Category: Purdue Boilermakers

Previewing the Purdue Boilermakers ahead of Saturday’s game

Ahead of tomorrow afternoon’s matchup at Memorial Stadium, we take a closer look at the Purdue Boilermakers.

On Saturday, the Nebraska Cornhuskers will look to move one game closer to bowl eligibility by picking up a win over Big Ten West rival, the Purdue Boilermakers.

This will be the 12th matchup all-time between the two sides, the Boilermakers hold a 6-5 advantage over the Huskers all time including winning four of the last five.

The Cornhuskers enter the weekend with a 4-3 record including 2-2 in Big Ten play. Last time out, the Huskers defeated the Northwestern Wildcats 17-9 using a fourth-quarter touchdown to put the game away. It marked the Cornhuskers’ fourth win in their last five games, their only loss in the process coming against No. 2 Michigan.

For Purdue, the Boilermakers enter the weekend with a 2-5 record including 1-4 in conference play. The Boilermakers have lost four of their last five games including a 41-7 loss to Ohio State two weeks ago at home. Their lone conference win this season came over Illinois, a 44-19 win on September 30.

Now that the table has been set, here’s what to know about the Boilermakers ahead of Saturday’s matchup.

Purdue QB Brady Allen enters transfer portal

After entering and withdrawing from the transfer portal in December, Purdue quarterback Brady Allen has reentered the transfer portal.

[autotag]Purdue Boilermakers[/autotag] quarterback Brady Allen has entered the transfer portal. This is the second time Allen has entered the portal this offseason, he originally did so in December before withdrawing his name.

Now, with the Boilermakers’ spring practices finished and the transfer portal window set to close on April 30, Allen is once again looking for a new home. The 6-foot-5 quarterback out of Fort Branch, Indiana, signed with the Boilermakers as part of the 2022 signing class. He committed to the Boilermakers very early in his recruitment, doing so all the way back in July 2020.

Allen appeared in one game for the Boilermakers this past season against Indiana State, completing 1-of-3 passing attempts for eight yards.

One school that will be an early favorite to land Allen will be the Louisville Cardinals. Former Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm left the Boilermakers for the Cardinals this past winter. Plenty of programs should be looking to land the high-ceiling pro-style quarterback. Allen was a consensus four-star prospect and considered a top-225 prospect in the country by all major recruiting services.

The Boilermakers are currently in their first year under head coach Ryan Walters. The program is coming off an 8-6 season including 6-3 in conference play under the aforementioned Jeff Brohm as well as interim head coach Brian Brohm.

With Allen no longer a part of the quarterback room, the Boilermakers’ quarterback room now consists of Texas transfer Hudson Card, freshman Ryan Browne, redshirt junior TCU transfer Christian Gelov, redshirt junior transfer Kyle Adams, and redshirt freshman Hayden Timosciek.

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Former top JUCO prospect Jeffrey M’Ba commits to Purdue

The Purdue Boilermakers continue to find success in the transfer portal, this time landing a former top JUCO prospect.

The Purdue Boilermakers have landed former top JUCO prospect Jeffrey M’ba. The former Auburn Tiger who entered the transfer portal on Apr. 15, announced his decision on Twitter on Tuesday morning.

“Finally, I find my place in this universe,” M’Ba said in his post. M’Ba this past season recorded six tackles including one sack over nine games for Auburn after being the nation’s top-ranked JUCO prospect in the 2022 recruiting cycle. A far cry from what was originally expected of him when he signed with the Tigers.

At Independence Community College in Kansas, M’Ba totaled 40 tackles including two sacks over nine games in the 2021 season. The 6-foot-6, 305-pound defensive tackle will enter next season with two years of eligibility remaining.

For Purdue, M’Ba is a huge pickup as head coach Ryan Walters begins his tenure in West Lafayette. Walters, last season helped lead the Illini Fighting Illini to one of the country’s best defenses, allowing just 12.8 points and 273 yards per game. Purdue fans are hoping that he brings the same level of defensive success to the Boilermakers, who allowed over 27 points per game last season.

It also continues what has been a good offseason in the transfer portal for the Boilermakers as they have had several key transfer portal additions this offseason including former Texas quarterback Hudson Card.

Last season, under head coach Jeff Brohm and interim coach Brian Brohm, the Boilermakers were 8-6 including 3-6 in conference play.

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Purdue’s most glaring question heading into 2023

How good is the marriage of OC Graham Harrell and QB Hudson Card?

It will be a completely different look for the Purdue Boilermakers when they take the field on Sept. 2 against the Fresno State Bulldogs to open the 2023 campaign.

Jeff Brohm served as the head coach over the last six seasons in West Lafayette, Indiana. He returned to his alma mater to run the Louisville Cardinals program after Scott Satterfield left for the Cincinnati Bearcats opening.

The Boilermakers turned to a rising name in the coaching community to run the program. Ryan Walters was the architect behind the Illinois Fighting Illini defense that ranked among the nation’s best. Now he gets the opportunity to run his own program after 13 years as an assistant. Walters played safety for the Colorado Buffaloes from 2004 to 2008.

In Paul Myerberg’s series on power rankings and one big question for each conference team, he identified one major inquiry for Purdue. The Boilermakers were ranked No. 11 in the Big Ten.

