Taking a look at the size and experience of the Ohio* Lines and LBs and seeing how they match up against Purdue's equivalents. (* Ohio’s SID respectfully requests that you refer to them as “Ohio” or “Ohio University” and never “Ohio U.” or “OU”.)
- Purdue’s defense will face an OU O-line which should be yet another one of the larger units that Purdue will face this year at 319.0 lbs. Like Louisville, their size is roughly akin to a Wisconsin sized line but will be smaller than Louisville. If they were in the B10, they'd be the third largest. However, unlike Louisville who was very young, Ohio is much more seasoned at 3.6 years of experience. Three full-time starters return from last year with the other two starters making their first career starts this season. The Bobcats OL will have 61 collective starts as a unit.
Something to keep an eye on: Ohio’s RG, Durrell Woods, a 6’3” 294lb 5th Year Senior has been listed as the starter for both the Hampton and Purdue games. According to Ohio’s participation chart, he did not start or play against Hampton. In his place, they moved their LG over to RG and the LG position was filled by a true frosh, 6’3”, 293lb Hagen Merservy. While they don’t lose much in terms of size, they do lose a player with 21 career starts. Starting a true frosh certainly drops the average experience and, as we saw with Louisville, could lead to pre-snap issues. With Purdue’s size and physicality of Wilson, Robinson and Neal (2nd half), that could be an issue with Ohio running the ball.
- This year’s Purdue’s D-Line (Larkin, Robinson, Wilson, Ezechukwu) averages about 270.0 lbs, down from the 283.5 lbs average of last year. They will be outweighed by the Ohio line by about 49.0 lbs per man on average. Purdue’s average experience is 3.75 years, up from last year’s line of 3.2 year average. The size of this group will likely be below average for a B10 team but above average in terms of experience. As a unit they have decent experience as going into Saturday they have 55 collective starts. By comparison, last year’s group had just 37 to start the season. Due to the targeting penalty, Neal who actually started the Louisville game, will have to set out the 1st half.
- Purdue’s LBs (McCollum, Bentley, Bailey) come in at 243.3 lbs and are at 3.33 years of experience. That’s up about 1.5 lbs from last year and an additional year in collective experience (Up from 2.33 the last two years). They have a collective 65 starts between them (Counting McCollum’s starts at WKU). Size wise, this group is the largest in the B10 by 10+ lbs per man and above average in terms of experience.
- Purdue’s O-line (Hermanns, Evans, Baron, McCann, Steinmetz) will average 307.0 lbs per man, down by 2.6 lbs from last year’s 309.6 lbs. This puts them slightly below average compared to other B10 programs. They average 2.60 years of experience which is a significant drop from last year (3.6 years). This also places them just below average for the B10 and also for all opponents. Collectively, this group has 59 starts among them which is fairly close to where the O-Line started last season (62) even with the extra year of experience.
- At 270.75 lbs, Ohio’s D-line should fall below the average sized D-Line Purdue will face this year. They will be well above average in terms of experience with a 4.0 year average. Even though they are all Seniors and all have starts under the belt, there are no one player with more than 8 starts. They’ll be outweighed by Purdue’s O-line by 36.25lbs per man. As mentioned, they return just part time starters from last year and have just a collective 22 starts between them.
- The Bobcat LBs comes in right at average for Purdue’s opponents at 228.00 lbs. Like the line, they are going to be on the older side with an average of 3.67 years at the position. They have two multi-year starters but the third starter is new this season. Together they have a very good 55 starts collectively.
Obviously, it’s just one game, and it’s way too early in the season to predict how the team will perform the remainder of the year, but the early results were certainly encouraging.
I, for one, had been encouraged about how the Purdue team performed last season once the former coach had been let go. They didn’t win any games and fell out of contention after half times but it seemed like a change of coaching could greatly impact the fortunes of this team. I still feel that way and have a game to back it up.
Now, fans should only extrapolate Saturday’s results with a word of caution. There have been times when Purdue competed against teams that overmatched them in talent and had an opportunity to win (most recently, the 2015 MSU game). What most fans hoped for was those glimpses of respectability would turn into a step forward and a consistent level of performance. Had that happened, Purdue might still have DH2 as it’s coach.
