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Game 6 Prep: Football Travels to No. 2-ranked Iowa on SaturdayGame 6 Prep: Football Travels to No. 2-ranked Iowa on Saturday

Game 6 Prep: Football Travels to No. 2-ranked Iowa on Saturday

After an off weekend to stand with a 3-2 overall record and 1-1 mark in Big Ten Conference action, Purdue Football is back to it with a big-time road matchup at No. 2-ranked Iowa (6-0, 3-0), at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. Kickoff on Saturday, Oct. 16, is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC. The game serves as the latest road test against a ranked opponent for the Boilermakers.

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WEST LAFAYETTE - After an off weekend to stand with a 3-2 overall record and 1-1 mark in Big Ten Conference action, Purdue Football is back to it with a big-time road matchup at No. 2-ranked Iowa (6-0, 3-0), at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. Kickoff on Saturday, Oct. 16, is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC. The game serves as the latest road test against a ranked opponent for the Boilermakers.

MORE ON SATURDAY'S MATCHUP

  • Saturday's Purdue-Iowa game puts the Boilermakers on the field against a Big Ten Conference West Division opponent they've seen positive results against, recently. Purdue is 3-1 against Iowa under head coach Jeff Brohm's leadership, including last year's 24-20 victory at Ross-Ade Stadium (Oct. 24, 2020) to begin the pandemic-abbreviated 2020 season.
  • Coach Brohm missed the Iowa game last season due to a positive COVID-19 test. Offensive coordinator Brian Brohm served as acting head coach for the win.
  • Purdue and head coach Jeff Brohm battled, but ultimately yielded a 27-13 result at No. 12 Notre Dame (Sept. 18) earlier this season. Saturday's matchup against the second-ranked Hawkeyes marks the 11th game against a ranked opponent under Brohm's watch. Purdue is 3-7 against Top 25 teams since 2017.
  • The Boilermakers are 5-10 all-time against opponents ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

PURDUE-IOWA SERIES HISTORY
  • Purdue is 49-39-2 all-time against Iowa in a series that dates back to 1910. The Boilermakers have seven regularly scheduled opponents with earlier first meetings than 1910: Illinois (1890), Michigan (1890), Indiana (1891), Wisconsin (1892), Minnesota (1894), Northwestern (1895) and Notre Dame (1896).
  • The last three matchups in the series have been decided by one score, with Purdue coming out victorious in two of those three games.
  • In West Lafayette, Purdue holds a 29-17-1 series advantage over the Hawkeyes. On road trips to Iowa, the Boilermakers hold a nearly even 20-22-2 record. Since 2012, Purdue has gone 2-2 inside Kinnick Stadium.

MR. 2,000

  • Junior WR David Bell crossed the milestone 2,000-yard barrier in receiving production for his Purdue career with his efforts against Minnesota (Oct. 2), hauling in six catches for 120 yards to bring his career totals to 166 receptions and 2,099 receiving yards.
  • Bell is the 12th 2,000-yard receiver in school history and the fastest Boilermaker to crack the mark (22 games). He is the first to do so since WR Greg Orton during the 2008 season. Orton finished his career (2005-08) with 2,356 receiving yards.
  • Notable Purdue receivers who Bell beat to the 2,000-yard mark include: Taylor Stubblefield (2001-04), 27 games; Dorien Bryant (2004-07), 29 games; John Standeford (2000-03), 31 games. Bell's career (22 games) currently averages out to 95.4 receiving yards per game.
  • Bell is also the fastest active FBS receiver to crack 2,000 receiving yards. Western Kentucky's Ben Ratzlaff (20 career games) would pose a slight threat to accomplish the feat in 22 games if he were to produce 433 receiving yards in the Hilltoppers' next two contests.

HELLO, NUMBER TWO

  • The aforementioned 5-10 all-time record against No. 2-ranked opponents should ring an immediate bell for Purdue Football fans.
  • The last time Purdue took on the nation's No. 2 team was a night to remember at Ross-Ade Stadium, as the Boilermakers took down No. 2 Ohio State, 49-20, on Oct. 20, 2018. In other recent history, the Boilermakers battled at No. 2-ranked Michigan State (Oct. 3, 2015), but ultimately fell, 24-21, during the 2015 season.

RING THE BELL

  • We need to talk about David Bell. The junior WR from Indianapolis (Warren Central HS) has surpassed 100 receiving yards in 13 of his 22 career games at Purdue.
  • Bell started his 2021 campaign with a 134-yard, eight-catch effort vs. Oregon State (Sept. 4) and a 121-yard, six-catch, three-touchdown outing at UConn (Sept. 11). No. 10 Notre Dame (Sept. 18) held Bell seven catches and 64 receiving yards.
  • Bell missed the Minnesota (Oct. 2) game due to being in concussion protocol after taking a hit to his upper body in the second half at Notre Dame (Sept. 18).
  • The Boilermaker star ranks seventh nationally in receiving yards per game (109.8), and first in the Big Ten Conference.
  • For his career, Bell is averaging 7.6 catches per game, 95.4 yards per game and 0.8 touchdown receptions per game. His 95.4 receiving yards per game is No. 1 in the NCAA FBS for active careers. His 7.6 receptions per game is currently the second-most for an active NCAA career, only trailing Western Kentucky's Jerreth Sterns (8.6).
  • The three-TD game for Bell at UConn matched his career-high he set against Iowa last season (Oct. 24, 2020). He is just the second Purdue WR in school history with multiple three-TD reception games, joining Taylor Stubblefield (2001-04).
  • In the win at UConn (Sept. 11), Bell scored on an electric 59-yard catch and dash to the end zone, weaving through Huskies and diving to the goal line. The snag was the second-longest catch of his Purdue career, with the longest being an 89-yard touchdown reception vs. Nebraska during the 2020 season (Dec. 5).

WE HAVE LIFT OFF

  • Fifth-year senior QB Aidan O'Connell threw for an outstanding 357 yards on 33-51-1 passing, including one touchdown toss, in the setback to Minnesota (Oct. 2). The effort was the third 300-yard passing game for O'Connell in his Boilermaker career.
  • For O'Connell, 357 yards would seem like a career-best type of performance, but the Boilermaker signal caller actually threw for a career-high 408 yards (28-49-1) and three touchdowns vs. Indiana to close the 2019 season (Nov. 30, 2019).
  • With five career 300-yard passing games, junior QB Jack Plummer is tied for No. 8 in program history with Billy Dicken.
  • The effort was the 19th 300-yard passing performance during head coach Jeff Brohm's tenure with the Boilermakers.

    300-YARD PASSING GAMES UNDER BROHM

  1.       David Blough - 7
  2.       Jack Plummer - 5
  3.       Elijah Sindelar - 4
  4.       Aidan O'Connell - 3


A SEPTEMBER TO REMEMBER

  • Head coach Jeff Brohm guided the Boilermakers to their best season start since 2012. Purdue's 3-1 start matched the school's 2012 group and was the best since Purdue's 5-0 start to the 2007 season.
  • The 2012 squad, led by former head coach Danny Hope, started 3-1 on the year with wins over Eastern Kentucky (48-6, Sept. 1, 2012), Eastern Michigan (54-16, Sept. 15, 2012) and Marshall (51-41, Sept. 29, 2012).