INDIANAPOLIS - Who's the quarterback?
Well, that's been a pretty darn good well-kept secret over the past few days, with speculation bouncing back-and-forth. I think we can safety say it will not be Jared Sparks - heck, he accidentally eliminated himself after practice on Tuesday, before trying to backtrack - and put it on either David Blough or Elijah Sindelar.
During the early portion of warmups, before jerseys are on or anything here at Lucas Oil, Blough looked fine, chucking the ball 40-plus down the field. So even if he doesn't start, it looks like he'll be good to go at some point. Pretty good feeling that both guys will play, so really not sure if it matters who starts. Purdue will go with the hot hand.
Purdue, of course, has a lot of other concerns in this matchup with No. 16 Louisville, like how it's going to contain Lamar Jackson. Not sure that spying works in this instance, because of the misdirection UL likes to do in its backfield. Best bet, I think, is to play out assignments and DO NOT over pursue. It's there more than anywhere else that Jackson kills opponents, with his cutback ability much better than anyone else on the field.
If the Boilermakers want to have any chance, they're going to have to limit the big plays. Certainly, they couldn't do so at all last season, and Jackson and Co. thrive on it. Not telling you anything you don't know.
I don't think we're going to see Anthony Mahoungou, Jackson Anthrop and Greg Phillips — the three starters — on the field together much today. That grouping barely has any speed at all. If I was UL, I'd sit down on underneath stuff, dare Purdue to try to win deep. Maybe Isaac Zico can do so. Maybe Corey Holmes. But who knows? Guess we'll all find out. I have a real fear that Purdue might drop about 8 to 10 balls tonight. Don't have much faith in any of those guys (yet).
Markell Jones might not be the starter tonight, but I think we see a lot of the junior running back, getting the ball in the backfield and also lining up in the slot. He's a talented guy, and if focused, can be a difference-maker. We'll see.
Here's what I'm interested in: Can Purdue scheme its way into advantages on offense. That's what Jeff Brohm likes to do, set things up so that there are matchups he can exploit. Maybe that's a tight end up a seam on a linebacker. Or Jones vs. an LB. Or manufacturing a way to get the ball deep. It'll be interesting to watch develop, because it could be an indication of where Purdue is headed offensively, even if it can't execute in Game 1 against a superior opponent.
One other random area of ... intrigue: Do we know how well Grant Hermanns and Dave Steinmetz hold up at the tackles? And if they don't, what is the backup plan?
An hour 'til kick, listen to the Podcast. Or read our predictions.
Feel free to comment below.
Well, that's been a pretty darn good well-kept secret over the past few days, with speculation bouncing back-and-forth. I think we can safety say it will not be Jared Sparks - heck, he accidentally eliminated himself after practice on Tuesday, before trying to backtrack - and put it on either David Blough or Elijah Sindelar.
During the early portion of warmups, before jerseys are on or anything here at Lucas Oil, Blough looked fine, chucking the ball 40-plus down the field. So even if he doesn't start, it looks like he'll be good to go at some point. Pretty good feeling that both guys will play, so really not sure if it matters who starts. Purdue will go with the hot hand.
Purdue, of course, has a lot of other concerns in this matchup with No. 16 Louisville, like how it's going to contain Lamar Jackson. Not sure that spying works in this instance, because of the misdirection UL likes to do in its backfield. Best bet, I think, is to play out assignments and DO NOT over pursue. It's there more than anywhere else that Jackson kills opponents, with his cutback ability much better than anyone else on the field.
If the Boilermakers want to have any chance, they're going to have to limit the big plays. Certainly, they couldn't do so at all last season, and Jackson and Co. thrive on it. Not telling you anything you don't know.
I don't think we're going to see Anthony Mahoungou, Jackson Anthrop and Greg Phillips — the three starters — on the field together much today. That grouping barely has any speed at all. If I was UL, I'd sit down on underneath stuff, dare Purdue to try to win deep. Maybe Isaac Zico can do so. Maybe Corey Holmes. But who knows? Guess we'll all find out. I have a real fear that Purdue might drop about 8 to 10 balls tonight. Don't have much faith in any of those guys (yet).
Markell Jones might not be the starter tonight, but I think we see a lot of the junior running back, getting the ball in the backfield and also lining up in the slot. He's a talented guy, and if focused, can be a difference-maker. We'll see.
Here's what I'm interested in: Can Purdue scheme its way into advantages on offense. That's what Jeff Brohm likes to do, set things up so that there are matchups he can exploit. Maybe that's a tight end up a seam on a linebacker. Or Jones vs. an LB. Or manufacturing a way to get the ball deep. It'll be interesting to watch develop, because it could be an indication of where Purdue is headed offensively, even if it can't execute in Game 1 against a superior opponent.
One other random area of ... intrigue: Do we know how well Grant Hermanns and Dave Steinmetz hold up at the tackles? And if they don't, what is the backup plan?
An hour 'til kick, listen to the Podcast. Or read our predictions.
Feel free to comment below.
