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GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 6 • 35 Boilermaker defensive did what it was supposed to do against Iowa, forcing seven three-and-outs in the game and not allowing the Hawkeyes a first down in its first five possessions of the game. How far has the Boilermaker D come in a year? In the last six games in 2013, the Boilermakers only forced five three-and-outs total. In other signs of progress, Purdue has also had 13 sacks to date in 2014, one shy of last year's season total. The Boilermaker de - fense has managed to turn each of its six takeaways into touch- downs, including Frankie Williams' first-quarter pick-six against the Hawkeyes. TROUBLES ON SECOND DOWN Purdue had 20 second-down plays against Iowa. On its first, Hunt rushed for 33 yards, the lon- gest run from scrimmage. On the remaining 19, Purdue had 10 yards total and threw two interceptions. THE NEXT THREE Oct. 11, vs. Michigan State This week, the No. 10 Spar- tans host No. 19 Nebraska in pri- metime at Spartan Stadium in what could be a preview of the Big Ten Championship game on Dec. 7 in Indianapolis. Michigan State's nationally third-ranked scoring of- fense (50.2 ppg) will test a Husker defense that only surrenders 19 points per contest. The Spartans' 201 points is the most in school history in four games. Quarterback Connor Cook is a big reason the Spartans are still a favorite in the Big Ten. In five games, Cook has completed near- ly 70 percent of his passes and is one of the league leaders in total touchdowns with 11. Running back Jeremy Lang- ford ranks ninth in total rushing yards but is averaging a produc- tive 5.5 yards per attempt. Last Saturday, the Spartans blew out Wyoming 56-14 in East Lansing. Cook was 8-of-12 for 126 yards and two touchdowns. The Spartans didn't have to throw much as their running game pro- duced 338 yards, led by Langford who had 137. The defense caused three turnovers and allowed only 286 yards. Oct. 18, at Minnesota Fresh off an upset at Michi- gan, the Gophers have a bye this week before facing Northwestern next. Minnesota is 3-0 at home, but has not defeated Northwest- ern in Minneapolis since 2004. Minnesota stole the Little Brown Jug back from the Wolver- ines with its second win in Ann Arbor since 1987 last week. The 30-14 victory dealt Michigan its third loss before October for the first time in the program's history. Gopher running back David Cobb carried 32 times for 183 yards, which was his third-highest output of the season, as he put up totals of 220 and 207 yards in pre- vious games. Quarterback Mitch Leidner returned from injury to throw for 167 yards. Minnesota's defense forced two turnovers and limited Michi- gan to under 100 yards in both rushing and passing. Nov. 1, at Nebraska In this week's primetime matchup at Michigan State, Ne- braska hopes to draw confidence from the fact it won two years ago in Spartan Stadium. Ameer Abdullah is on pace to reach 1,000 total rushing yards in this game, but will be challenged by a Spartan defense that has given up only 313 yards on the ground through four games. Abdullah once again stole the show last Saturday in a 45- 14 victory over Illinois in Lincoln. The senior running back ran for 208 yards and three touchdowns, eclipsing the 200-yard mark for the third time this season. Backup running back Imani Cross also contributed to the Huskers' 458 yards of rushing with 109 yards. The Husker offense to- taled 624 total yards and knocked the Illini out of the game early by putting up 31 points in the first half. It's the Huskers first 5-0 start since 2010. j Tom Campbell Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook completed nearly 70 percent of his passes in five games and is one of the Big Ten leaders with 11 touchdowns. He's led the Spartans to a top-10 national ranking.