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INDIANAPOLIS — All of the elements for Purdue football to emerge as the surprise story of the Big Ten remain on the table.
When the transfer portal created roster holes, Ryan Walters reached back in and found solutions. Those new Day 1 starters can complement the NFL prospects already in development. If all of that comes together on the right day, even national powers carry exploitable vulnerabilities.
Put it this way: If this Boilermakers team played last season’s schedule, people might be talking about them they way they’re talking about Rutgers right now.
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Instead, across the board 18th out of 18 predictions slapped them in the face. If a stabilized offensive line and additional receiver talent do not invigorate the offense, and if a disruptive defense remains too leaky in crucial situations, Purdue risks living down to those expectations.
Best case
At first glance, those four top-10 matchups and road trip to Wisconsin seem like a big roadblock to a breakthrough season. The opposite could also be true. Oregon must come to West Lafayette on a short week immediately after playing one of the most anticipated games of the season against Ohio State. That trip to Camp Randall comes after the Badgers play Alabama and at USC in their previous two games. Maybe Penn State’s offense continues to lag far behind its defense.
Or maybe key starters return against Notre Dame and take the wind out of the wildly optimistic preseason predictions for the Fighting Irish. Regardless, the Boilermakers pull at least one stunner from either that quartet of perceived playoff contenders or an end to the 17-game losing streak against Wisconsin. Similar to Jeff Brohm in 2018, Ryan Walters secures a signature…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/purdue-football-best-worst-case-084045464.html
Author : Indianapolis Star
Publish date : 2024-08-29 08:40:45
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