This Friday’s game and how they perform should tell us a lot about this team. In prior years, Purdue followed up with an inspiring performance with an effort as flat as a pancake. With a quick turnaround, a likely less than normal crowd and a talented opponent, there’s not really any margin for error here.
There was also some uncertainty surrounding Purdue’s personnel and schemes going into the Louisville game. Who would play? How would they line up? How will respond to different formations and the like? All of that was a bit of a mystery to the Louisville staff. Now, that’s all on film for upcoming opponents to see and plan against. Purdue probably had to show a lot more of their offense and defense than did their opponent who cruised past a FCS opponent Saturday night.
Vegas predicts Purdue by 4.5 points (Likely to move)
Compughter Ratings.com predicts a 29-28 Purdue win
MasseyRatings predicts a 29-28 Purdue win
Sagarin doesn’t update until tomorrow following tonight’s GaTech-TN Game
CollegeFootballPoll will also update tomorrow
As mentioned earlier, Ohio pretty much had a walkover against FCS Hampton on Saturday, winning 59-0 and pretty much doing whatever they wanted and whenever they wanted.
Let by former Nebraska coach, Frank Solich, Solich is now the 3rd longest tenured D1 coach following just Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz and TCU’s Gary Patterson. One note about the coaching staff, Ohio is the only D1 school that has their HC, OC and DC all be in place for 12 seasons or more. Talk about stability. Ohio did add two new position coaches this season, both on the defensive side of the ball. They now have new Cornerback and Defensive Line coaches.
Ohio doesn’t necessarily do anything flashy, they do it consistently well. Their offense is primarily a zone read, run first scheme. Their starting QB seems to be much less inclined to hold on the ball and run than did his backup, Rourke.
The base defense is a standard 4-3. As pointed out above, their LBs are on the smaller side but their DBs are also on the smaller size as well. Neither of their CBs are listed as being over 5’11”.
Ohio has their plan, have recruited and coached to that plan and as a result Solich is now the 3rd most winning coach in Mid-America Coach history. The obvious caveat to that record is that MAC is typically a breeding ground for P5 coaches so if a coach is good, (or seems to be good) they’ll get a P5 job soon, if they aren’t good, they’ll be replaced. In other words, not a lot of successful coaches stay in the MAC as long as Solich.
With their game against Hampton representing little more than a scrimmage, not much could be garnered by their stats. Therefore, looking at last season’s stats, and understanding that 14 starters (8 offense, 6 defense) return including their QB, there’s a few items which still out.
Generally most of their offensive production numbers were ranked in the lower half of FBS schools.
- Total Offense ranked 77th
- Scoring Offense ranked 85th
- Turnovers Lost ranked 107th
- Rush Offense ranked 75th
- Pass Efficiency ranked 88th
Generally most of their defensive production numbers were ranked in the upper half of the FBS schools:
- Total Defense ranked 27th
- Scoring Defense ranked 26th
- Turnovers Gained ranked 18th
- Rush Defense ranked 5th
- Pass Efficiency Defense ranked 80th (the outlier)
Seeing as Ohio returns less of their defensive starters, and half of those were DBs where they fared the worst, there should be some reason for optimism against Purdue’s corresponding units.
One item that may or may not be a factor is that Ohio plays very few games on grass fields (like Ross-Ade). They’ve played just three games on grass fields over the period of 2012-2016. Their 2012 game was against Penn State in the season opener for both schools and came on the heels of the scholarship sanctions and exodus of players in Bill O’Brien’s first game. No players remain which were part of that win. Since then, Ohio has lost at Kentucky (2014, 3-20) and at Tennessee (2016, 19-28).
Ohio does have a grass practice field but invariably issues can crop up during the game, most notably footing and determination of the size of cleats to use. It could mean nothing but on the other hand it could make Ohio’s players a bit more tentative in making their cuts or losing their footing all together.
According to Solich, he may not have the team practice on grass to minimize any potential for injury and that the type of grass turf they have will be different than the PAT turf installed in Ross-Ade.
