I was listening to my usual CFB "Solid Verbal" podcast last week and heard one of the contributors say "I like Nebraska big in this game." Implying that Nebraska would cover that odd 7.5 point spread. That irked me a bit despite being nervous about this game myself. I never enjoy post Wisconsin week especially after that maddening loss to Rutgers in 2017. That being said, I think Purdue has proven itself to be solid enough, particularly on defense, to not be dismissed like that.
So Saturday comes and goes, Purdue wins, and I look forward to seeing what the "Solid Verbal" guy has to say for himself. He simply said Nebraska lost to a "not good" Purdue team. So disappointing. Is this the most talented Purdue team we have seen? No. Is it the most athletic team? God, no. But there is a certain degree of resilience that you see out of this team. A level of effort that this team brings from whistle to whistle.
First off, this defense will keep Purdue in most games it plays this year. It won the day against Illinois despite Purdue playing to their strengths, It gave Purdue opportunities in the Minnesota game, It kept them in the Notre Dame game, and played a great first half against Wisconsin before getting worn out. This Nebraska game may be the defense's worst performance and you can certainly make the argument that Martinez was Purdue's MVP. They came out very flat in the first half and were showing all those dreaded post Wisconsin signs that give me PTSD but they rallied at halftime and completely shut down Nebraska in the second half. Aside from last possession of prevent (a debate which I will leave for that other thread) Purdue allowed a meager 48 yards in the second half. That's amazing considering where they were in the first half. Gotta hand it to the coaching staff for this defense. The new approach this season has been a boom and the development on that side of the ball might be some of the best I have ever seen. Every position has players that have exhibited good to great development through their time at Purdue.
Now, obviously offense has been a bit of a roller coaster. There are obvious deficiencies in the run game. We don't have a speed back, the OL hadn't given big holes before this past Saturday, and AOC has had his ups and downs. Despite all this I think the offense has shown its own levels of resilience as well.
I thought this team would go 5-7 this year and I pointed to huge concerns on the OL as the main reason. Last year we were relying on two RS Fr and a true Fr in the interior OL and the stats show it. Purdue was awful running between the tackles last year. When Purdue did make big plays it was largely because Horvath had a designed run outside or bounced outside to utilize blocks from Herrmanns and Durham. Unfortunately Jornigan was forced into early retirement but Holstege and Hartwig have shown good improvement from their first year of being forced into early starting roles. Holstege is probably the weakest link on the OL but that is understandable given the circumstances, I think he will be plenty good enough as an upper classmen. The OL's biggest issue is the inability to develop as a unit. Relying on two sophomores, two grad transfers, and a junior OT in his first year as a starter is not a recipe for success. Ohio State would struggle under those circumstances. That being said each individual player is holding up reasonably well. Well enough that I think the OL will take a considerable step forward next year assuming the starting lineup is Holstege, Hartwig, Craig, and Miller + one (and only one) grad transfer or maybe Monnot.
AOC is not a great QB and I don't think anyone has ever said that on here. I have been in the "start AOC camp" since the Illinois game but I am not saying he is the savior or anything spectacular. He just shows poise and tries to execute the offense to his best abilities. He isn't the most accurate and is certainly capable of throwing picks but he was excellent in the Iowa game and did an good job taking what Nebraska gave him this past weekend. Recruiting and development at the QB position have not been ideal and hopefully Brady Allen and/or Rickie Collins change that eventually. That being said, there aren't many walk-ons out there that can fill in the gaps as well as Aidan has.
The RB room has been cursed with one non-football related transfer after another for a while now and it looks like another is in the works. It doesn't help that Purdue recruits athletic OL to be pass blockers at the deficit of run blocking. There aren't many schools that can consistently recruit a good OL to do both well. Wisconsin and the elite programs are probably it. Even Iowa has a bad OL this year and they traditionally have a good one. Doerue and Horvath have given all they have though in the meantime. Like with AOC, there is a brigade of Knuckleheads that like to accuse others of calling Horvath a savior. Purdue's situation in the run game is simply one where Purdue just needs a guy to make a play when needed and Horvath is often the guy to do it. Three freshmen can't open up the run game in the middle in 2020? Cool, Horvath will just lead the Big Ten as a receiving RB. G. Miller blew that block on the wildcat in the Oregon State game? No problem, Horvath will make that guy miss and get the TD. Similar issue on the goalline in the Nebraska game? No biggie, Horvath will just spin off that DT and get the TD anyway. Doerue similarly has done just enough at times as well. His 5+ yard runs weren't spectacular Saturday but were a big reason why Purdue had a few long methodical possessions against the Huskers. He also has been a solid pass blocker aside from the Wisconsin game which, to be fair, was a hard ask.
