There's an old adage which says "It's not just who you play, but when you play them". With that in mind, looking at Purdue's upcoming schedule there are few items which stand out:
- It's always tough to play on the road. It's tougher when you have to play back to back weeks on the road. In addition to the disruption of routine, there's the additional wear brought on by the travel as well as diminished practice time (if not in terms of real time, in terms of having tired players and practices not being as crisp, etc.).
Purdue has one back to back sequence in November when they play Northwestern and then at Iowa in successive weeks. The fact that the first game is at Northwestern (a close trip) may help to diminish the effects.
On the other side, Purdue's will play three teams which will be on their 2nd game of back to back road games. They are (prior week's road game in parenthesis) Minnesota (at Northwestern), Illinois (at PSU), IU (at Maryland). Illinois and IU both will have east coast trips prior playing Purdue which should play in Purdue's favor.
- Homecoming and Senior Day games can be emotional boosts for the home team. This season, Purdue will play at two other school's (MSU & Wisconsin) Homecoming games. Seeing as those games might be the toughest games Purdue was going to play regardless, it may not make a difference playing in front of a Homecoming crowd or not. Purdue will play at Iowa on their Senior day. Iowa has won just one of their last five Senior Day games beating Michigan in 2013.
Purdue will play Illinois on their Homecoming and will host IU for Senior Day. Both games would be classified as easier games on the schedule so, again, the Homecoming and/or Senior Day events may not make a huge difference.
- It's generally thought that it's an advantage playing an opponent the week following them playing one of the tougher teams in the league. Wisconsin has traditionally been one of those teams which teams come out a little bruised and battered and don't always perform well the subsequent game. Looking at who's generally considered to be the top teams in each division (Wisconsin, Nebraska, OSU, MSU), none of Purdue's opponents will play those teams in the week prior to playing Purdue.
On the opposite side, Purdue will face Minnesota the week after playing MSU and Illinois the week after playing Nebraska. They have a bye the week after playing Wisconsin and don't face OSU this season. Seeing as Minnesota and Illinois will be playing their 2nd back to back road game, it shouldn't effect Purdue.
- Speaking of bye weeks, the timing of the off week can have a significant impact on a team's performance. The difficulty is trying to predict that impact. If a team struggles at the beginning of the season, an early bye week can give them some time to press the reset button and get issues ironed out. A team with some significant early injuries also can benefit. You'll recall Purdue revamped their entire offense during a bye week in 2010 once QB Marve was lost for the season.
On the other hand, a bye week when a team is rolling is often seen as detrimental, breaking up the momentum and allowing the team to get out of their normal routine.
Late season byes can also tax a team as they won't have had a break for 3+ months figuring in Fall camp time. Coaches generally have to adjust their practice schedule/routine in those situations to dial back some of the intensity to keep everyone healthy and sharp.
Playing a team coming off a bye week can be seen as a disadvantage as that opponent will arguably be more rested and will have had the opportunity to spend an additional week preparing against your schemes. It also gives that team an opportunity to put something new into the offense or defense which hasn't been seen on game tape and catch their opponent off guard. And, that tweak doesn't have to be major, it just needs to have an impact. In 2002, Illinois used their bye week to install a reverse on their opening kick off return against Purdue resulting in a 90 yard return and TD for the Illini.
Purdue will not play any team this season coming off of a bye week (Marshall being the opening game doesn't count). Purdue has their bye week just past the middle of the season (Week 8) and will get to play Nebraska the week following. FWIW, Nebraska and Wisconsin both have very late (Week 12 and Week 11) bye weeks.
- While there is a lot more parity in college football, generally the FBS (1-A) teams have dominated the FCS (1-AA) teams and aren't taxed as much in their game. While not a bye week, having a lesser opponent does provide some advantages in that it's often easier to get backup players some live game experience, give front line players some confidence and gives the entire team a chance to feel good about themselves with a win.
Purdue will play one FCS team this year (Indiana State) and will follow that game up with their home contest against Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech however will also be playing an FCS opponent (Furman) their prior week so there's probably not an advantage either way. The week prior to playing Purdue, Bowling Green plays Memphis and MSU plays Central Michigan. Once the B10 conference schedule is underway, and with the single bye week, no B10 team is playing any out of conference games, FCS or BCS teams.
All in all, from the standpoint of scheduling and the timing of the games, it's not a bad draw for Purdue. Ideally with the coaching changes, you might want to have played Wisconsin and/or Nebraska earlier while they were still getting settled in but playing both before their bye weeks should help.
