I really thought Mertz was going to be good. I agree on MSU as well. Maybe I'm missing something others aren't.
Purdue has a more favorable schedule, Penn St at home then at Maryland and at Indiana from the East, but they will still only win 6 games.
That would be a real disappointment if Purdue only won 6. They have the team and talent to win 8+. If they can beat Wisconsin this year, they could make a serious push for the west.
I told him this prior to basketball season, when he was spouting the usual 'Elite Eight or disappointment' B1G/purdue rhetoric
Basketball was a complete disappointment. I wasn't wrong. Sasha breaking his finger and not being able to shoot didn't help at all. Nor did furst hitting a freshman wall. They were far from mediocre though, so I was actually correct and that post proves it. Lol
Furst hitting the freshman wall? He didn't even play 20 minutes in a game after Christmas but 1 time and that was against Yale in the NCAA tournament garbage time. Who hits the wall in December, that is barely the start of the conference schedule?
The one who comes from a small school and struggled with the physicality of big ten games.
nobody has told you anything about purdue because nobody has spent a single second wondering about it
His minutes were reduced before the conference season even started. But if you say he hit the wall, then he hit the wall.
He struggled with the physicality. He came from a school of like 120 kids. If you ask me, Purdue wasn't void of talent last year, but they were void of that leader that takes control of the team. Ivey wasn't ready to take that role yet, which I understood as he was still working on his game since he was so raw as a player, but it seemed like the team was waiting on him to be that guy. It was kind of weird to watch. I noticed it in late January. When ivey did take over though (Illinois game @ Illinois), it was magical.
@Michigan State
Never said Nebraska schedule was difficult and Nebraska hasn’t been mentioned as one of the contenders in the west and you failed to mention New Mexico St, Western Illinois and Colorado as non conference games that is a favorable schedule part you over looked..
Bell and Wright are gone along with their combined +2k receiving yards. O’Connell is good but Bell made him look great. Iowa xfr Jones is an electric special teams player but he’s not getting +100 yds/game receiving.
Is that why he threw for 500+ yards in the bowl game? Throwing to walk-on's at the end because all the 4 star guys were hurt? Purdue has plenty of wide receivers. Jones is probably WR5 or WR6. Wouldn't be shocked if Tracey was WR4. Have two really good TE's as well. Purdue pass catching room is top 3 in the big ten imo.
He threw for 500+ yards in the bowl game because:
Most of the PI's were actually PI. It was terrible defense. OT accounted for 7 passing yards and doesn't change my point, but imagine what O'Connell would have done with his #1 and #2 WR's playing, #4 WR not getting hurt mid game, #5 WR not needing double knee surgery, and #6 and #7 WR's being out with injuries. Purdue has tons of talent at WR still. And two of the better pass catching TE's in the big ten. Now, if O'Connell wasn't the 2nd best QB in the big ten, might have an issue. We will see next year though. Brohm is recruiting QB insanely well. Getting Purdue back to being known for QB's.
Wisconsin smells like stinky cheese - pre, during, and post season just like their fan base.