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Purdue is tailor made for us. Let’s not forget we should have beaten them last year despite having one of the worst NU offenses in recent memory. They have gotten better but I like our chances.
Thank you for your post. We are so conditioned to be let down over the years that sometimes we forget the relevant facts.
Go cats!
Nevertheless, it is atypical for us to dominate a team, Maryland notwithstanding, and we have shown the ability to either win or lose on the last possession.
I see it as a toss up. I predict a one score game.
Nothing would surprise me this game, from a big Purdue win to watching the team on the sideline with their heads down, down 17 in the third. It's not as young of a team as it was the last two years, but it's still a team waiting on developments.
I'm just gonna give you guys the run down and hopefully you do the same. Keep in mind, I'm a big fan of Fitz and respect what he does there. I also think Peyton Ramsey was very underrated by IU's fan base. I did expect to see better performance out of Ramsey vs. NU.. he looked maybe hampered by a nagging injury or something.
Purdue offense
Quarterback - O'Connell is the most accurate QB I've seen at Purdue since Drew Brees. However, he might be a full step slower than Kyle Orton. You guys' read on him is right. He's a sitting duck when opponents bring the house. One of these days he's gonna start making them pay by hitting wide open receivers with quick hitters. That hasn't happened yet.
Running backs - Horvath has had three straight good performances, but I assign how well he did more to the performance of the other team than to him being this great threat. I wouldn't be surprised to see him only gain 60 yards against NU. We are waiting on King Doerue to get back, and if he's back I think we will be able to run the football. Especially with the both of them.
Offensive line - Night and day from last year. Literally not the same line. Last year, we had two linemen return with experience and I think that McCann was out for chunks of the season. The guys who were playing other than Grant Hermanns looked like they were not ready for college football. They couldn't get push in the run game against Nevada. I'm excited about Doerue because he managed to gain some yards while seemingly getting hit in the backfield every time last year. This year the OL has become a strength, despite losing Cam Craig for the season. They are protecting the four man rush well and they have gotten good push in the run game. I think they will play well against NU. Walk-on undersized Sam Garvin went down last week at center, and four star true freshman Gus Hartwig came in and played well. Will NU exploit his youth, or will he continue to look good?
Wide receivers - Purdue has never had a better or more explosive group of outside receivers than Bell and Wright. Without Moore, they have a choice.. Amad Anderson is not fast for a slot receiver. He's more of an outside guy. I also don't think that he can go fight for the ball with a NU defender all over him. TJ Sheffield has the speed and got one catch against Illinois, but he's just getting worked in. The wildcard is Rondale Moore. I disagree with a NU win if he plays, because there are just too many weapons playing with a very accurate QB. But that seems like a big if. I'll believe in seeing him when I see him. The slot receiver, without moore, definitely seems like a position NU can cheat off of.
Tight End - Haven't seen a complete TE as good as Payne Durham at Purdue. I've seen more explosive receivers like Stratton, Keller and Hopkins. Durham is not quite the receiver those guys are, but he's a big physical TE who can block and also make a big play catching the football.
Offensively v. NU, what this all comes down to is how Oconnell handles the heat. I already know NU will play good solid football. The team seems better than last year, but not as good as the 18 season.. if we were playing that team I'm not sure I'd watch lol.
Purdue defense
Defensive line - Anthony Watts is a solid contributor as one of the tackles in Diaco's front. Lorenzo Neal has not been the Lorenzo Neal pre-injury. He's looked good (not great) at times, and at other times like he's out of shape. Better against Illinois than Iowa. Juco demarcus mitchell is a linebacker in the "3-4" but really he's just 4-3 defensive end sized and it just seems like a 4-3. The big wild card here is Karlaftis, who got rolled up against Illinois and didn't return. I think he's out. I saw talk about Illinois and their fourth string QB. That game was en route to being a 30 point blowout. Karlaftis went out and it was a different defense with Jack sullivan. I think Karlaftis is out, and if he is, Purdue might be out on Saturday.
Linebackers - Barnes, Alexander and Jalen Graham have all looked good, but Graham still gets lost a lot. Wouldn't be surprised to see some of your quicker players have a nice day.