Ohio has two QBs who performed well against Hampton but nothing really spectacular (again, considering the opponent). At times, their backup (Rourke and MAC East-Offensive POW) looked better than the incumbent starter (Maxwell) but I’d expect Maxwell to stay as the starter.
Ohio did lose a projected starter (Ball) at WR during camp. He was the #2 returning receiver. Again, based on Ohio’s competition and lack of needing to pass, it’s difficult to stay what, if any, impact his loss will represent for the Bobcats.
Regarding Purdue:
I really think the best QB/RB combo is Blough and Knox. Sindelar’s arm strength isn’t all that important when opposing defenses are getting penetration and, at least what I’ve observed on Saturday as well as last year, he has trouble throwing anything but the “fastball”. Orton was the same as a true frosh but the alternative to Orton was a R-Frosh in Hance. Blough is a R-Junior with a lot more experience. In addition to having some difficulty throwing the ball with touch, Sindelar is probably behind Blough in recognizing pressure and adjusting blocking or changing plays.
After re-watching the game and the series that both QBs were behind center, it also just seemed like the rest of the team had more confidence in Blough than they did in Sindelar. Perhaps confidence isn’t the right word but they seemed to respond better when Blough was operating the offense. Blough’s ability to scramble and throw accurately while scrambling is important. It’s probably easier to try and dial back Blough’s “gunslinger” mode than trying to get Sindelar the ability to dial back the velocity of his passes. It took Orton three years to be able to throw a screen pass on target and with the right touch, it may take Sindelar another year as well.
That said, Blough’s 2nd Interception was pretty poor. On the Pick-6 however, I’m not so sure that Worship wasn’t out of position. If you watch Purdue’s other backs when they are the check down receiver, they “sit down” just past the LBs to give the QBs a good target. On the interception, Worship made his cut but kept running towards the sideline and didn’t even turn his head to look for a pass. Blough threw to where Worship made his cut. Coach Brohm didn’t specifically call out Blough or Worship but Blough stayed in after that interception, but was pulled after the next. That might have been the last straw or more of an indication that the 1st interception wasn’t necessary all on Blough.
Again, assuming Blough’s shoulder is fine, I’d give him the start and then let Sindelar have the two series in the 2nd quarter. Hot hand gets more snaps. It's probably time to get Sparks in as he's likely a superior athlete to most o the Ohio players where he may not have had that advantage against Louisville.
As for the backs, I’d start Knox, make sure Worship only needed to run north-south, redshirt Jones to get him 100% healthy and see if Fuller and or Lankford-Johnson want to wear a white jersey in practice.
Another thought on the personal fouls and the refs in general. They missed calls both ways. A couple of the Pass Interference penalties called on Louisville clearly looked like the Purdue receiver initiated contact. However, it was pretty obvious that they were protecting Jackson. The Roughing the Passer penalty that Wilson received early in the ball game came after the pass was thrown but Wilson simply grabbed Jackson’s shoulder to pull him out the way so he could pursue the play. On Neal’s targeting penalty, I can see where it could be called but then late in the 1st half right around the 2 minute mark, a Louisville defender clearly hits Blough in the head with his hand after throwing a completion to Herdman. And, in the 2nd half on Purdue’s 2nd possession, Blough hit Herdman on a 3rd and 11 and they show the Louisville defender putting his helmet into Blough’s facemask and knocking him back.
If you’re going to make a point to protect the QB, make it point to protect both QBs.
Special teams were certainly a mixed bag. On Evan’s first two kick offs, I’m guessing that the coaches instructed him to kick it in the field of play to get a look at the cover team. After seeing the coverage team in action, they then instructed him to kick it deep into the end zone, which he did. I’d keep having him kicking for touchbacks until the cover team gets up to snuff with technique or the athletes to actually cover.
On the return teams, I’m fine having Anthrop return punts as he’s shown to be sure handed and the last thing you want is a turnover. He may never break a long return but if the offense can move the ball, just having possession of he ball is more important.
Kick off returners will need to be reviewed as well. Lankford-Johnson had a 21.5 yard return average last season so I’m unclear why he wouldn’t get a shot again. Catlett might be okay but needs to get some experience on when and when not to try and return kicks. It was his first game as a true frosh and being pressed in to replace Jones so I’d give him the benefit of a doubt right now. Holmes would also seem to be a candidate for that spot.
