College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Purdue season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Purdue Schedule Analysis
– Purdue Boilermakers Previews
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2020 Record: 2-4 overall, 2-4 in Big Ten
Head Coach: Jeff Brohm, 5th year, 19-25
2020 CFN Final Ranking: 61
2020 CFN Preview Ranking: 58
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 103
Purdue Boilermakers College Football Preview 2021: Offense
– The offense continues to be a blast. The passing game will keep on cranking, the production will still be among the best in the Big Ten – Purdue was No. 1 in the Big Ten in passing offense – and the production is more effective than the 370 total yards and 27 points per game.
Yeah, you are what your numbers are, but this is a dangerous attack that gets back nine starters.
– Jack Plummer and Aidan O’Connell can each run the offense. It’s going to be an ongoing battle for the starting job, and there’s no wrong answer.
They both threw for over 900 yards in their three games of work, Plummer threw eight touchdown passes and two picks, and O’Connell threw seven scoring passes with two picks, and neither one is a dangerous runner – although Plummer is more mobile.
– Rondale Moore might be an Arizona Cardinal, but the receiving corps is still outstanding. David Bell is a 6-2, 205-pound No. 1 target who led the team with 53 grabs with eight touchdowns, and he’s not along with 6-3 Milton Wright, tight ends Payne Durham and Garrett Miller, and the quick Jackson Anthrop all going to get in plenty of work.
– The running game has parts, but they’re not used enough. Zander Horvath led the team with 442 yards and two scores – and he can catch, making 30 grabs – but the team only ran 150 times in the six games.
There’s sneaky-good star power on the O line around Gus Hartwig somewhere on the inside and Greg Long at one tackle spot. Getting Tyler Witt from WKU for somewhere in the interior is a plus.
– What You Need To Know: Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Purdue Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Purdue Boilermakers College Football Preview 2021: Defense
Purdue Boilermakers College Football Preview 2021: Defense
– Brad Lambert is a terrific get as the new defensive coordinator. The former Charlotte head coach has been great for the Marshall D over the last two years, and now he should do wonders for a group that was last in the Big Ten in sacks but allowed just under 400 yards and 30 points per game.
– The defensive front three has the ends. George Karlaftis only made two sacks last season, but he should push for double-digits if everything else goes right, and there are enough prospects on the other side to take the heat off. Losing Lorenzo Neal on the nose takes away a big 325-pound body – it’ll take a rotation to replace him.
– Leading tackler Derrick Barnes is gone from the linebacking corps, but second-leading tackler Jaylan Alexander and No. 3 man DaMarcus Mitchell – the team’s top tackler for loss with six – are back after combining for 82 tackles.
Cam Allen is a solid all-around safety – he led the team with two interceptions to go along with 27 tackles – and getting back starting corners Cory Trice and Dedrick Mackey is a huge plus.
– What You Need To Know: Offense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Purdue Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Purdue Boilermakers College Football Preview 2021: Top Players
Purdue Boilermakers College Football Preview 2021: Top Players
Best Purdue Boilermakers Offensive Player
WR David Bell, Jr.
Rondale Moore might have been the big-name target over the last few seasons, but the 6-2, 205-pound Bell has been the team’s best receiver. He’s got the size, the deep speed, and the all-star talent in the classroom as well as on the field.
In just six games he caught 53 passes for 625 yards and eight scores – crushing Iowa for 13 catches for 121 yards and three touchdowns in the opener – after coming up with a team-high 86 grabs for 1,035 yards and seven touchdowns as a freshman.
2. QB Aidan O’Connell, Sr.
3. QB Jack Plummer, Jr.
4. OT Greg Long, Sr.
5. C Gus Hartwig, Soph.
Best Purdue Boilermakers Defensive Player
DE George Karlaftis, Jr.
The 6-4, 275-pound pass rusher is what the NFL is looking for. He’s got a great motor, a quick burst, and the size to work in just about any scheme. As long as he can stay healthy, he’ll once again be an all-star difference-maker whose back after a rough year.
He only made four tackles with two sacks in his limited time last year, but Covid issues and getting banged up only let him work in two games. Expect him to be more like his 54 tackle, 7.5 sack, 17.5 tackle for loss freshman season.
2. LB Jaylan Alexander, Sr.
3. LB/DE DaMarcus Mitchell, Sr.
4. S Cam Allen, Jr.
5. CB Cory Trice, Jr.
Top Incoming Purdue Boilermakers Transfer
OG Tyler Witt, Sr.
There’s a shot he shows up and turns into the best blocker on the Purdue line.
The 6-2, 305-pounder might not have the right height or frame or overall look, but he was an all-star caliber guard over the last three years at WKU with tremendous pass blocking ability and enough pop to blast away when needed.
He fits what the Boilermaker offense needs, and his arrival allows the staff to play around with the rest of the lineup.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Purdue Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Purdue Boilermakers College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Purdue Boilermakers College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Purdue Boilermakers Biggest Key: Offense
Score whenever there’s a chance. The Purdue offense is going to be the Purdue offense. The passing game might be the best in the Big Ten again, the running game will be along for the ride, and the team will always make defenses sweat.