- It's always tough to play on the road. It's tougher when you have to play back to back weeks on the road. In addition to the disruption of routine, there's the additional wear brought on by the travel as well as diminished practice time (if not in terms of real time, in terms of having tired players and practices not being as crisp, etc.).
Purdue has one back to back sequence in November when they play Northwestern and then at Iowa in successive weeks. The fact that the first game is at Northwestern (a close trip) may help to diminish the effects.
On the other side, Purdue's will play three teams which will be on their 2nd game of back to back road games. They are (prior week's road game in parenthesis) Minnesota (at Northwestern), Illinois (at PSU), IU (at Maryland). Illinois and IU both will have east coast trips prior playing Purdue which should play in Purdue's favor.
- Homecoming and Senior Day games can be emotional boosts for the home team. This season, Purdue will play at two other school's (MSU & Wisconsin) Homecoming games. Seeing as those games might be the toughest games Purdue was going to play regardless, it may not make a difference playing in front of a Homecoming crowd or not. Purdue will play at Iowa on their Senior day. Iowa has won just one of their last five Senior Day games beating Michigan in 2013.
Purdue will play Illinois on their Homecoming and will host IU for Senior Day. Both games would be classified as easier games on the schedule so, again, the Homecoming and/or Senior Day events may not make a huge difference.
- It's generally thought that it's an advantage playing an opponent the week following them playing one of the tougher teams in the league. Wisconsin has traditionally been one of those teams which teams come out a little bruised and battered and don't always perform well the subsequent game. Looking at who's generally considered to be the top teams in each division (Wisconsin, Nebraska, OSU, MSU), none of Purdue's opponents will play those teams in the week prior to playing Purdue.
On the opposite side, Purdue will face Minnesota the week after playing MSU and Illinois the week after playing Nebraska. They have a bye the week after playing Wisconsin and don't face OSU this season. Seeing as Minnesota and Illinois will be playing their 2nd back to back road game, it shouldn't effect Purdue.
- Speaking of bye weeks, the timing of the off week can have a significant impact on a team's performance. The difficulty is trying to predict that impact. If a team struggles at the beginning of the season, an early bye week can give them some time to press the reset button and get issues ironed out. A team with some significant early injuries also can benefit. You'll recall Purdue revamped their entire offense during a bye week in 2010 once QB Marve was lost for the season.
On the other hand, a bye week when a team is rolling is often seen as detrimental, breaking up the momentum and allowing the team to get out of their normal routine.
Late season byes can also tax a team as they won't have had a break for 3+ months figuring in Fall camp time. Coaches generally have to adjust their practice schedule/routine in those situations to dial back some of the intensity to keep everyone healthy and sharp.
Playing a team coming off a bye week can be seen as a disadvantage as that opponent will arguably be more rested and will have had the opportunity to spend an additional week preparing against your schemes. It also gives that team an opportunity to put something new into the offense or defense which hasn't been seen on game tape and catch their opponent off guard. And, that tweak doesn't have to be major, it just needs to have an impact. In 2002, Illinois used their bye week to install a reverse on their opening kick off return against Purdue resulting in a 90 yard return and TD for the Illini.
Purdue will not play any team this season coming off of a bye week (Marshall being the opening game doesn't count). Purdue has their bye week just past the middle of the season (Week 8) and will get to play Nebraska the week following. FWIW, Nebraska and Wisconsin both have very late (Week 12 and Week 11) bye weeks.
- While there is a lot more parity in college football, generally the FBS (1-A) teams have dominated the FCS (1-AA) teams and aren't taxed as much in their game. While not a bye week, having a lesser opponent does provide some advantages in that it's often easier to get backup players some live game experience, give front line players some confidence and gives the entire team a chance to feel good about themselves with a win.
Purdue will play one FCS team this year (Indiana State) and will follow that game up with their home contest against Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech however will also be playing an FCS opponent (Furman) their prior week so there's probably not an advantage either way. The week prior to playing Purdue, Bowling Green plays Memphis and MSU plays Central Michigan. Once the B10 conference schedule is underway, and with the single bye week, no B10 team is playing any out of conference games, FCS or BCS teams.
All in all, from the standpoint of scheduling and the timing of the games, it's not a bad draw for Purdue. Ideally with the coaching changes, you might want to have played Wisconsin and/or Nebraska earlier while they were still getting settled in but playing both before their bye weeks should help.