Schopper also had a good game punting the ball and may have been the player of the game for his tackle on Alexander and getting him out of the ball game.
Special teams are always tough to replicate early in the season. There’s just not enough practice time and the potential for injury to do much live practice. I have high hopes for Special Teams but it may take a while for everything to gel.
Fox will be broadcasting the game again this week and I hope they get their fact-checkers “checked” before then. During their halftime program, one of the studio hosts made a big point about the number “59”. He went on to say that was how many yards of total offense Purdue had at halftime. Now, disregard that Purdue had just gone on a scoring drive longer than that number and someone should have caught the error. The announcers also had the correct number on their graphic so it’s not like it was a state secret.
In addition, after Louisville’s FG at the start of the 2nd half, they posted a graphic which stated that Purdue had not led at half time against a Power 5 team since the 2008 Oregon game. Now, apparently the B10 teams aren’t considered Power 5 as Purdue had halftime leads against Illinois, Minnesota and Nebraska just last season. I wondered if they meant half time lead against a P5 team away from home, but then again, they led at half against Illinois last year. So, I then wondered did they mean against a ranked Power 5 team, but then that would be against Notre Dame in 2013. So, finally, I thought they might have meant against a ranked Power 5 team on the road but then again, that would be against Ohio State in 2012.
Finally, in the post-game discussion between the two announcers, Spencer Tillman pointed out the importance of the Ohio game for Purdue because “…it’s a conference game, in their division…”. What??? When did Ohio join the B10 West? Don’t let facts get in the way of a good story.
If Purdue can keep the effort and intensity they showed against Louisville, they should be able to pull out a win against a very good, but less talented team.
It will be interesting to see what scheme Holt devises to try and shut down Ohio’s running game which should be the key to shutting down the Ohio offense.
On offense, even though Ohio’s had a stout defense, their Pass Efficiency Defense seems to be their chink in the armor and should play right into Purdue’s strength. It wouldn’t hurt for Purdue to get their running game going early to make a lot of those passes easier.
Friday (and Saturday) can't get here soon enough!
- Purdue’s defense will face an OU O-line which should be yet another one of the larger units that Purdue will face this year at 319.0 lbs. Like Louisville, their size is roughly akin to a Wisconsin sized line but will be smaller than Louisville. If they were in the B10, they'd be the third largest. However, unlike Louisville who was very young, Ohio is much more seasoned at 3.6 years of experience. Three full-time starters return from last year with the other two starters making their first career starts this season. The Bobcats OL will have 61 collective starts as a unit.
Something to keep an eye on: Ohio’s RG, Durrell Woods, a 6’3” 294lb 5th Year Senior has been listed as the starter for both the Hampton and Purdue games. According to Ohio’s participation chart, he did not start or play against Hampton. In his place, they moved their LG over to RG and the LG position was filled by a true frosh, 6’3”, 293lb Hagen Merservy. While they don’t lose much in terms of size, they do lose a player with 21 career starts. Starting a true frosh certainly drops the average experience and, as we saw with Louisville, could lead to pre-snap issues. With Purdue’s size and physicality of Wilson, Robinson and Neal (2nd half), that could be an issue with Ohio running the ball.
- This year’s Purdue’s D-Line (Larkin, Robinson, Wilson, Ezechukwu) averages about 270.0 lbs, down from the 283.5 lbs average of last year. They will be outweighed by the Ohio line by about 49.0 lbs per man on average. Purdue’s average experience is 3.75 years, up from last year’s line of 3.2 year average. The size of this group will likely be below average for a B10 team but above average in terms of experience. As a unit they have decent experience as going into Saturday they have 55 collective starts. By comparison, last year’s group had just 37 to start the season. Due to the targeting penalty, Neal who actually started the Louisville game, will have to set out the 1st half.
- Purdue’s LBs (McCollum, Bentley, Bailey) come in at 243.3 lbs and are at 3.33 years of experience. That’s up about 1.5 lbs from last year and an additional year in collective experience (Up from 2.33 the last two years). They have a collective 65 starts between them (Counting McCollum’s starts at WKU). Size wise, this group is the largest in the B10 by 10+ lbs per man and above average in terms of experience.