Not the O has to score. Always.
The team isn’t good enough to give away points, and it showed with three of the four losses coming by seven points or fewer, and the fourth loss – to Nebraska – by ten, but it was a fight.
Purdue only scored on 21 of 28 times inside the red zone – 75%. Only 17 teams were worse, and the 54% touchdown conversion rate was among the most abysmal in college football.
2019 Purdue scored 95% of the time in the red zone and scored touchdowns on 70% of their chances.
The Minnesota game last year was the most glaring example.
Everyone likes to focus on the offensive pass interference call – more on that in a moment – but there were two missed field goals and a huge interception in the 34-31 loss. Purdue scored just four times in seven trips inside the 20.
Purdue Boilermakers Biggest Key: Defense
The pass rush has to reemerge. It’s been a long, long time since Purdue was steadily great at getting to the quarterback – 2010 was the last time the defense generated 30 sacks or more – and everything about 2020 has to be taken with several grains of salt, but …
Five.
Purdue came up with just five sacks in the six games, and three came in the first two games – the two wins.
It all ties together. The Boilermakers were awful at stopping teams on third downs, but it won those first two games when they had their two best games at coming up with stops. They held Iowa and Illinois to under 31% on third downs, and everyone else was way, way over.
There was another part of this – no takeaways. Purdue didn’t force any turnovers in the last three games.
No pass rush, no production, lots of problems.
Purdue Boilermakers Key Player To A Successful Season
DT Lawrence Johnson, Jr.
Or Anthony Watts, or Bryce Austin.
Lorenzo Neal was a four-year big-bodied part of the fun on the inside of the 3-4 defensive line. He grew into a 6-3, 325-pounder who, if nothing else, gave the Boilermakers some bulk. Now he’s off trying to be a New Orleans Saint.
Now Purdue needs a new top guy on the inside, and it’s going to take some work to do that with 6-3, 300-pound Lawrence Johnson, 6-2, 305-pound Bryce Austin and 6-4, 295-pound Anthony Watts accounting for the beef.
Purdue Boilermakers Key Game To The 2021 Season
Minnesota, Oct. 2
It was one of the key moments to the 2020 Purdue season. It was coming off a tough loss to a good Northwestern team, and it had a shot to go 3-1 with winnable games against Rutgers and Nebraska to go.
The Boilermakers connected on what a possible game-winning touchdown pass, but they were hit with a questionable offensive pass interference call, the next play was a pick, and it turned into a 34-31 loss.
They’ve lost the last three games in the series and seven of the last eight, but this year there’s a big chance for revenge in West Lafayette. Lose, and with at Iowa, Wisconsin and at Nebraska to follow, there’s a problem.
2020 Purdue Boilermakers Fun Stats
– Time of Possession: Opponents 32:24 – Purdue 27:36
– Punt Return Average: Opponents 16.7 – Purdue 5.3
– Rushing TDs: Opponents 12 – Purdue 4
NEXT: Purdue Boilermakers College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction
Purdue Boilermakers College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction
What’s with all the doom and gloom around the Jeff Brohm job status?
It’s anecdotal, but Purdue football doesn’t often come up during my various radio appearances unless there’s a reason. Brohm’s name was mentioned at least four times so far this offseason in hot-seat-coach discussions.
Yeah, when you go 6-12 in two years there’s an issue, but the offense worked, the team caught a few bad breaks last year – in, you know, a global pandemic – and this is still a program that seems closer to turning a positive corner than the other way.
The 2-4 2020 season needs to be blown off.
Again, the offense was great, but Covid was a problem for the program, Rondale Moore didn’t play the first three games, the quarterbacks had to shuffle around, the defense couldn’t come up with enough key stops, there was a rough call against Minnesota, and the four losses were all close.
2020 wasn’t the problem. 2019 was.
4-8 two years ago wasn’t pretty, but four of those eight losses came to teams that won ten games or more. The other four were the concern.
Nevada, by 21 to a TCU team that finished with a losing season, 24-6 to Illinois, and the can-never-lose home date to Indiana.
Set The Purdue Boilermakers Regular Season Win Total At … 6
This year, the key for Purdue is to not lose the games it’s supposed to win.
Yeah, duh, that goes for everyone, but for there’s really no margin for error for the Boilermakers.
Lose at Notre Dame and at Ohio State? Whatever. Cost of doing business.
They can’t lose at home to Oregon State. They can’t lose the Illinois game, and owning West Lafayette to win two for four home games against Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Indiana would be a huge help.
It’s going to be hard to get past six wins without at least one big upset, but that’s where the pressure kicks in. Purdue might be a whole lot better with Brohm, but when Indiana is able to rise up and become the second-best team in the Big Ten for a year, that’s tough.
This year’s team will be a blast.
The offense should make everyone worry, the defense – if all the parts are healthy – will be a whole lot better, and Brohm and his staff should be good enough to get the team to a bowl game.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– Purdue Schedule Analysis
