Don't fall asleep this weekend. That has to be the mantra for the Iowa Hawkeyes as they return home to Kinnick Stadium for Week 11 of the college football season. The Hawkeyes are 7-2 and making serious noise about a College Football Playoff run, but can't afford a slip-up.

The Purdue Boilermakers are just 3-6 this season, but they have quality wins over Illinois and Minnesota, which make them dangerous. Iowa is also intimately familiar with how dangerous Purdue can be. The Hawkeyes have been on the wrong end of it a few times in recent memory.

Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Purdue Boilermakers History

All-Time Series Record: Purdue leads 50-41-3

Last 10 Meetings: Iowa leads 6-4

Last Meeting: Iowa 20, Purdue 14 on October 7, 2023, at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa

Current Streak: Iowa is on a two-game winning streak over Purdue

The good news is that Iowa has won the last two against Purdue. The bad news is that the two before that feel a lot like this one, especially the 2021 debacle that saw the No. 2-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes lay an egg at home against Purdue in a 24-7 loss.

On paper, which is far from where this game is played, this game feels a lot like the 2022 version, which saw Iowa suffocate Purdue in West Lafayette at Ross-Ade Stadium on the way to a 24-3 victory in the rain. If Iowa can get up early in this one, as it did against Northwestern, it could be similar.

Avoid the funky stuff and win the turnover battle

Sitting at 3-6, Purdue isn't going bowling. The Boilermakers aren't totally ineligible yet, but with games against Iowa, Wisconsin, and a season finale against Indiana, it's a long shot. That means this team is playing with nothing to lose, which can be a very dangerous thing for a team like Iowa.

Iowa isn't built to come from behind, and that's how this game gets dicey. Purdue has no reason to hold back trick plays, fake punts, fake field goals, or to hold anything back on fourth downs. It's all the more that the Hawkeyes have to prepare for, even as a very disciplined team.

That feeds into the turnover battle. Giving the ball away is how Iowa lets a bad team linger around and beat them, as was the case with Minnesota. Don't give Purdue free possessions or short fields, and play the same type of game you did against Northwestern.