I’m going to continue updating this one as a sort of virtual BINGO card during the game because I never do that and it sounds fun. Boiler Up.
Well everyone, people seem to be losing faith in the coaching staff and I want to:
- Address such concerns as valid and
- Tell you to cool your jets. That’s not even an intentional aviation/aerospace engineering joke.
Purdue hosts a resurgent Nebraska team at noon. Nebraska was recently ranked for the first time in what feels like an eternity, they have a solid young talent and quarterback, and they’re looking to bounce back from an overtime loss.
Purdue is coming off one of the more annoying losses I’ve seen in a while after the run game showed some life way too late in the game after Graham Harrell finally decided what offensive direction in which he should lean. We’ll yell about him more later, because I’ll be frank, what he’s doing as a man attempting to install a semi-air raid makes very little sense.
Let’s start with defense first.
You have to pressure Dylan Raiola, but given secondary play over the last two games you cannot sell out on pressuring the freshman quarterback. Especially given the lackluster tackling all around (that is putting it very nicely, I say “lackluster” when I really want to use a string of expletives), I just don’t know how that’s going to happen.
The kid can also run. I mean look at him, he went to four different high schools and was committed to four different colleges. He’s great at fleeing and making decisions on the fly. I’m clearly not in a good mood right now, humor me.
This brings me to my next point: I still think the defensive line is capable of being people movers. You gotta attack that offensive line with fervor. I haven’t seen that in the two games against formidable opponents.
On offense:
I love having a talented tight end on the roster, but the fact that Max Klare has far and away been the biggest receiving threat is odd. He’s great, but this isn’t a Rob Gronkowski “he’s simply just bigger and faster than everyone” situation. We went out and got some bigger sideline receivers after last year’s shifting around of a bunch of talented slot receivers forced to play out of position.
And again, like the d-line, it’s frustrating because I think those new receivers can be utilized better and perform better. But we’re approaching game four and the first conference game of the year. The adjustment period should be over.
Because football is the ultimate moving-parts team sport, my next point in the passing game is the offensive line. The Boilers OL actually looked B+ in the run game, specifically in the second half, but the pass pro has left a lot to be desired.
Hudson Card has shown that he can be accurate when provided ample time in the pocket. but he just did not have that in either of the losses to Notre Dame and Oregon State.
Nebraska’s defense is gnarly up front. They’re allowing under 100 yards rushing per game and sit at 30th nationally in total defense with 286.8 yards total per game. So if the o-line can’t help out Card potentially take advantage of the more vulnerable Huskers secondary, it might be another long afternoon.
I know we’re all kind of in a doom and gloom episode right now, but on a positive note, I’m excited to watch some autumn football here in about five minutes. A Boilermakers win seems unlikely, but I think it’s still Pur-doable. Let’s gather ‘round the televisions in some black and some gold and give a hearty BOILER UP.