FNF: Purdue Football and the Power of Three, Hope on the Horizon?
By Keith Carrell (@BoilerColts)
ISL Purdue Columnist
I’m back to share some of the thoughts bouncing around within my head after more than a year away. It just didn’t feel right writing about Purdue when I wasn’t attending the games in person, but this year has been a different story, so here’s my story. As a reminder, Purdue FNF (Fan NonFiction) is a column that I’ll be writing intermittently throughout football and basketball seasons to provide you with some commentary from a Purdue fan.While I am a Purdue fan, I do try to remain unbiased and at times will throw accolades or criticism as I see fit as these opinions are my own. It’s okay if you disagree and I welcome friendly conversation whether you agree or disagree.These opinions are related to the sport and games; in no way are a reflection of how I view a person’s character – in fact, one of the proudest aspects I’ve had of Purdue sports is their high standard of character for coaches, players,and staff (with very rare exceptions over the course of my lifetime). That said, I will try to be as respectful as I can in my musings and I hope you enjoy this content, exclusively on ISL.
There is some magic in the number three with this Purdue squad. As we sit at the midway point of the college football season, Purdue finds itself coming off one of the biggest wins in the Jeff Brohm era, defeating then#2 Iowa 24-seven in Iowa City. There have been glimmers of talent and special throughout the first six games, but it took the Power of Three to give Boiler fans a true look into what this team can be when they put it all together. So,what’s so special about three? Let’s review, how about in three parts.
First, David Bell. That’s it, that’s all the information you need. No? You want more? Fine, I’ll give you more. David Bell, who wears number THREE is in his third (and presumably final) year in the black and gold where he’s amassed a measly 2,339 yards on 177 receptions (13.2 average) in just 23 games played. That amounts to 102 yards per outing. How about in three career games versus Iowa? Bell has been whatever adjective is better than spectacular in tallying37 catches, 558 yards, and five touchdowns… and at times somehow looked more dominant than those numbers suggest. Bell has been the proverbial bell cow for Purdue and is a large reason for why the Boilermakers find themselves a legitimate contender for best in the Big Ten west division at the halfway point in the season.
Second, in an unorthodox approach, Brohm shook things up on the defensive side by hiring a new Defensive Coordinator for this season –well, make that THREE Co-Defensive Coordinators for this season. Mark Hagen, returned to Purdue for a second stint after spending time with the defense on Joe Tiller’s staff – last season he was with Texas. Brad Lambert joined Purdue after spending the prior two years as Defensive Coordinator at Marshall. Ron English made the journey to West Lafayette after being the safeties coach for Florida the prior three seasons. The three coaches have not only leaned on their experience to grow the defensive talent at Purdue, but have helped the unit to have one of the largest jumps in performance, arguably in the nation. The Boiler defense is currently fifth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 14 points per game. That’s more than half what they allowed last season (30 points per game) when they slotted67th in the same category.
Third, and most surprising, the number of QBs deployed with intent to take on the Hawkeyes. After weeks of teeter tottering between initial starter Jack Plummer and reliever then subsequent starter Aidan O’Connell, Brohm took the bye week to decide that rather than settling on one quarterback,he should settle on THREE in the game plan (joined by UCLA transfer Austin Burton). I’m a firm believer in the mantra of “if you have two quarterbacks,you have no quarterback,” but somehow, someway, Brohm dug deep into his magic hat to pull three quarterbacks out and buck tradition. While O’Connell was the standard bearer, there were specific plays and situations in which Plummer and Burton were called upon Saturday – primarily in running situations. The move felt like one which was forced more by the incredible gap left by starting running back Zander Horvath’s absence, but regardless it worked and it worked well. With Horvath expected to miss some more time, it’s likely we’ll see a similar rotation for the near future. The question, though, is if it will be as successful as it was against Iowa. For it to have any sustained success I’d suspect both Plummer and Burton would need to throw with a bit more regularity to keep the opposing defenses honest as they had three combined attempts on Saturday.
