Michigan State Football: What can we expect from Purdue in Week 9?

Michigan State football hosts Purdue Saturday, who is coming off its historic upset of Ohio State. Can MSU bounce back after the loss to Michigan?

One has to wonder where Purdue would be right now if they had been able to win those close games at the beginning of the year. A four-point loss to Northwestern to start the year then a mental lapse against Eastern Michigan, followed by a last-second defeat to Missouri. The pigskin sometimes does not bounce the way one would hope. Michigan State is all too familiar with that storyline.

It is a tale of 4-3 teams. One is riding high and the other is at a breaking point. Senior quarterback David Blough has reinvented himself and is one of the Big Ten’s best quarterbacks. He has thrown for 13 touchdowns and over 2,000 yards. Plus, has been better with the football with only two picks.

Purdue has a triple-threat with Blough, DJ Knox at running back and Rondale Moore at wide receiver. Moore is a true freshman and his hands and speed have empowered the Purdue passing attack. While only at 5-foot-9, he has put on a clinic at receiver. Knox, a senior, has been steady and a bit of a surprise at running back. He already has more yards this season than last and already has eight touchdowns.

Purdue appears to be a dark-horse candidate for the Big Ten West division. Head coach Jeff Brohm has turned this team around and in only his second year at the helm already has people believing in West Layefette as well as on the sports networks. I’ll be interested to watch if Purdue does contend for the West if Brohm will stay another year or would he fly the roost for a bigger job.

Purdue is red-hot and the Spartans are as cold as ice. Michigan State has been the walking wounded this season and it does reflect in their record. There are doubts as to whether junior quarterback Brian Lewerke will play on Saturday. It’s difficult to tell at this point. Coach Mark Dantonio has said if he does practice then he’ll play. However, Lewerke was not able to practice last week and his performance was not good, to say the least, against Michigan.

Dantonio alluded to the possibility of not only redshirt freshman Rocky Lombardi playing on Saturday but also true freshman Theo Day could see the field. Lombardi could use the experience and Dantonio went out of his way to say that he needs to learn to get rid of the pigskin quickly because he takes too many sacks.

Prediction: This is a tough game to predict because while Dantonio’s teams historically do well after the Michigan game, I cannot remember another MSU team being this banged up. Purdue can prove the doubters wrong with a win. It was an emotional game last week for Purdue on all accounts. Could this be a letdown game? Purdue has too much fire power at this point.

Final Score: Purdue 28, Michigan State 14