2013 Heart Of Dallas Bowl: Purdue Game Prep Notes

We're less than two weeks out from the Heart of Dallas Bowl against the Oklahoma St. Cowboys and aside from the team preview I have spoken very little of it. This is because basketball has taken up a lot of the time. With only one more game left against William & Mary I can start ramping up some coverage.

• Oklahoma State will not have its offensive coordinator for the bowl - While this is not as big as Purdue not having a head coach for the bowl game, it is a significant factor given the power behind OSU's offense:

Todd Monken, CRFF hardly knew ye. Your offensive prowess can be credited with bringing a conference championship to OSU and now you are off to clean up the abhorrent 0-12 Southern Miss.

• ESPN offers a primer for the bowl game - In short, Rittenberg thinks Purdue is screwed:

It's a surprise to see Oklahoma State in this game as the Pokes figured to end up a little higher on the Big 12's bowl pecking order. Still, Mike Gundy's team dropped its final two games and three of its final five to finish 7-5. Despite losing quarterback Brandon Weeden and wide receiver Justin Blackmon from the 2011 team, Oklahoma State displayed its typical offensive prowess, finishing fourth nationally in scoring (44.7 ppg), fifth in total offense (548.9 ypg) and seventh in passing (333.4 ypg).

• NBC Sports expects a shootout - A 40-30 OSU win would be entertaining and at least Purdue wouldn't embarrass itself:

Not sure how Purdue will deal with such a volatile unit. The Cowboys are the nation's seventh-best passing team and they also feature junior RB Joseph Randle (1,351 yards, 14 touchdowns).

• The Dallas Morning New is giving us some credit - They list Cody Webster as a potent defensive weapon, which is key since if we have to punt we want to bury them as deep as possible:

Purdue's place-kicking situation is an uncertain one as two true freshmen have juggled the job this year, but the Boilermakers' punting situation is in much better hands. Webster has averaged 42.5 yards on 66 punts this season, the second-most in the Big 10. 29 of those 66 punts have been downed inside the 20-yard line, 17 have gone for at least 50 yards, and only one was blocked.

• Kawann Short will play in the Senior Bowl - He's not the only HoD Bowl player in the Senior Bowl. Oklahoma State kicker Quinn Sharp is also going.
• Purdue has lost a player already on the roster - Freshman defensive end Kingsley Ike has left the team and will apparently transfer.

• In good news, everyone is academically eligible:

#Purdue will have all its players academically eligible to play in the bowl game, Patrick Higgins said. Five achieved 4.0 GPAs in the fall

— GoldandBlack.com (@GoldandBlackcom) December 20, 2012