WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- October has been a disappointing month for quarterback Drew Brees and Purdue.

That can change Saturday with an upset of undefeated Michigan State, which has climbed from unranked in the preseason to No. 5 in this week's Associated Press poll.

Already this month, No. 20 Purdue had a 10-game winning streak ended by Michigan in a 38-12 loss, followed by a 25-22 setback at Ohio State. Now Brees will be going against a veteran defensive unit that limited him to 196 yards passing last year -- his lowest total in a game he started.

Still, Brees completed TD tosses of 9 and 6 yards in the final 5:07 to produce a 25-24 victory. It was the second consecutive year Purdue came from 11 points down in the fourth quarter against the Spartans to win by a point.

"Up front they've always got some great players," Brees said. "Last year even with the absence of Dimitrius Underwood and Robaire Smith ... they still had other defensive ends step in and play a great game. It seems no matter who their starters are, they've always got great depth. Whenever you're good up front, it makes it a little bit hard on the quarterback.

"You've got to get rid of the ball faster, and with the talent they have at defensive back and linebacker, even if you had time to throw it's still tough."

The 6-foot-5, 269-pound Smith has six sacks this season, triple his total from last year. The Spartans have 25 sacks, compared with 30 all of last season. If defenses try to double-team Smith, opponents have to contend with ends Hubert Thompson and Nick Myers, who have combined for three sacks and 40 tackles.

"Those guys help him tremendously," Spartans coach Nick Saban said. "Last year when we flip-flopped our ends with Julian Peterson, they would flip-flop the tight end on us all the time and run the ball away from Robaire.

"He wasn't getting the same opportunities to make plays, and I think that he is this year. I think it's a compliment to the entire front seven that he plays with."

Meanwhile, Brees will be hoping Purdue solves its problems inside an opponent's 20-yard line. The Boilermakers have scored touchdowns 46 percent of the time they've gotten inside the 20, compared to 58 percent last year.

"It's probably a mental thing. Last year we were so successful, that whenever we got inside the red zone we were going to score," Brees said. "Now, since we haven't been so successful, I think we're willing to settle for field goals. ... In the past there were times when we were inside the red zone and we turned the ball over, and we were not getting any points."

Michigan State's Bill Burke threw for a school-record 400 yards in Saturday's victory over Michigan, while Plaxico Burress accumulated a school-record 255 yards on 10 receptions.

"I think he's doing a great job of making decisions with the ball," Purdue coach Joe Tiller said. "Burress and (Gari) Scott are the type guys, if you put the ball up in the air they've got a better than 50-50 chance they're going to end up with it. That's regardless of the type of coverage you have on.

Purdue (4-2, 1-2 Big Ten) is averaging 447.3 yards and 33 points. Michigan State (6-0, 3-0) is averaging 434.2 yards and 35.2 points. Brees leads the conference by averaging 302.2 yards passing, while Burke is third at 218.2.

The Spartans have allowed 36.7 yards a game rushing and only one rushing touchdown.