Secondary - Geo Howard came in from Juco and helped solidify corner with Dedrick Mackey. Cam Allen is a really nice athletic safety. Where opposing defenses make their living (when Karlaftis is playing) is against 38 B. Thienemann, who just lacks the range or footspeed of a good safety. I think we see Ramsey hit multiple passes to the outside of Thienemann. Marvin Grant, a four star redshirt freshman who got hurt last year.. got in the game vs Illinois and laid a big hit on their QB, which forced a fumble and TD, but Grant is just getting worked in. If he fully takes Thienemann’s job, it might not betill the Indiana game.
This game is too close to call, but I think both sides will play well and it will go down to the 4th quarter.
I'm just gonna give you guys the run down and hopefully you do the same. Keep in mind, I'm a big fan of Fitz and respect what he does there. I also think Peyton Ramsey was very underrated by IU's fan base. I did expect to see better performance out of Ramsey vs. NU.. he looked maybe hampered by a nagging injury or something.
Purdue offense
Quarterback - O'Connell is the most accurate QB I've seen at Purdue since Drew Brees. However, he might be a full step slower than Kyle Orton. You guys' read on him is right. He's a sitting duck when opponents bring the house. One of these days he's gonna start making them pay by hitting wide open receivers with quick hitters. That hasn't happened yet.
Running backs - Horvath has had three straight good performances, but I assign how well he did more to the performance of the other team than to him being this great threat. I wouldn't be surprised to see him only gain 60 yards against NU. We are waiting on King Doerue to get back, and if he's back I think we will be able to run the football. Especially with the both of them.
Offensive line - Night and day from last year. Literally not the same line. Last year, we had two linemen return with experience and I think that McCann was out for chunks of the season. The guys who were playing other than Grant Hermanns looked like they were not ready for college football. They couldn't get push in the run game against Nevada. I'm excited about Doerue because he managed to gain some yards while seemingly getting hit in the backfield every time last year. This year the OL has become a strength, despite losing Cam Craig for the season. They are protecting the four man rush well and they have gotten good push in the run game. I think they will play well against NU. Walk-on undersized Sam Garvin went down last week at center, and four star true freshman Gus Hartwig came in and played well. Will NU exploit his youth, or will he continue to look good?
Wide receivers - Purdue has never had a better or more explosive group of outside receivers than Bell and Wright. Without Moore, they have a choice.. Amad Anderson is not fast for a slot receiver. He's more of an outside guy. I also don't think that he can go fight for the ball with a NU defender all over him. TJ Sheffield has the speed and got one catch against Illinois, but he's just getting worked in. The wildcard is Rondale Moore. I disagree with a NU win if he plays, because there are just too many weapons playing with a very accurate QB. But that seems like a big if. I'll believe in seeing him when I see him. The slot receiver, without moore, definitely seems like a position NU can cheat off of.
Tight End - Haven't seen a complete TE as good as Payne Durham at Purdue. I've seen more explosive receivers like Stratton, Keller and Hopkins. Durham is not quite the receiver those guys are, but he's a big physical TE who can block and also make a big play catching the football.
Offensively v. NU, what this all comes down to is how Oconnell handles the heat. I already know NU will play good solid football. The team seems better than last year, but not as good as the 18 season.. if we were playing that team I'm not sure I'd watch lol.
Purdue defense
Defensive line - Anthony Watts is a solid contributor as one of the tackles in Diaco's front. Lorenzo Neal has not been the Lorenzo Neal pre-injury. He's looked good (not great) at times, and at other times like he's out of shape. Better against Illinois than Iowa. Juco demarcus mitchell is a linebacker in the "3-4" but really he's just 4-3 defensive end sized and it just seems like a 4-3. The big wild card here is Karlaftis, who got rolled up against Illinois and didn't return. I think he's out. I saw talk about Illinois and their fourth string QB. That game was en route to being a 30 point blowout. Karlaftis went out and it was a different defense with Jack sullivan. I think Karlaftis is out, and if he is, Purdue might be out on Saturday.
Linebackers - Barnes, Alexander and Jalen Graham have all looked good, but Graham still gets lost a lot. Wouldn't be surprised to see some of your quicker players have a nice day.