The Power of Three. A combination that resulted in Purdue’s first road win against a top five team since 1974. A combination that resulted in Purdue’s first AP top 25 ranking (25) Joe Tiller was coaching and Curtis Painter was behind center (September 30, 2007 to be precise). A combination that has given Purdue fans true hope for the first time in a long time.
Mid-season Grades:
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Offense: B-
This score would have been a C at best prior to the Iowa game, but a bump was earned with the complete game which was played and a resurrection of some unconventional thinking from Brohm which seemed to be missing the first few weeks of the season. For Purdue to truly be successful, they have to be different and a three QB rotation is certainly that. Still, the offense has struggled to score at times, ranking 181st in points per game (24),but they don’t have to be basketball on grass to win when the defense continues to protect as they have.
Defense: A
The individual statistics may be lacking for this unit, like future NFLer George Karlaftis having only two and a half sacks in six games, but the results speak for themselves. With team performances like the aforementioned 14 points per game allowed and pitching a shutout for the first time since 2011, this unit is clearly special. The defense has been stout and effective at their primary objective – keeping opposing offenses out of the end zone and I don’t think folks could ask for more. If people did want to be greedy it would be in the lack of takeaways, as they only had only two in the first five games before adding four against Iowa.
Special Teams: B
Special Teams, while not necessarily special, has by and large done their job to this point in the season. Mitchell Fineran is 10-12 on field goals and hit all 16 extra points. The punting unit has had some stellar punts, but also a couple of ugly ones. Things could be worse, but the punting does need to improve to win the field position battle if Purdue’s offense continues to struggle scoring at times.
Coaching: B
Likely some recency bias here too. If this were just about offense or just about Brohm, this is likely a lower grade, but with the moves Brohm made to pull in the three DCs in the off season and pulling a few tricks out of his hat against Iowa, some credit is due here. Far from flawless, but also far from the prior regime too.
Fading Star: Plummer
Maybe not fading fast, and I’m personally a big fan of Plummer, but the Junior began the season as the starter and wasn’t able or wasn’t trusted to carry the team over the hump. In what appeared to be different playbooks opened for Plummer and O’Connell,for whatever reasons Brohm had, it felt like Plummer was set up for failure.The new advent of the three-headed attack slides Plummer back into the fold, albeit at a lesser level, which slows the fade some.
Emerging Star: Hope and Promise
Say it’s a cop out if you will, but this is this is the first team that’s felt like it could have lasting success since Tiller was at the helm. Sure, there have been upset wins and flash in the pan excitement like taking down #2 Ohio State a couple of years ago, but this feels different. With a defense that can ball and an offense that has the weapons to compete, this team has given me hope. That’s not to say they’re at the level of a national title contender, but rather progress toward sustained relevancy.
FINAL THOUGHTS
With the upset win over Iowa, Purdue now sits at 4-2 (2-1 in Big Ten) with a bowl game likely and a chance at being the best in the west division. There have been a fair share of frustrations and disappointment this season,but wins like Iowa have a way of washing much of that away, but Purdue has had those emotional victories before. The question now is, can the Boilermakers build upon that success?
Purdue will now look to take their freshly minted ranked status and pit it against a team with which they’ve had great angst in recent times; Wisconsin has won the past 14 games against Purdue. Wisconsin even enters the game as a slight favorite over the home team, but they don’t appear as dominant this season. They’ve won the games they absolutely should, but they’ve also struggled against good competition. The Badgers currently sit at 3-3 (1-2in Big Ten).
How the pendulum swings in the Wisconsin game will likely be a defining moment in how much success Purdue will have this season, but even in a loss the Boilers are well positioned for post season play (needing at least two wins against the group of Wisconsin, Nebraska, Michigan State, Ohio State, Northwestern, and Indiana). Doing that would see Brohm leading Purdue to their third bowl game in five seasons at the helm of Purdue football. This team has positioned itself to achieve greatness or modest success, but the reality of those positions and the disposition of the fans will most certainly play out in the final six weeks of the season.
