Eastern Michigan @ Purdue preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 15, 2012 ) Eastern Michigan 16, Purdue 54

Purdue looks to put its season-opening loss in the rearview mirror when it hosts Eastern Michigan on Saturday. The Boilermakers dropped a 31-27 decision to Northwestern and hope to get back on track by beating the Eagles for the third time in program history following a 49-3 win in 1991 and a 54-16 victory in their most recent meeting in 2012.

Elijah Sindelar started against the Wildcats, but threw three interceptions that led to 21 points before he was replaced by David Blough. Purdue coach Jeff Brohm revealed that both quarterbacks will see significant action against Eastern Michigan. "Both quarterbacks will play and will play meaningful minutes," Brohm told reporters. "Elijah is disappointed in himself and he's taking it hard but he's going work hard to improve… and I think David came in and gave us a spark." The Boilermakers are 42-12-1 against Mid-American Conference foes, including a 44-21 victory over Ohio last season and hope the trend continues as they aim to avoid their first 0-2 start since 1996. Eastern Michigan opened the season with an impressive 51-17 win against Monmouth and hopes to knock off a Big Ten opponent for the second time in as many years after taking down Rutgers 16-13 in 2017.

TV: Noon ET, BTN2GO. LINE: Purdue -15

ABOUT EASTERN MICHIGAN (1-0): Tyler Wiegers was impressive in his first start for the Eagles as he set a program record for completion percentage (85.7) after going 18-of-21 for 238 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the win against Monmouth. Blake Banham was the main beneficiary of Wiegers' big day as he hauled in eight passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. Backup quarterback Mike Glass threw for a pair of TDs and added another on the ground. "It's fun to win and it's been a long wait," Eastern Michigan coach Chris Creighton told reporters. "New personnel, new team and we're just trying to get the program to continue to get better."

ABOUT PURDUE (0-1): Sindelar completed 18-of-30 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown while Blough finished 12-of-16 for 74 yards in the loss to Northwestern. Brohm revealed that the starter will be named closer to kickoff. Rondale Moore was named the Co-Big Ten Freshman of the Week after setting a new program record with 313 all-purpose yards while becoming the first Boilermaker to register a 100-yard receiving game in his collegiate debut. Moore hauled in 11 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown to go along with 79 rushing yards and a score on two carries while racking up 125 yards on kickoff returns to break the program record set by Otis Armstrong in 1972.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Purdue has split its last four meetings with MAC opponents.

2. Sindelar has thrown four interceptions in his last two starts.

3. Eastern Michigan is 1-38 against Big Ten foes.

PREDICTION: Purdue 38, Eastern Michigan 24