2019 Purdue Season Thread

[TyphonInc]

Purdue 2019 Schedule

• @ Nevada - W
• vs Vandy - W
• vs TCU - ?
• BYE
• vs Minnesota - W
• @ PSU - L
• vs Maryland - ?
• @ Iowa - L
• vs Illinois - W
• vs Nebraska - ?
• @ Northwestern - L
• BYE
• @ Wisconsin - L
• vs Indiana - W

I see 5 wins, 4 losses, and 3 toss ups. 

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd swap @NU from loss to toss-up to make it 5-3-4.

[betarhoalphadelta]

I might add Iowa to the list of toss-ups. We won @Iowa 2 years ago and vsIowa in 2018, so I think somehow the Brohm/Ferentz matchup might be a little in our favor despite the talent differential. And with Iowa losing so much to graduation or the draft, I'm not sure what their team will look like next year. 

The flipside is that I'd probably drop Minnesota from the list of wins to toss-ups. They seemed to turn a lot around late in the season, and they've got 9 returning starters on offense and 8 on defense, while Purdue will be replacing our QB and have a lot of questions at OL, particularly 4 games into the season. Their problem [defense] seemed to be fixed with the firing of their DC, and if they can carry that improvement into 2019, they might be disruptive to our offense like they were this year.

That would be 4-2-6. If we split the toss-ups evenly, it's 7-5. If the toss-ups mirror our home/away split and we go 4-2 in the toss-ups, that's an 8-4 result. 

As I said, I think that's a fair expectation for where we'll be. I do think there's more "upside" potential in there than downside, so I'd consider 8-4 or 9-3 more likely than 6-6 or 5-7. 

[Anonymous Coward]

I had the same thoughts about Iowa and UMinn but kept them because of Kinnick and Fleck, respectively. Re: Fleck, I like his personality. I just don't know if I trust him to build a P5 winner yet. And even if I did, doing it in MSP is one of the hardest jobs of all. Maybe they turned a corner though versus UW. We'll see. If they can do it again in 2019, he'll be absolutely hailed. Big year for tone setting there and the potential for positive hyperbole (which is significant in recruiting).

Back to Purdue, 7-5 or 8-4 seems right, and if they catch TCU, it's the latter.

[CatsbyAZ]

bwarb, you thinking of going up to Reno for the Boilermakers home opener Vs Nevada? I did a game in Reno a few years ago, and with casinos somewhat within walking distance, Reno is an accommodating and inexpensive place for a college football game. Should be cheaper tickets than last year’s Bowl in the Bay Area. I recommend staying at the Silver Legacy.

[betarhoalphadelta]

bwarb, you thinking of going up to Reno for the Boilermakers home opener Vs Nevada? I did a game in Reno a few years ago, and with casinos somewhat within walking distance, Reno is an accommodating and inexpensive place for a college football game. Should be cheaper tickets than last year’s Bowl in the Bay Area. I recommend staying at the Silver Legacy.

I was thinking about it. It's a holiday weekend, so I'll have that Monday off work. If it turns out to be a night game, I can leave early in the morning and drive it that Saturday. 
But I'll be going to Chicago/Purdue/Indy two weeks later and plan to catch the TCU@Purdue game, so I may not make this one.

[betarhoalphadelta]

Elijah Sindelar shut down for the rest of spring with a knee tweak...

https://www.hammerandrails.com/2019/3/30/18288596/purdue-football-elijah-sindelar-shut-down


https://twitter.com/TomDienhart1/status/1112024553075683335

Sucks for him that he can't seem to catch a break. Should give some of the highly touted recruits/backups some run in spring ball, though.

Behind him we have:

• Nick Sipe (Rs So): 6'4" 215# 3* Pro-style out of SoCal. Been sitting patiently behind Blough and Sindelar for years now, but has the most time in the program/system. Somewhat of a holdover from Hazell, as he was originally being recruited by Hazell and stayed on for Brohm in the 2017 class.
• Jack Plummer (Rs Fr): 6'5" 220# 3* Pro-style out of AZ. Generally seen as one of the leaders for the job given that he is the first QB recruit Brohm truly went after, and recruited him hard. Was rated the 22nd QB nationally by 247 composite for 2018.
• Paul Piferi (Fr): 6'5" 210# 3* Pro-style (see a pattern here?) out of SoCal. 29th QB in the 2019 class. Probably too raw, but he's already enrolled and will be participating in spring ball, so he's not exactly out of the running.

