Preview 2019: Previewing and looking ahead to the Purdue season with what you need to know.
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Recruiting Class Analysis | Schedule Analysis
– Purdue Previews 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2018 Record: 6-7 overall, 5-4 in Big Ten
Head Coach: Jeff Brohm, 3rd year: 13-13
5. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE PURDUE OFFENSE
– With head coach Jeff Brohm still in West Lafayette and not in Louisville, look … out. The nation’s 11th-best passing game has the potential to go into overdrive for an offense that finished 29th overall. There’s a brilliant mix of talented young players and good veterans to work around, but …
– Elijah Sindelar has to stay in one piece. The offense has the quarterback to make it all go, but staying healthy has been hard. As long as he’s right, everything else should work thanks to a loaded receiving corps. Rondale Moore is the star, the recruiting class cranked it up with a whole lot more talent – David Bell and Milton Wright lead an amazing new haul of targets – and TE Brycen Hopkins has the talent to do a lot more.
– The top running backs are gone and the offensive line has to be stronger. It’s an okay group up front – especially at tackle – but there’s little in the way of established depth and the protection has to be stronger after mediocre year. With DJ Knox and Markell Jones done, the top returning running back – sophomore Zander Horvath – gained just 49 yards last season. The job is wide open.
NEXT: What You Need To Know About the Defense, Top Players, Keys to the Season, What Will Happen
4. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE PURDUE DEFENSE
– There are good pieces that have to be a whole lot stronger for the Big Ten’s second-worst defense. The pass rush and playmaking in the backfield have to be stronger, and the run defense has to avoid the big gashes. It all starts with a potentially nasty linebacking corps, working around all-star Markus Bailey on the strongside and grad transfer Ben Holt – WKU’s 2018 leading tackler – somewhere in the mix.
– Everyone of note returns to the defensive front, but the new guys are need to be the stars after a little bit of time and work. Freshman George Karlaftis is going to be special, and less-heralded recruit Dontay Hunter will eventually be a factor. However, the front four – including the pass rushing ends – as is isn’t all that bad around terrific veteran DT Lorenzo Neal.
– The pass defense was the fourth-worst in America, allowing 285 yards per game and getting hit for 12 yards per completion. Junior S Brennan Thieneman is a good one who can hit, but the corners have to be stronger and allowing the big shots down the field have to slow down. Purdue gave up 300 yards or more seven times.
NEXT: Top Players, Keys To the Season, What Will Happen
3. TOP PURDUE PLAYERS
Best Purdue Offensive Player
WR Rondale Moore, Soph.
Well that worked out well. There were rumblings that Purdue had something special in Moore – as he lit it up in practices all throughout the offseason – and then he turned out to be the best wide receiver in college football, even if he didn’t win the Biletnikoff. The 5-9, 175-pounder caught 114 passes for 1,258 yards and 12 scores, and ran 21 times for 213 yards and two scores. He needs to have the ball in his hands ten times a game no matter what.
2. QB Elijah Sindelar, Sr.
3. TE Brycen Hopkins, Sr.
4. WR David Bell, Fr.
5. WR Milton Wright, Fr.
Best Purdue Defensive Player
LB Markus Bailey, Sr.
The 6-1, 240-pound veteran has been among the Big Ten’s smartest top tacklers over the last three seasons, and now he’s back for one final run as the man on the strong side. He’s good at getting into the backfield – making 5.5 sacks with nine tackles for loss – but he’s at his best when he’s on the move and thumping. He led the team with 115 tackles, picked off a pass for a score against Ohio State, and made play after play. Consider it a shock if he’s not a 100-tackle All-Big Ten star again.
2. DT Lorenzo Neal, Sr.
3. LB Derrick Barnes, Jr.
4. S Brennan Thieneman, Jr.
5. CB Kenneth Major, Soph.
NEXT: Keys to the Season, Prediction & What Will Happen
2. KEYS TO THE SEASON
Biggest Key To The Purdue Offense
Don’t be afraid to run. It was a strange anomaly early, losing the first two games to Northwestern and Eastern Michigan despite running for a 543 combined yards and averaging over eight yards per carry. The ground game failed to hit the 100-yard mark six times in the final 11 games, and the Boilermakers lost five of them.
On the flip side, after those first two games that Purdue was SO close to winning, it was 5-0 when it ran for 100 yards. In 2018 under Jeff Brohm when it ran for 100 yards or more? 5-2.
Biggest Key To The Purdue Defense
There have to be more plays behind the line from the front four. That’s where the kids kick in, with the great recruiting class of athletes – starting with George Karlaftis – needing to be throw into the mix right away.
How bad was it? Out of the 25 sacks last season, only seven came from the defensive front, and the top three producers weren’t linemen. Most of the big plays behind the line came from the linebacking corps, too. Of the paltry 61 tackles for loss, 33 came in four games.
Key Player To A Successful Season
QB Elijah Sindelar, Sr.
It’s all there. The 6-4, 225-pound size, the All-Big Ten smarts, the mobility, the arm, the system, the coach, the receiving corps … everything. Sindelar, though, has had injury issues over the course of his career and took a back seat to David Blough last season. This is his time to rise up and rock, and if he can stay in one piece, he’ll hit the 4,000-yard mark and get the NFL types fired up. If not, get ready for promising backups Jack Plummer and Nick Sipe to be the keys to the season.
Key Game To The Purdue Season
Minnesota, Sept. 28
This is one of those 50/50 games the Boilermakers can’t be on the wrong side of. As is, starting the season against Nevada on the road, Vanderbilt and TCU will be challenging, but after a week off, they have to win the home game to kick off the Big Ten season. Lose, and it’s uh-oh time with a trip to Penn State coming up and dates at Iowa, Northwestern and Wisconsin still to go.
– Purdue Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2018 Purdue Fun Stats
– Red Zone Scores: Purdue 90-of-98 (92%) – Opponents 90-of-112 (80%)
– Penalties: Opponents 96 for 919 yards – Purdue 81 for 837 yards
– Average Passing Yards Per Game: Purdue 307.5 – Opponents 288.4
NEXT: What Will Happen
1. PURDUE WIN TOTAL PREDICTION: WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN
To dive into the ugly and lazy cliché, Purdue is going to be that team that can beat anyone, or lose to anyone.
Sorry about that. To be more analytical about it, the offense is going to have those days – like it did against Ohio State last season – when everything goes right, and forget about it. The receiving corps has the talent and upside to go off – and it’ll have to with an inconsistent running game that’s going to fall flat way too often.
The defense will generate more of a pass rush, it’ll be more athletic and talented up front, and will have a few good performances. But once again, the pass D will get ripped apart from time to time, and overall, it’ll have to get used to surviving in shootouts.
Set The Regular Season Win Total At … 6
It’s still a building process. Jeff Brohm is bringing in a whole lot of dynamic talents on both sides of the ball, but it should take one more year for it all to kick in. Don’t see winning six regular season games as treading water – especially with this schedule.
The first five games are against teams that went bowling, and Illinois, Nebraska, and Indiana are going to be better. There isn’t a 100% sure-thing win on the slate, and it’s very, very possible for Brohm to field his best team yet, and still finish 4-8.
For the third straight season, bowl eligibility will likely come down to the regular season finale against Indiana – and it’s a home game.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Recruiting Class Analysis | Schedule Analysis
