I’m not going to have the time I thought I would for this but still wanted to fire it out there....
I don’t have a great feel or read on this first game and will say it scares the living **** out of me as a Purdue fan. There is a lot of confidence coming out of Nevada and I have a lot of respect for Norvell (even pushed for his hire within the Purdue community many moons ago) and what he has done in a short period of time. I actually have a flyer on them to win the MWC given the regression I expect from Fresno and their game with them being at home.
That being said...this will be the only game this year Purdue has an obvious edge in the trenches and I’d be surprised if the potential weaknesses of the o’line get exposed here.
If you aren’t aware their are currently 18 freshman (true or RS) on Purdue’s 2 deep. Brohm’s recruiting is finally taking hold and will be getting on the field in mass numbers compared to last year.
Raw takes are the defense I expect to be significantly improved but no Neal (DT) for at-least the first two games is really concerning. RS Lawrence Johnson will replace him and has had a great camp from everything I’ve heard but it sure would be nice if he were spelling the future 1st rounder and I’d think depth behind Johnson will hurt Purdue early. How much? We will see. The rest of the defense should me markedly improved with bigger and faster talent coming in albeit with youth concerns. However, Brohm was very clear the defense has been winning which I think carries significance because the offense is loaded with skill on the outside. The young guns like Karlaftis at DE and Grant at Safety have been standouts. They are starting as true freshman out of the gate.
Offense is going to come down to 2 major factors imo. The offensive line has only two guys that come with significant starts and the key is likely Viktor Beach and how well he can handle center duties as a RS freshman. The situation isn’t ideal especially given lack of experienced depth but the vibe has continued to improve significantly the past couple weeks on the starting 5. Any injuries though and there seems to be a gap between those 5 and the other 3 whom would rotate in.
The other risk (with high reward) is the health of QB Sindelar. Honestly probably the biggest reason I view this as a high variance season for them as all signs point to his knee being in great shape but I’ve heard that before. If he’s healthy all year though you are talking about a much more explosive offense imo than the one Blough ran albeit will be susceptible to a few more impact turnovers. He has the arm for the offense Brohm wants to run and the weapons now on the outside (in addition to Moore) to go down the field quite a bit. The Freshman WR class is the best Purdue has ever recruited and you’ll find 3 of them on the field tomorrow night whether starting or getting snaps. They are young but they’ve been explosive in camp. Hopkins TE provides more than just a safety net over the middle and was impressive as anyone in camp.
Two quick takes...game wise against Nevada I do think Purdue wins a close one but I won’t touch it. If I were to play it I’d likely take Nevada on the ML strictly that I think it’s a high variance type of game and easily could see them pull it out (but sure hope not).
Win total wise I think 7 is spot on for Purdue but again I could see it anywhere from a 5-7 season with injuries on the o line, Neal never being right, and Sindelar tearing another acl. To 10-2 with everything going right, the offense Taking major strides especially in terms of explosiveness, and Neal coming back in week 3 and performing like a 1st round pick.
Given that anything around even $ and 7 wins over/under I can’t see much value but if you lean on the positive side of the 7 it makes more sense to me to take a stab at them winning the west or even the whole b1g at 30-1.
Enjoy and good luck this year...apologies for grammar, spelling, homerism.....
I don’t have a great feel or read on this first game and will say it scares the living **** out of me as a Purdue fan. There is a lot of confidence coming out of Nevada and I have a lot of respect for Norvell (even pushed for his hire within the Purdue community many moons ago) and what he has done in a short period of time. I actually have a flyer on them to win the MWC given the regression I expect from Fresno and their game with them being at home.
That being said...this will be the only game this year Purdue has an obvious edge in the trenches and I’d be surprised if the potential weaknesses of the o’line get exposed here.
If you aren’t aware their are currently 18 freshman (true or RS) on Purdue’s 2 deep. Brohm’s recruiting is finally taking hold and will be getting on the field in mass numbers compared to last year.
Raw takes are the defense I expect to be significantly improved but no Neal (DT) for at-least the first two games is really concerning. RS Lawrence Johnson will replace him and has had a great camp from everything I’ve heard but it sure would be nice if he were spelling the future 1st rounder and I’d think depth behind Johnson will hurt Purdue early. How much? We will see. The rest of the defense should me markedly improved with bigger and faster talent coming in albeit with youth concerns. However, Brohm was very clear the defense has been winning which I think carries significance because the offense is loaded with skill on the outside. The young guns like Karlaftis at DE and Grant at Safety have been standouts. They are starting as true freshman out of the gate.
Offense is going to come down to 2 major factors imo. The offensive line has only two guys that come with significant starts and the key is likely Viktor Beach and how well he can handle center duties as a RS freshman. The situation isn’t ideal especially given lack of experienced depth but the vibe has continued to improve significantly the past couple weeks on the starting 5. Any injuries though and there seems to be a gap between those 5 and the other 3 whom would rotate in.
The other risk (with high reward) is the health of QB Sindelar. Honestly probably the biggest reason I view this as a high variance season for them as all signs point to his knee being in great shape but I’ve heard that before. If he’s healthy all year though you are talking about a much more explosive offense imo than the one Blough ran albeit will be susceptible to a few more impact turnovers. He has the arm for the offense Brohm wants to run and the weapons now on the outside (in addition to Moore) to go down the field quite a bit. The Freshman WR class is the best Purdue has ever recruited and you’ll find 3 of them on the field tomorrow night whether starting or getting snaps. They are young but they’ve been explosive in camp. Hopkins TE provides more than just a safety net over the middle and was impressive as anyone in camp.
Two quick takes...game wise against Nevada I do think Purdue wins a close one but I won’t touch it. If I were to play it I’d likely take Nevada on the ML strictly that I think it’s a high variance type of game and easily could see them pull it out (but sure hope not).
Win total wise I think 7 is spot on for Purdue but again I could see it anywhere from a 5-7 season with injuries on the o line, Neal never being right, and Sindelar tearing another acl. To 10-2 with everything going right, the offense Taking major strides especially in terms of explosiveness, and Neal coming back in week 3 and performing like a 1st round pick.
Given that anything around even $ and 7 wins over/under I can’t see much value but if you lean on the positive side of the 7 it makes more sense to me to take a stab at them winning the west or even the whole b1g at 30-1.
Enjoy and good luck this year...apologies for grammar, spelling, homerism.....
