Purdue’s Bye Comes In Nick Of Time

There isn’t a college football team in the country that needed a bye week more than Jeff Brohm’s Purdue Boilermakers.

Sitting idle tomorrow will be just fine with Brohm’s 5-3 squad.

This is one banged up outfit.

Injuries at pretty much every position have this team limping into its off week.

Quarterback Aidan O’Connell can rest his ribs.

Star receiver Charlie Jones can rest his battered and bruised body.

Perhaps, the star of Purdue’s 2021 win over Tennessee Broc Thompson can get healthy enough to return for the home tilt against Iowa Nov. 5.

I’m sure star linebacker Jalen Graham, who missed five games with injuries after the season opener only to return a couple weeks ago, is welcoming an extra week’s worth of rest.

Of all the positions, probably the secondary was in dire need of the bye week most.

Last Saturday at Wisconsin, the Boilermakers were down two of their top three corners and it showed in a 35-24 loss that really wasn’t that close in the Land of Cheese.

Lets be honest, too, this is a Purdue defense that has had issues all season long.

It has shown an inability to stop opponents at the end of the first half or at the end of games on a consistent basis, giving up chunk yardage plays, while displaying some of the worst tackling ever to be witnessed at the collegiate level.

I know, I know Purdue’s offense basically handed Wisconsin 14 points – 7 on a Pick Six and the other TD coming after an O’Connell pick that resulted in great field position for Bucky Badger.

The Boilermaker offense hasn’t done their D many favors that’s for sure.

They possibly could’ve seized control of the Penn State game only to fumble the ball away deep in Nittany Lion territory.

At Syracuse, Purdue’s D had held the Orange to just three points into the third quarter, but the offense failed to add to its 9-3 lead.

Then in road trips to Minnesota and Maryland, the Boilermaker offense turned the ball over a whopping six times, yet the D only allowed a total of three points from those miscues.

Purdue’s three losses have come by a combined 18 points.

Four of its five wins have come by a total of 20 points (not counting the 56-point drubbing of Indiana State).

As you can see the difference between winning and losing for the latest version of Brohm’s Boilermakers is very slim.

Purdue just doesn’t have the depth to sustain significant injuries and not have it show up on Saturdays.

Its secondary was cooked against Nebraska, allowing 354 yards through the air, as it had absolutely no answer for star Husker receiver Trey Palmer, who will be playing on Sundays next year at this time. Palmer had a school record-setting performance with just eight touches for a staggering 297 yards and two scores (one of his touches was a 60-yard rush).

Purdue’s secondary time and time again allowed Palmer to get behind it with ease.

Nonetheless, the Boilermakers found a way to win and as a result are just one win away from becoming bowl eligible for the fourth time in Brohm’s six season in West Lafayette.

No doubt the aforementioned issues were addressed during the off week and now we have the whole month of November to see if they were fixed at least somewhat.

So the bye week is a blessing for this Purdue team no doubt.

It had plenty to work on and a chance to get as healthy as its going to be for the rest of the season.

You see there’s still plenty to play for in West Lafayette.

If Purdue wins its last four games – against Iowa, Illinois, Northwestern and IU –   it will win the Big Ten’s West Division and play in the Big Ten Championship Game in December in Indy.

Only one of those teams – No. 17 Illinois – has a winning record and two of them have anemic offenses – Iowa and Northwestern.

Without question Purdue could win the rest of its regular-season games or possibly lose two or three of the four.

It’s certain, though, this team needed a break from the action.

Soon it will be time to see just how much the bye week paid off.

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