5 predictions for Michigan Football vs Purdue in Big Ten title game
Michigan football will aim for a second consecutive Big Ten championship on Saturday against Purdue and here are five predictions and a score.
Not many expected Michigan football to be back in Indy for the Big Ten title game this weekend but the Wolverines always believed they would be there.
Now, as J.J. McCarthy said right after beating Ohio State last week, “The job isn’t done.”
Even though I fully believe Michigan football has already clinched a playoff spot with its 12-0 record and win over Ohio State, the Big Ten championship is the goal.
It would feel incredibly empty to go to the playoff without winning that championship and regardless of what happens, it would be an incredible achievement. Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh was ridiculed and now, he’s one win from back-to-back Big Ten titles.
We look ahead at the Michigan football matchup against Purdue with five predictions and a score prediction against the spread.
J.J. McCarthy does it again
With Blake Corum reportedly out for the season due to a knee surgery, J.J. McCarthy is going to have to keep playing as well as he did last week.
Purdue is really well coached and their defensive front is better than people give it credit for. The Boilermakers had Penn State on the ropes this season and this team is always scary.
Michigan’s going to need McCarthy to play really well. Purdue is going to try and sell out to stop the run, probably not like Ohio State, but I’m guessing they try to make J.J. beat them.
Donovan Edwards is going to be the guy this week. He proved he can do it, but it would be nice if CJ Stokes or someone else could emerge. McCarthy also needs to get involved in the running game and that was an underrated aspect of things in the second half vs OSU.
When defenses know they have to respect him on the backside of the zone read, it makes a big difference.
Yet, last week when I was watching McCarthy I thought it might be his Joe Burrow breakout game. Burrow played really well in that bowl game against UCF and never looked back. Once he unlocked his talent and got his confidence, he was unstoppable.
I’m not saying McCarthy is going to play that well. But I think we are going to see a different McCarthy going forward — one that defenses will have to fear as much as the running game.
To that end, he has a stellar game against Purdue which is ranked 10th in pass defense in the Big Ten and eighth in sacks. I see McCarthy getting around 300 total yards and three touchdowns, one rushing and two passing.