Sindelar is a good QB, with a cannon arm, but he's had some issues with touch, accuracy, and decision-making through his career. I fully expect him (if healthy) to win the starting job in the fall, but I wouldn't call it an open and shut case that it's his, especially with sitting out the rest of spring.

[betarhoalphadelta]

Elijah Sindelar granted 6th year by the NCAA. So he still has two years of eligibility remaining.

He has the size and arm strength that a good year could propel him into the NFL draft after 2019 regardless, and a bad year could allow one of the players behind him to catch up and overtake him for 2020. 

But it's good to know that the option is open for a 2020 season if we need him and he's around.

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd swap @NU from loss to toss-up to make it 5-3-4.

I think I'd also swap @PSU from loss to toss-up. I know it's on the road, but I'm not favoring Purdue, just saying "maybe" while acknowledging Franklin appearing on a downswing ... and that was before the Nits flirted with 20-man** transfer portal offseason.
**(Does anyone have a real count? I think they are somewhere between 15 and 18 in the portal to date)

[CatsbyAZ]

Had a day sick in bed all last week. Spent it perusing the long Louisville board post venting over getting turned down by Brohm. Thread of over a hundred pages of the angriest posts I’ve seen in a while. Back to full health the next day.

[medinabuckeye1]

My analysis of B1G HFA relative to Purdue from @ELA 's countdown thread:

Purdue:  The Boilermakers have a schedule that is GREAT if they are struggling for bowl eligibility but TERRIBLE if they are good enough to be a CCG contender.  Their four best opponents are on the road (PSU, IA, UW, NU) and their four worst opponents are at home (MN, UNL, IU, UMD, IL).  That makes 5-4 feel like a safe projection and anything outside of 6-3 to 3-6 seem highly unlikely. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Purdue closed scrimmage notes from Brohm: https://www.jconline.com/story/sports/college/purdue/football/2019/08/10/purdue-football-scrimmage-recap-a-lot-room-improvement/1970417001/

Big concerns for the OL right now. This is one of the concerns I've had for years, because Hazell couldn't recruit nor develop OL. He was basically a QB-killer, because the line couldn't protect and the QB was constantly running for his life.

This hasn't been great since Brohm arrived, either. A lot of that has to do with the fact that OL is not an easy "instant impact" position, so he hasn't had a lot to work with. It's been unheralded upperclassmen and some JuCo. His own recruits are in their RS FR year. But one of Blough's best attributes at QB was his elusiveness and ability to throw on the run, and I'm not sure Elijah Sindelar is adept at that. 

Bright spot has been Milton Wright at WR, who seems like he might be an instant impact guy. David Bell, who is another big talent at WR, has been hampered by injury so he hasn't been 100%. So I think Wright is getting more snaps in practice. 

On defense, George Karlaftis looks like the real deal. However, right now Lorenzo Neal is still questionable for the opener at Nevada. We need Neal in there to swallow up blockers and take some attention away from GK. 

Overall, defense looks to be ahead of the offense right now. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

When people ask "Why would you pay Brohm so much after he only went 13-13 over two years?"

Because look what he climbed out of...


https://twitter.com/ESPN_BillC/status/1161458305807671302

[betarhoalphadelta]

RB Tario Fuller suffered a "significant injury" in the team's final scrimmage. Unconfirmed, but reportedly a broken jaw. 

RB is one of the thinnest positions for the Boilers this year. Walk ons, injury plagued, and true freshmen. Not a good place to lose the presumed starter. 

Horrible for Tario, of course. Kid looked legit as a frosh in Brohm's first season for about three weeks until injury. Spent most of 2018 on the bench behind Knox and Jones while reportedly not being fully 100%, but it looked like he was ready for prime time this year. Sad to see him lose the opportunity to own the role.