It's tricky to figure out which team is going to be the one to show up on the field. Robert Marve is out for awhile with re-tearing his left ACL, so it's been up to Caleb TerBush to carry the team. They're not a bad running team. being ranked at 33rd in the nation, but they don't dominate either. Here's a few players to keep an eye on:
Caleb TerBush is starting his 3rd consecutive game after Robert Marve went down with his injury. So far this season, TerBush has thrown for 7 TDs and 4 INTs, and also ran for 1 TD. Some people might think TerBush is a running threat but no, he can scramble out of the pocket well, but for the most part, that's where the play ends. The one thing that is concerning for Purdue is that even though he started every game last season, and was voted captain, Marve started at the beginning of this season. TerBush was suspended for the first game of the season, and if Marve hadn't gotten hurt, then I'd expect he still would have the starting job. Michigan is fresh off of their bye week, so expect injuries to be less of a factor in terms of being able to get the pass rush going, not to mention the health of Michigan's secondary. I'd honestly expect TerBush to have a rough game considering he's not going against the Marshall defense again. He might be able to throw for say...200 yds and 2 TDs...but even that might be stretching it.
If TerBush somehow has a good game, expect him to focus on Antavian Edison. Edison has 24 catches for 285 yds and 5 TDs. Now, he doesn't have the most receptions on the team--that belongs to OJ Ross. However, Ross has yet to score. That means Edison is his go-to receiver, and the most likely red zone threat. Edison has yet to break the 100-yd receiving plateau in a game, but he's been steadily improving with each week. He also has lined up in the backfield on a few plays but hasn't shown anything special. Nicknamed "Breeze" by his teammates, he has a decent ypc average at 11.9. More than likely he will be placed opposite of J.T. Floyd , so Floyd might have a busy day against a guy who's caught a pass in 25 straight games.
This section will be devoted to the entire defense. CB Ricardo Allen is a true ball hawk, having already recorded his 4th INT for a touchdown, breaking a record at Purdue by none other than Mike Rose and Rod Woodson (The record is 5 for the FBS). Even though Allen is a great player, the entire defense is ranked 82nd in the nation. Marshall has one of the best offenses in the FBS right now, and I don't think the Big Ten has one to match it. Nonetheless, they did record 3 turnovers against Marshall, and more than likely need to try to do the same against Michigan. I'm not sure if they'll be able to create any..but watch out for Allen patrolling the secondary waiting for Denard to make a mistake. It will be up to LB Will Lucas to to put pressure on Robinson to move out of the pocket, but we all know that for the most part, that is where he excels. The defensive line is very good, but has shown problems at times---only allowing 52 rushing yards against Notre Dame, or there's the 169 yds rushing from Eastern Michigan...in which they still won. Bottom line is out of 4 games thus far, the defense has only allowed two 100 yard rushing games. They could be stout against Denard and Toussaint, but I think Michigan will be able to get enough done on the ground to be competitive.
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