‘How good is the marriage of OC Graham Harrell and QB Hudson Card?’

New Purdue coordinator Graham Harrell takes over an offense that loses three huge pieces in quarterback Aidan O’Connell, wide receiver Charlie Jones and tight end Payne Durham. In comes Texas transfer Hudson Card, who started multiple games the past two seasons with 11 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Early feedback this spring has been positively glowing: Card has been singled out by teammates for his production, command and leadership qualities during the transition to a new staff. – Myerberg

Card was dependable at Texas but it felt like he never really got a fair shake as the starting quarterback. Casey Thompson was originally the backup before taking over for the Longhorns in 2021. Last season, Texas had former Ohio State signee Quinn Ewers under center. Given that Arch Manning was coming to town, it was time for Card to find a new opportunity.

He will now be paired up with another former Big 12 quarterback, Graham Harrell. The Red Raiders’ all-time leading passer has been making the rounds as an assistant with Oklahoma State, Washington State, North Texas, USC, and West Virginia. Perhaps this will be Harrell’s opportunity to shine with a more defensive minded head coach.

We will soon find out if this marriage is a match made in heaven.

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GIANT SLAYERS: Twitter reacts to No. 16 Farleigh Dickinson upset of No. 1 Purdue

Farleigh Dickinson shocked the world on Friday night by upsetting the No. 1 seed Purdue Boilermakers 63-58.

Move over UMBC, you have company.

On Friday night, No. 16 Farleigh Dickinson upset No. 1 Purdue 63-58, becoming just the second No. 16 team in NCAA Tournament history to upset a No. 1 seeded team. Previously, No. 16 UMBC upset No. 1 Virginia 75-54 in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

The Knights who went 21-15 in the regular season and through NEC Tournament play, didn’t even win their conference, Merrimak did. However, due to Merrimak being ineligible for the NCAA Tournament as they continue to transition to Division I, Farleigh Dickinson still was able to go dancing this season. Now, they’re etched in the history books forever.

Farleigh Dickinson was led by 18 points from forward Sean Moore and 12 points from guard Demetre Roberts to pull off the upset. Purdue was led offensively by none other than 7-foot-5 All-American center Zach Edey who recorded 21 points and 15 rebounds in the loss.

The loss also marks the third straight season that Purdue as a fourth seed or higher was knocked out by a 13-seed or higher. They were previously defeated as a No. 3 seed by No. 15 Saint Peter’s last season and were upset by No. 13 North Texas in 2021 as a four seed.

Farleigh Dickinson will now play Sunday against the winner of No. 8 Memphis and No. 9 Florida Atlantic.

First Four: St. John’s storms past Purdue to victory

St. John’s Red Storm defeat Purdue, 66-64, and advance the the Round of 64 in the 2023 March Madness Women’s NCAA tournament.

St. John’s Red Storm defeat Purdue, 66-64, and advance the the Round of 64 in the 2023 March Madness Women’s NCAA D1 tournament. The Red Storm held the lead for the majority of the game, but Purdue made a late run in the fourth quarter and almost took the game.

St. John’s made 11 three-pointers in the game with senior guard Unique Drake accounting for 4 of those buckets. Jayla Everett, a redshirt senior, led the Storm with 20 points and Drake put down a solid 16 points.

This was the 11th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first in seven years. The first time they made the tournament was back in 1983. The Johnnies will take on the No. 6 seed North Carolina on Saturday, March 4:00 p.m. ET.

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Ryan Walters among head coaches facing tough slates to begin their tenures

Ryan Walters will have quite the start to his coaching career in the first six weeks of the season.

When the Purdue Boilermakers lost head coach Jeff Brohm to his alma mater Louisville, they had to act swiftly to name a head coach. The school looked within the Big Ten to snag Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters as the new head coach.

Walters brought offensive coordinator Graham Harrell over from West Virginia to implement the new offense. Harrell is among the best quarterbacks of the modern era and still holds NCAA records for most 300-yard passing games in a season and career.

This duo is going to face tough sledding as they start the 2023 season. Walters is among a group of first-year coaches facing the toughest schedules as they start their new tenures.

The Purdue schedule:

  • vs Fresno State (Sept. 2)
  • at Virginia Tech (Sept. 9)
  • vs Syracuse (Sept. 16)
  • vs Wisconsin (Sept. 23)
  • vs Illinois (Sept. 30)
  • at Iowa (Oct. 7)
  • vs Ohio State (Oct. 14)

The Boilermakers will have their open week following the matchup against the Buckeyes in West Lafayette, Indiana. The added transfer quarterback Hudson Card from the Texas Longhorns to run Harrell’s offense in year one.

Last season Purdue finished No. 6 in the Big Ten with 26.6 points per game. They will look to improve the offense with a higher scoring offense in the modified ‘Air Raid’ system.

Walters’ calling card is on the defensive side of the ball. Purdue finished in the bottom half of the conference at No. 9 with 27.4 points per game surrendered. That number should come down in year one under Walters. Last season with the Fighting Illini, his defense was No. 1 in the Big Ten at 12.8 points per game allowed.

Other notable coaches who have tough opening schedules include Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders and Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell.

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