- Purdue’s O-line (Hermanns, Evans, Baron, McCann, Steinmetz) will average 307.0 lbs per man, down by 2.6 lbs from last year’s 309.6 lbs. This puts them slightly below average compared to other B10 programs. They average 2.60 years of experience which is a significant drop from last year (3.6 years). This also places them just below average for the B10 and also for all opponents. Collectively, this group has 59 starts among them which is fairly close to where the O-Line started last season (62) even with the extra year of experience.
- At 270.75 lbs, Ohio’s D-line should fall below the average sized D-Line Purdue will face this year. They will be well above average in terms of experience with a 4.0 year average. Even though they are all Seniors and all have starts under the belt, there are no one player with more than 8 starts. They’ll be outweighed by Purdue’s O-line by 36.25lbs per man. As mentioned, they return just part time starters from last year and have just a collective 22 starts between them.
- The Bobcat LBs comes in right at average for Purdue’s opponents at 228.00 lbs. Like the line, they are going to be on the older side with an average of 3.67 years at the position. They have two multi-year starters but the third starter is new this season. Together they have a very good 55 starts collectively.
Obviously, it’s just one game, and it’s way too early in the season to predict how the team will perform the remainder of the year, but the early results were certainly encouraging.
I, for one, had been encouraged about how the Purdue team performed last season once the former coach had been let go. They didn’t win any games and fell out of contention after half times but it seemed like a change of coaching could greatly impact the fortunes of this team. I still feel that way and have a game to back it up.
Now, fans should only extrapolate Saturday’s results with a word of caution. There have been times when Purdue competed against teams that overmatched them in talent and had an opportunity to win (most recently, the 2015 MSU game). What most fans hoped for was those glimpses of respectability would turn into a step forward and a consistent level of performance. Had that happened, Purdue might still have DH2 as it’s coach.
This Friday’s game and how they perform should tell us a lot about this team. In prior years, Purdue followed up with an inspiring performance with an effort as flat as a pancake. With a quick turnaround, a likely less than normal crowd and a talented opponent, there’s not really any margin for error here.
There was also some uncertainty surrounding Purdue’s personnel and schemes going into the Louisville game. Who would play? How would they line up? How will respond to different formations and the like? All of that was a bit of a mystery to the Louisville staff. Now, that’s all on film for upcoming opponents to see and plan against. Purdue probably had to show a lot more of their offense and defense than did their opponent who cruised past a FCS opponent Saturday night.
Vegas predicts Purdue by 4.5 points (Likely to move)
Compughter Ratings.com predicts a 29-28 Purdue win
MasseyRatings predicts a 29-28 Purdue win
Sagarin doesn’t update until tomorrow following tonight’s GaTech-TN Game
CollegeFootballPoll will also update tomorrow
As mentioned earlier, Ohio pretty much had a walkover against FCS Hampton on Saturday, winning 59-0 and pretty much doing whatever they wanted and whenever they wanted.
Let by former Nebraska coach, Frank Solich, Solich is now the 3rd longest tenured D1 coach following just Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz and TCU’s Gary Patterson. One note about the coaching staff, Ohio is the only D1 school that has their HC, OC and DC all be in place for 12 seasons or more. Talk about stability. Ohio did add two new position coaches this season, both on the defensive side of the ball. They now have new Cornerback and Defensive Line coaches.
Ohio doesn’t necessarily do anything flashy, they do it consistently well. Their offense is primarily a zone read, run first scheme. Their starting QB seems to be much less inclined to hold on the ball and run than did his backup, Rourke.
The base defense is a standard 4-3. As pointed out above, their LBs are on the smaller side but their DBs are also on the smaller size as well. Neither of their CBs are listed as being over 5’11”.
Ohio has their plan, have recruited and coached to that plan and as a result Solich is now the 3rd most winning coach in Mid-America Coach history. The obvious caveat to that record is that MAC is typically a breeding ground for P5 coaches so if a coach is good, (or seems to be good) they’ll get a P5 job soon, if they aren’t good, they’ll be replaced. In other words, not a lot of successful coaches stay in the MAC as long as Solich.
