Iowa at Purdue 10/24/20 - College Football Picks & Predictions

On Saturday, the Iowa Hawkeyes visit Ross-Ade stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana to play the Purdue Boilermakers in the opening game of the regular season for both. Last season, Iowa had 10 wins which is the most for the football program since 2015. Spencer Petras takes over as the starting quarterback for the Hawkeyes and until he makes his first plays Petras is an unknown. The top running back returning from last season is Tyler Goodson, but other backs such as Mekhi Sargent  and Ivory Kelly-Martin will also see plenty of action. The top wide receivers returning are Tyrone Tracy and Ihmir Smith-Marsette giving Iowa one of the most dangerous wide receiver duos in the Big Ten.

Just three players need to be replaced on the Iowa defense from last season. Chauncey Golston will anchor the defensive line for Iowa, and will receive help from Daviyon Nixon. At linebacker experience reigns with Nick Niemann and Djimon Colbert both returning and both played a considerable amount of time last season. Iowa often plays five defensive backs, Matt Hankins will start at cornerback and Jack Koerner will be one of the starting safeties. Kaevon Merriweather also returns to anchor the safety position opposite Koerner.

The big question mark for Purdue this season will be at quarterback. Jack Plummer and Aidan O'Connell both have had first-team reps and will battle against Austin Burton, a transfer from UCLA. The running game for Purdue was poor last season averaging just 83.3 yards per game and the top two running backs from a year ago return including King Doerue and Zander Horvath. At wide receiver, David Bell returns from a very strong freshman season. Bell caught passes for over 100 yards in six of the Boilermakers last nine games and scored eight touchdowns - seven through the air and one on the ground.

The Purdue defense ranked last in total defense in the Big Ten and 12th against the run. George Karlaftis is the top lineman returning from the defense who last season as a freshman had 7.5 quarterback sacks. Lorenzo Neal also returns after sitting out all of last season with an injury.  Demarcus Mitchell returns as the top linebacker but several holes must be filled. Derrick Barnes moves from defensive line to linebacker to help fill one hole but the linebackers could be the weak link for the Boilermakers. In the secondary, cornerback Cory Trice returns after a season of three interceptions last year and playing opposite Trice will be Dedrick Mackey, while Cam Allen leads a group of four players at the safety position.