Secondary - Geo Howard came in from Juco and helped solidify corner with Dedrick Mackey. Cam Allen is a really nice athletic safety. Where opposing defenses make their living (when Karlaftis is playing) is against 38 B. Thienemann, who just lacks the range or footspeed of a good safety. I think we see Ramsey hit multiple passes to the outside of Thienemann. Marvin Grant, a four star redshirt freshman who got hurt last year.. got in the game vs Illinois and laid a big hit on their QB, which forced a fumble and TD, but Grant is just getting worked in. If he fully takes Thienemann’s job, it might not betill the Indiana game.
This game is too close to call, but I think both sides will play well and it will go down to the 4th quarter.
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Thanks for the writeup. If what you say is accurate, it sounds like a good old fashioned shootout brewing. I'm expecting another Cardiac Cats game that comes down to the final minutes.
One thing I disagree with - you said "The team seems better than last year, but not as good as the 18 season.. if we were playing that team I'm not sure I'd watch lol" - but fair warning that this year's NU defense is as good as or better than the 2018 defense. All three linebackers are seniors and playing the best ball of their careers. Our secondary has been outstanding. The defensive line has been banged up, especially on the interior, but we have 3 legitimate pass rushers in Brown, Adebawore, and Leota. If our offense doesn't turn the ball over, then it'll be a really good battle of the Purdue offense vs. the NU defense.
Should be a fun game.
I meant the team as a whole. I thought your offense was better than 20 in 18. I’ve already told Purdue fans not to expect to score all over your defense. I agree, they’re good.
Thanks for the great info. Sounds like a real good matchup, especially for our defense.
We are very good against the run and facing an immobile QB really helps us. We don’t pressure well with four, but not having to worry about scrambles might enable Hank to blitz. Our backers are smart and positionally sound, but not fast. Bergin might be the guy to send occasionally...
Our secondary has not really been tested by an accurate passer. We somehow bamboozled Tua II in his first college start before he started lighting up Minny and PSU, but Petras at Iowa and Martinez are limited as throwers. Those PU receivers will test us.
I think your backers lack of speed will not be tested if Moore is out and Anderson is in the slot.
I think win or lose this is a reality check game for a lot of our bigger fan boys.
If we can win I think the momentum will be huge, but I just don’t know enough to make a definitive prediction either way.
I hate Nebraska though so your game last week makes me a bigger fan
Thanks, very helpful. FYI, it’s early but this NU team has the potential to be better than the 2018 team.
Well then we really better bring our A game and hope for the best. It’s not gonna be easy
Whatever day it i hope the haiku paints s gloomy picture for us. Or it wouldn’t be northwestern week
Sorry, you lost me at "I did expect to see better performance out of Ramsey vs. NU..." That should be UNL, obviously!
Seriously though, great write-up - thanks for posting it!
Our defense will have a much better chance shutting them down WITHOUT Rondale. As it says- speed kills. Especially our DBs.
Everybody knows about Moore and Bell, but don't forget about Milton Wright #0. He's a 6'3 receiver who had offers from Alabama and OSU and is averaging almost 100 yards / game (over two games so far). He also completed a pass for a touchdown against Wisconsin last year.
The Purdue receivers are going to get a lot of yards, no doubt. My hope is that we hold them to field goals, stuff the run, get a couple interceptions, and that Leota and Adebawore can get to AOC a couple of times.
Sorry, you lost me at "I did expect to see better performance out of Ramsey vs. NU..." That should be UNL, obviously!
Seriously though, great write-up - thanks for posting it!
Of course, I try, and I think we boilers try.. not to fall into the UNL trap of “we have these ultra talented players, so we will win).
That can put you over the top but this is a tough, physical conference. It takes discipline to win. And no one is consistently more disciplined than our fellow charter member.. northwestern.
I keep seeing O’Connell with the ball down 21-24 very late in the game. But nothing would surprise me.
Then it’s on to a worse matchup for us... the rowing flecksters
Do you know what your school's student newspaper was relying on in printing that Moore would not be playing Saturday?
"Still missing from Saturday’s matchup against No. 23 Northwestern will be three wide receivers — Rondale Moore, Jackson Anthrop and Maliq Carr — two offensive linemen — Sam Garvin and Cam Craig — running back King Doerue and defensive end George Karlaftis."
Purdue Players not Playing
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