October: No Longer a Place Where Purdue Football Goes to Die

I didn’t really become a Purdue fan or learn about Purdue’s history until my freshman year in 2009. There, a good friend of mine, who lived down the hall from me in Cary, taught me a very important lesson:

October is where Purdue Football goes to die.

It didn’t matter how well Purdue started; somehow, by the time we turned the calendar to November, we would have a sour taste in our mouths. Much of this stemmed from the 2004 season when Purdue was a Top 5 team before the tide turned during the month of October. I don’t think I need to repeat what happened...

Since then, Purdue has performed poorly in October, and have been times where Purdue teams start to flatline or fall. Perhaps the only exception was the 2009 season, when Purdue got wins over #7 Ohio State and Illinois after a 1-5 start. But even with that season, Purdue had never won more games than they lost in the month of October since 2003...until this season.

Despite a loss to the Michigan State on Saturday, Purdue had a 2-1 record in the month of October. With their 4-4 record, it’s the first time Purdue has gone into the month of November with a 0.500 record since 2011:

Obviously, there is still a lot of football to be played, as these next four games determine whether or not Purdue goes bowling, but they are off to a better start than in years past. We know that Brohm has a good record in the month of November. Couple that with Purdue burying the bad October voodoo, and we could have something special brewing.