumbled the ball seven times this season after walking on to the team last year and breaking the school record for freshman rushers. …Michigan, which is coming off a bye, has won a school-record 20 straight Big Ten games and 23 in a row during the regular season. … Since beating Rutgers by 24 points, the Wolverines have tied Ohio State’s 1974 team for the most consecutive (four) wins over Big Ten teams by 38 points or more. … Michigan is the only FBS unbeaten team to win its first eight games by 20-plus points. … The Wolverines have held opponents to 10 or fewer points in each victory. … Michigan has scored 30 or more points in a school-record 11 consecutive games.
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