I also give credit to Brohm for blowing out Iowa and finding a way to win this past Saturday. The Purdue offense was overwhelmed against Wisconsin and there was much hand wringing over it. The easiest position in football is the arm chair QB. "NO, DON'T DO THAT PLAY!!! CALL *insert play here* INSTEAD. THAT WOULD OBVIOUSLY WORK." Plenty of checkers vs chess comments and the like. I don't think there was anything Brohm could have done in that game. I was watching that game with my brother-in-law and at one point said "Purdue needs to run screens. Wisconsin is dropping 7-8 and bringing a LB or two each play." Brohm did just that and got a couple nice screen plays on a drive. Leonhard immediately assigned that #18 kid at safety to shut it down. Shortly after I said to my brother-in-law, "OK, well if they are going to blitz Chenal that much, then Purdue needs to hit someone across the middle." AOC then hit Durham a few times over the middle. That was quickly snuffed out by Leonhard as well. At that point I threw my hands up and told my brother-in-law and commented on the game thread here "If Purdue somehow wins this game, Brohm deserves all the credit in the world. There is just no answer for this Wisconsin defense." I made this comment in another thread after that game. It wasn't chess vs checkers, it was chess vs chess but Leonhard was coaching with 4 rooks in place of pawns on the front line and Brohm had rooks that couldn't move more than 3 spaces at a time.
Again, this isn't a spectacularly athletic or talented team but they are finding ways to win and have exceeded any reasonable person's expectations. Most national prognosticators had Purdue anywhere between 3-6 wins this season, including the putz I mentioned earlier that said "this is probably a 3-win team" before the season started. Purdue has exceeded those and even some lofty expectations here, because of some gritty resilient play. You absolutely have to have that in a Big Ten season where Illinois can beat Penn State on any given Saturday.
Purdue is playing with house money these next two weeks imo. I fully expect hand wringing from the usual folks on here if they lose. But I am going to sit back and enjoy these next two Saturdays. They have been stressful to watch but I like this team for what they are. A resilient bunch that have performed above any reasonable expectation and could be lined up for a 7 win season. Who knows? Maybe the Spoilermakers make another appearance this Saturday.
So Saturday comes and goes, Purdue wins, and I look forward to seeing what the "Solid Verbal" guy has to say for himself. He simply said Nebraska lost to a "not good" Purdue team. So disappointing. Is this the most talented Purdue team we have seen? No. Is it the most athletic team? God, no. But there is a certain degree of resilience that you see out of this team. A level of effort that this team brings from whistle to whistle.
First off, this defense will keep Purdue in most games it plays this year. It won the day against Illinois despite Purdue playing to their strengths, It gave Purdue opportunities in the Minnesota game, It kept them in the Notre Dame game, and played a great first half against Wisconsin before getting worn out. This Nebraska game may be the defense's worst performance and you can certainly make the argument that Martinez was Purdue's MVP. They came out very flat in the first half and were showing all those dreaded post Wisconsin signs that give me PTSD but they rallied at halftime and completely shut down Nebraska in the second half. Aside from last possession of prevent (a debate which I will leave for that other thread) Purdue allowed a meager 48 yards in the second half. That's amazing considering where they were in the first half. Gotta hand it to the coaching staff for this defense. The new approach this season has been a boom and the development on that side of the ball might be some of the best I have ever seen. Every position has players that have exhibited good to great development through their time at Purdue.
Now, obviously offense has been a bit of a roller coaster. There are obvious deficiencies in the run game. We don't have a speed back, the OL hadn't given big holes before this past Saturday, and AOC has had his ups and downs. Despite all this I think the offense has shown its own levels of resilience as well.
I thought this team would go 5-7 this year and I pointed to huge concerns on the OL as the main reason. Last year we were relying on two RS Fr and a true Fr in the interior OL and the stats show it. Purdue was awful running between the tackles last year. When Purdue did make big plays it was largely because Horvath had a designed run outside or bounced outside to utilize blocks from Herrmanns and Durham. Unfortunately Jornigan was forced into early retirement but Holstege and Hartwig have shown good improvement from their first year of being forced into early starting roles. Holstege is probably the weakest link on the OL but that is understandable given the circumstances, I think he will be plenty good enough as an upper classmen. The OL's biggest issue is the inability to develop as a unit. Relying on two sophomores, two grad transfers, and a junior OT in his first year as a starter is not a recipe for success. Ohio State would struggle under those circumstances. That being said each individual player is holding up reasonably well. Well enough that I think the OL will take a considerable step forward next year assuming the starting lineup is Holstege, Hartwig, Craig, and Miller + one (and only one) grad transfer or maybe Monnot.
