College Football News Preview 2020: Purdue Boilermakers Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The Purdue Boilermakers Offense
As long as there’s a healthy and effective quarterback, and as long as Rondale Moore is Rondale Moore again for the receiving corps, the Boilermakers will spend more of their time traveling by air. However, there has to be something happening with the ground game.
Purdue will never be Wisconsin when it comes to grinding it out, but it didn’t even get to 1,000 yards last year – 999 isn’t 1,000 – and averaged fewer than three yards per carry.
It’s the average that matters. The total yards aren’t that big a deal if the passing game is doing its thing, but get to over four yards per carry and everything should be okay.
Biggest Key To The Purdue Boilermakers Defense
Get the (bleep) off the field already. The Boilermakers have the pass rushers, and they have the experience overall, but the defense was a disaster far too often when it came to coming up with the big stop to get the ball back to the offense.
Part of it’s a stylistic choice.
Purdue doesn’t care a lick about time of possession, which is fine when the offense is rocking and rolling. That’s bad when the defense gets gassed. Allowing teams to covert 40% of their third down chances isn’t totally miserable, but it’s not great.
For the most part, the D was able to do the job. But Penn State was able to keep things moving, and the wheels came totally off late in the season when Wisconsin and Indiana combined to convert 20-of-30 third down tries in the final two games.
In Jeff Brohm’s first two seasons, the defenses finished the seasons under the 40% mark. The year before he took over, the defense was giving up third down tries at a 49% clip.
Key Purdue Boilermakers Player To A Successful Season
QB Jack Plummer. Soph.
Someone has to take over the offense and make it his own. Injuries crushed the quarterback situation last year with three getting a shot. Elijah Sindelar got hurt, unheralded Aidan O’Connell stepped in for six games, and Plummer led the team with 1,603 yards and 11 touchdowns with eight picks before getting knocked out for the year with an ankle injury.
Plummer was a big recruit with the passing skills to put up huge numbers, but he’s going to be pushed by O’Connell and UCLA transfer Austin Burton. It’ll be an open fight for the job, but it might be Plummer’s to take.
Key Game To The Purdue Boilermakers Season
at Nebraska, Sept. 5
Purdue won the last two games against Nebraska and three of the last five. This time around, the season and Big Ten opener will be a must-win for a Husker team that desperately needs a hot start.
The last time Purdue won a season opener against an FBS team? 2014 over Western Michigan. The last time it won a season opener against a Power Five program? 2004 over Syracuse. To push this even further, the last road win over a Power Five program to start a season? 1995 over West Virginia.
This year, with a sneaky-tough run against Memphis, Air Force and at Boston College to follow, beating Nebraska would be a big help.
– Purdue Boilermakers Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 Purdue Fun Stats
– 1st Quarter Scoring: Opponents 106 – Purdue 39
– Red Zone Scoring: Purdue 39-of-41 (95%) – Opponents 38-of-47 (81%)
– Penalties: Opponents 85 for 728 yards – Purdue 55 for 452 yards