2021 was a magical season for Purdue. They won eight regular season games, beat the snot out of two top five teams (#2 Iowa and #3 Michigan State), and won their bowl game. Those nine wins mark the most for Purdue since 2003 under Joe Tiller when they also hit the nine-win mark. The question now is simple: is Purdue poised to win the division, or was this a one year blip where almost everything went right?
Well if you are betting on continued success or even the divisional crown you are putting a lot of weight on some very capable shoulders, quarterback Aidan O’Connell. Entering his third season as starter, O’Connell should be able to be among the lead leaguers in passing for the third straight season. Joining him is a bounty of weapons including the speedy transfer Tyrone Tracy (Iowa) and two experienced TEs. Payne Durham, the leader of the three headed monster, had 45 catches, 467 yards, and six TDs last season. The injury to Garrett Miller is a blow, but Durham is among the league’s best. They’ll be fine.
The offensive line is a beast. Tons of experience is found and tackles Cam Craig and Eric Miller will keep O’Connell’s uniform clean. Running back is the weakest unit on offense but with that OL, their committee of backs should be able to find real estate.
The most likely thing keeping Purdue from winning the division will be a defense that has some red flags here in August. First, and foremost, they have two co-DCs. Hmmm. Play caller DC Ron English will be the fourth play caller in as many years, double hmm. English and Mark Hagen will be tasked with replacing Brad Lambert who took the same position at Wake Forest. Lambert had done excellent work last year getting Purdue into respectability of defensive rankings in the league. So two new DCs, and a new play caller. What else? How about changing schemes to a 4-2-5. Have they recruited enough for the change? I don’t know. We will find out together.
If you are not a believer in the Purdue hype, there are two big names to help your argument: David Bell and George Karlaftis. Bell, the receiver god was, well, unworldly. Karlaftis was a disruptive force on the line and easily Purdue’s best defensive player a year ago. Of the two losses, I actually think Karlaftis is the bigger of the two, due to the new coaches and scheme coming to the defense.
Special teams should be among the league’s leading units. Kicker Mitchell Fineran was rock solid hitting 24 of 29 field goals. Punter Jack Ansell might not have the greatest leg of all time but he is solid at pinning you inside the 20. Lastly, another Iowa transfer, Charlie Jones, is a great returner. Two Iowa transfers? Really? Just shoot me, please.
2022 Schedule:
Penn State:
- Best Case: Score, score, score. Oh, and Penn State’s DC is Manny Diaz, LOL. 1-0
- Worst Case: Unfortunately Franklin is still a damn good recruiter. 0-1
- Prediction: As much as I hate the Diaz hire, I do think getting Purdue week one helps Penn State since they have literally ALL offseason to figure out what they want to do to slow down the attack. Still a shootout, though. PSU, 38-35, 0-1 (0-1)
Indiana State:
- BC: The Sycamores asked if instead of football it could be a game of horse between Larry Bird and Gene Keading. Their request was denied. 2-0
- WC: This might be one of the single most lopsided matchups in the Big Ten this year. 1-1
- P:A lot to a little. PU, 56-7, 1-1 (0-1)
At Syracuse:
- BC: Believe it or not, Dino Babers is still employed by Syracuse University, 3-0
- WC: If it weren’t for Duke, the Orange would be the single worst team in the ACC this year. 2-1
- P: Syracuse appears to no longer have a football program that has any desire to win. It is in a sad, sad state of affairs in upstate NY. PU, 42-17, 2-1 (0-1)
Florida Atlantic:
- BC: A Willie Taggart coached team? Baaaahaahahah. 4-0
- WC: I wouldn’t trust Taggart to run a bath, let alone a football team. Thank you Gordon Ramsay for that insult. 3-1
- P: FAU is a pretty pedestrian club even in their own conference. Boilers should feast. PU, 49-14, 3-1 (0-1)
At Minnesota:
- BC: Throwing down the gauntlet in the west by dismantling the Gophers in their own house. 5-0
- WC: The defense can’t keep up in another shootout. 3-2
- P: Minnesota welcomes back their old OC who saw them dominate a few years ago. Methinks the Gophers can score against this new look Purdue team. UM, 35-31, 3-2 (0-2)
At Maryland:
- BC: Pretty identical squads…perhaps Maryland’s d is even worse. 6-0
- WC: Perhaps Maryland’s offense is better. 3-3
- P: Complete and total toss up. I’m literally just going with the home team. UM, 42-38, 3-3 (0-3)
Nebraska:
- BC: Will Frost make it to this game? Oh, and Purdue is now in the top 10. 7-0
- WC: Nebraska’s new look O is for real and Purdue’s new look D is a disaster. 3-4
- P: Knowing Nebraska they’ll lose by one score. Let’s predict that. PU, 45-38, 4-3 (1-3)
At Wisconsin:
- BC: Purdue hype is for real and they are marching towards Indy with the best offense in the nation. 8-0
- WC: The defense is dead last in the league causing all sorts of headaches. 3-5
- P: Like the OL matchup here for UW…oh, and the game is in Madison. UW, 28-17, 4-4 (1-4)
Iowa:
- BC: Purdue beats us every year. A tale as old as time. 9-0
- WC: Well actually, Iowa is the better program historically, despite trailing the overall series (ignore 1961-1980 when Iowa sucked, okay). 3-6
- P: Look, until Iowa shows any sort of ability to slow down Purdue’s offense, why would I trust my Hawkeyes? Seriously, they come out in the 4-3 and dare Purdue to put a WR or a RB on our linebackers and Purdue is like, oh, thanks, we now know where to dump the ball off to for seven yards every time. PU, 24-21, 5-4 (2-4)
At Illinois:
- BC: With their toughest tests behind them, Purdue is rolling towards an undefeated season. 10-0
- WC: The Brohm hot seat is fully ignited in a meltdown of a year. 3-7
- P: Battle of teams that I have bowling. Purdue’s talent gap is just a bit much for Illinois this year. PU, 31-21, 6-4 (3-4)
Northwestern:
- BC: Not only is Purdue riding high, but the East is a slog with OSU, PSU, MSU, and UM all banged up with several losses. Purdue is going to be the favorite in Indy! 11-0
- WC: Even. Year. Magic. NU is the one going to Indy. 3-8
- P: Tough to see Northwestern’s questions on defense holding up against this scary offense. PU, 38-24, 7-4 (4-4)
At Indiana:
- BC: The Boilers are off to Indy as a top 5 team, they are taking on a MSU team that just had their starting QB knocked out and the train is off to the CFP with a win. 12-0
- WC: The Hoosiers are the surprise darlings of the league again while Purdue is having a nightmare season. Does Brohm survive? 3-9
- P: Indiana’s rebuild has a ways to go. Purdue rides their dominant O to a solid eight win season. PU, 28-17, 8-4 (5-4)
Wrap Up:
I know, I know, with all this hype how do you have Purdue winning just eight games again? Look, I do have real concerns about the defense here in August. Still, I think there is room for improvement. Notice my scores against Minnesota and Maryland? Purdue can easily flip one or both of those to have a ten win season. Wisconsin is good but with their quarterback issues not a juggernaut. And finally, this Thursday, Penn State. The Nittany Lions are just 11-11 in their last 22 games. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if Purdue flips that one, too. My eight win prediction reflects my cautious nature with so much change to the PU defense, but I get the hype, I get the bullish outlook many Purdue fans have. This has the chance to be a special year.
Big Ten and Counting 