AOC is not a great QB and I don't think anyone has ever said that on here. I have been in the "start AOC camp" since the Illinois game but I am not saying he is the savior or anything spectacular. He just shows poise and tries to execute the offense to his best abilities. He isn't the most accurate and is certainly capable of throwing picks but he was excellent in the Iowa game and did an good job taking what Nebraska gave him this past weekend. Recruiting and development at the QB position have not been ideal and hopefully Brady Allen and/or Rickie Collins change that eventually. That being said, there aren't many walk-ons out there that can fill in the gaps as well as Aidan has.
The RB room has been cursed with one non-football related transfer after another for a while now and it looks like another is in the works. It doesn't help that Purdue recruits athletic OL to be pass blockers at the deficit of run blocking. There aren't many schools that can consistently recruit a good OL to do both well. Wisconsin and the elite programs are probably it. Even Iowa has a bad OL this year and they traditionally have a good one. Doerue and Horvath have given all they have though in the meantime. Like with AOC, there is a brigade of Knuckleheads that like to accuse others of calling Horvath a savior. Purdue's situation in the run game is simply one where Purdue just needs a guy to make a play when needed and Horvath is often the guy to do it. Three freshmen can't open up the run game in the middle in 2020? Cool, Horvath will just lead the Big Ten as a receiving RB. G. Miller blew that block on the wildcat in the Oregon State game? No problem, Horvath will make that guy miss and get the TD. Similar issue on the goalline in the Nebraska game? No biggie, Horvath will just spin off that DT and get the TD anyway. Doerue similarly has done just enough at times as well. His 5+ yard runs weren't spectacular Saturday but were a big reason why Purdue had a few long methodical possessions against the Huskers. He also has been a solid pass blocker aside from the Wisconsin game which, to be fair, was a hard ask.
I also give credit to Brohm for blowing out Iowa and finding a way to win this past Saturday. The Purdue offense was overwhelmed against Wisconsin and there was much hand wringing over it. The easiest position in football is the arm chair QB. "NO, DON'T DO THAT PLAY!!! CALL *insert play here* INSTEAD. THAT WOULD OBVIOUSLY WORK." Plenty of checkers vs chess comments and the like. I don't think there was anything Brohm could have done in that game. I was watching that game with my brother-in-law and at one point said "Purdue needs to run screens. Wisconsin is dropping 7-8 and bringing a LB or two each play." Brohm did just that and got a couple nice screen plays on a drive. Leonhard immediately assigned that #18 kid at safety to shut it down. Shortly after I said to my brother-in-law, "OK, well if they are going to blitz Chenal that much, then Purdue needs to hit someone across the middle." AOC then hit Durham a few times over the middle. That was quickly snuffed out by Leonhard as well. At that point I threw my hands up and told my brother-in-law and commented on the game thread here "If Purdue somehow wins this game, Brohm deserves all the credit in the world. There is just no answer for this Wisconsin defense." I made this comment in another thread after that game. It wasn't chess vs checkers, it was chess vs chess but Leonhard was coaching with 4 rooks in place of pawns on the front line and Brohm had rooks that couldn't move more than 3 spaces at a time.
Again, this isn't a spectacularly athletic or talented team but they are finding ways to win and have exceeded any reasonable person's expectations. Most national prognosticators had Purdue anywhere between 3-6 wins this season, including the putz I mentioned earlier that said "this is probably a 3-win team" before the season started. Purdue has exceeded those and even some lofty expectations here, because of some gritty resilient play. You absolutely have to have that in a Big Ten season where Illinois can beat Penn State on any given Saturday.
Purdue is playing with house money these next two weeks imo. I fully expect hand wringing from the usual folks on here if they lose. But I am going to sit back and enjoy these next two Saturdays. They have been stressful to watch but I like this team for what they are. A resilient bunch that have performed above any reasonable expectation and could be lined up for a 7 win season. Who knows? Maybe the Spoilermakers make another appearance this Saturday.
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