The Hoosiers take on the Boilermakers to bring back the Old Oaken Bucket.
It’s bucket week in Indiana.
The 10-1 Indiana Hoosiers are set to take on the… 1-10 Purdue Boilermakers. Not really a clash of titans, but this hasn’t been a competitive matchup since 2019. The game wasn’t played in 2020 and last year felt pretty much inevitable.
To talk Boilermakers football, we spoke with our counterparts over at Hammer and Rails. Join us, won’t you?
Not gonna sugarcoat this: Purdue’s no good. What exactly happened that made things… like this?
If only I knew this answer I’d be a millionaire. Jeff Brohm really fell down on the job with recruiting toward the end which didn’t help, but Walters has been a disaster in regards to player development as well as every other aspect. Purdue doesn’t have an identity on either side of the ball despite Walters being a defensive coach coming in. It’s just been an unmitigated disaster in every aspect.
What are the bright spots for this Purdue team? What does it do well?
We’ve got a really good punter! Yes, I’m serious. Also, Devin Mockobee is a hard runner who has done well in a terrible situation. Mac Klare is one of the best tight ends in the country. Gus Hartwig has held down the center position well. Other than that I’m drawing a blank. There’s no one on defense who consistently makes plays or forces turnovers. It’s been very tough.
Who are the main players to watch out for on each side of the ball?
I already mentioned Klare and Mockobee on offense. On defense it’s gonna be Dillon Thieneman at the safety position, a hard hitter who lines up 20 yards beyond the line. Then there’s Kydran Jenkins who has done a decent job getting to the QB.
This one’s less fun, what does this Purdue team not do well? What have opponents exploited in matchups?
We don’t tackle well. Our offensive line is bad. The defensive line and linebackers haven’t been able to contain the edge on the run. The defense as a whole gives up third down conversions at an alarming rate. Does that cover everything?
Also, everything on the offensive side of the ball is a slog. The offense getting first downs is a miracle. Everything seems like you’re playing on the highest difficulty level.
Who’s calling the plays offensively? I know Harrell is long gone and they had someone else on staff but last I saw Walters is calling the offense himself. Is that still what’s going on?
Walters has done it mostly, but at this point, who knows. The interim OC was doing it for a game then Walters took playcalling from him. Then, this week he talked about being more of a manager versus calling plays. So to answer your question, we don’t know.
There has been much, much talk about Walters’ job status. What’s the latest word out of West Lafayette? What do you think should happen there?
He’s on the hottest of seats. He’s been a failure in almost every respect. Depending on where you look and who you listen to he’s either got one more year with a whole new slate of assistants or he’s a dead man walking. No one is happy with him, but the question is can the department justify firing him after just two years.
You fall asleep before kickoff somehow. Maybe too many turkey day leftovers got you to doze off. You awake on Sunday to a text on your phone. “I can’t believe they won.” it reads. How did it happen.
I would assume I’m still asleep and it’s a dream within a dream scenario. However, if that’s not the case I would assume that IU overlooked Purdue trying to imagine the CFP and wound up turning it over a number of times. Purdue will need to score on defense and special teams to keep up with this IU offense so if Purdue wins maybe the defense scores 14 points and Purdue grinds it out on the ground.