With their game against Hampton representing little more than a scrimmage, not much could be garnered by their stats. Therefore, looking at last season’s stats, and understanding that 14 starters (8 offense, 6 defense) return including their QB, there’s a few items which still out.
Generally most of their offensive production numbers were ranked in the lower half of FBS schools.
- Total Offense ranked 77th
- Scoring Offense ranked 85th
- Turnovers Lost ranked 107th
- Rush Offense ranked 75th
- Pass Efficiency ranked 88th
Generally most of their defensive production numbers were ranked in the upper half of the FBS schools:
- Total Defense ranked 27th
- Scoring Defense ranked 26th
- Turnovers Gained ranked 18th
- Rush Defense ranked 5th
- Pass Efficiency Defense ranked 80th (the outlier)
Seeing as Ohio returns less of their defensive starters, and half of those were DBs where they fared the worst, there should be some reason for optimism against Purdue’s corresponding units.
One item that may or may not be a factor is that Ohio plays very few games on grass fields (like Ross-Ade). They’ve played just three games on grass fields over the period of 2012-2016. Their 2012 game was against Penn State in the season opener for both schools and came on the heels of the scholarship sanctions and exodus of players in Bill O’Brien’s first game. No players remain which were part of that win. Since then, Ohio has lost at Kentucky (2014, 3-20) and at Tennessee (2016, 19-28).
Ohio does have a grass practice field but invariably issues can crop up during the game, most notably footing and determination of the size of cleats to use. It could mean nothing but on the other hand it could make Ohio’s players a bit more tentative in making their cuts or losing their footing all together.
According to Solich, he may not have the team practice on grass to minimize any potential for injury and that the type of grass turf they have will be different than the PAT turf installed in Ross-Ade.
Ohio has two QBs who performed well against Hampton but nothing really spectacular (again, considering the opponent). At times, their backup (Rourke and MAC East-Offensive POW) looked better than the incumbent starter (Maxwell) but I’d expect Maxwell to stay as the starter.
Ohio did lose a projected starter (Ball) at WR during camp. He was the #2 returning receiver. Again, based on Ohio’s competition and lack of needing to pass, it’s difficult to stay what, if any, impact his loss will represent for the Bobcats.
Regarding Purdue:
I really think the best QB/RB combo is Blough and Knox. Sindelar’s arm strength isn’t all that important when opposing defenses are getting penetration and, at least what I’ve observed on Saturday as well as last year, he has trouble throwing anything but the “fastball”. Orton was the same as a true frosh but the alternative to Orton was a R-Frosh in Hance. Blough is a R-Junior with a lot more experience. In addition to having some difficulty throwing the ball with touch, Sindelar is probably behind Blough in recognizing pressure and adjusting blocking or changing plays.
After re-watching the game and the series that both QBs were behind center, it also just seemed like the rest of the team had more confidence in Blough than they did in Sindelar. Perhaps confidence isn’t the right word but they seemed to respond better when Blough was operating the offense. Blough’s ability to scramble and throw accurately while scrambling is important. It’s probably easier to try and dial back Blough’s “gunslinger” mode than trying to get Sindelar the ability to dial back the velocity of his passes. It took Orton three years to be able to throw a screen pass on target and with the right touch, it may take Sindelar another year as well.
That said, Blough’s 2nd Interception was pretty poor. On the Pick-6 however, I’m not so sure that Worship wasn’t out of position. If you watch Purdue’s other backs when they are the check down receiver, they “sit down” just past the LBs to give the QBs a good target. On the interception, Worship made his cut but kept running towards the sideline and didn’t even turn his head to look for a pass. Blough threw to where Worship made his cut. Coach Brohm didn’t specifically call out Blough or Worship but Blough stayed in after that interception, but was pulled after the next. That might have been the last straw or more of an indication that the 1st interception wasn’t necessary all on Blough.
Again, assuming Blough’s shoulder is fine, I’d give him the start and then let Sindelar have the two series in the 2nd quarter. Hot hand gets more snaps. It's probably time to get Sparks in as he's likely a superior athlete to most o the Ohio players where he may not have had that advantage against Louisville.
As for the backs, I’d start Knox, make sure Worship only needed to run north-south, redshirt Jones to get him 100% healthy and see if Fuller and or Lankford-Johnson want to wear a white jersey in practice.
Another thought on the personal fouls and the refs in general. They missed calls both ways. A couple of the Pass Interference penalties called on Louisville clearly looked like the Purdue receiver initiated contact. However, it was pretty obvious that they were protecting Jackson. The Roughing the Passer penalty that Wilson received early in the ball game came after the pass was thrown but Wilson simply grabbed Jackson’s shoulder to pull him out the way so he could pursue the play. On Neal’s targeting penalty, I can see where it could be called but then late in the 1st half right around the 2 minute mark, a Louisville defender clearly hits Blough in the head with his hand after throwing a completion to Herdman. And, in the 2nd half on Purdue’s 2nd possession, Blough hit Herdman on a 3rd and 11 and they show the Louisville defender putting his helmet into Blough’s facemask and knocking him back.
If you’re going to make a point to protect the QB, make it point to protect both QBs.
Special teams were certainly a mixed bag. On Evan’s first two kick offs, I’m guessing that the coaches instructed him to kick it in the field of play to get a look at the cover team. After seeing the coverage team in action, they then instructed him to kick it deep into the end zone, which he did. I’d keep having him kicking for touchbacks until the cover team gets up to snuff with technique or the athletes to actually cover.
On the return teams, I’m fine having Anthrop return punts as he’s shown to be sure handed and the last thing you want is a turnover. He may never break a long return but if the offense can move the ball, just having possession of he ball is more important.
Kick off returners will need to be reviewed as well. Lankford-Johnson had a 21.5 yard return average last season so I’m unclear why he wouldn’t get a shot again. Catlett might be okay but needs to get some experience on when and when not to try and return kicks. It was his first game as a true frosh and being pressed in to replace Jones so I’d give him the benefit of a doubt right now. Holmes would also seem to be a candidate for that spot.
Schopper also had a good game punting the ball and may have been the player of the game for his tackle on Alexander and getting him out of the ball game.
Special teams are always tough to replicate early in the season. There’s just not enough practice time and the potential for injury to do much live practice. I have high hopes for Special Teams but it may take a while for everything to gel.
Fox will be broadcasting the game again this week and I hope they get their fact-checkers “checked” before then. During their halftime program, one of the studio hosts made a big point about the number “59”. He went on to say that was how many yards of total offense Purdue had at halftime. Now, disregard that Purdue had just gone on a scoring drive longer than that number and someone should have caught the error. The announcers also had the correct number on their graphic so it’s not like it was a state secret.
In addition, after Louisville’s FG at the start of the 2nd half, they posted a graphic which stated that Purdue had not led at half time against a Power 5 team since the 2008 Oregon game. Now, apparently the B10 teams aren’t considered Power 5 as Purdue had halftime leads against Illinois, Minnesota and Nebraska just last season. I wondered if they meant half time lead against a P5 team away from home, but then again, they led at half against Illinois last year. So, I then wondered did they mean against a ranked Power 5 team, but then that would be against Notre Dame in 2013. So, finally, I thought they might have meant against a ranked Power 5 team on the road but then again, that would be against Ohio State in 2012.
Finally, in the post-game discussion between the two announcers, Spencer Tillman pointed out the importance of the Ohio game for Purdue because “…it’s a conference game, in their division…”. What??? When did Ohio join the B10 West? Don’t let facts get in the way of a good story.
If Purdue can keep the effort and intensity they showed against Louisville, they should be able to pull out a win against a very good, but less talented team.
It will be interesting to see what scheme Holt devises to try and shut down Ohio’s running game which should be the key to shutting down the Ohio offense.
On offense, even though Ohio’s had a stout defense, their Pass Efficiency Defense seems to be their chink in the armor and should play right into Purdue’s strength. It wouldn’t hurt for Purdue to get their running game going early to make a lot of those passes easier.
Friday (and Saturday) can't get here soon enough!
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