Purdue Football: Can Purdue Pull Off Their First Upset of the Year on Saturday?

Ok, the title of this article is bait. I’ll fully admit that. If you clicked on this article to call me an idiot, fire away, because despite my upcoming justification for this title, you’re not far from the truth.

At the same time, even though the title is a bit...provocative, I don’t think Purdue “upset” Iowa or Michigan State, because Purdue is on the same level, talent wise, as both teams this year. This is a good Purdue team, and when Brohm can scheme around a leaky offensive line, this is a very good Purdue team.

When Purdue lined up against Iowa and Michigan State, they had the 2 best players on the field in Karlaftis and Bell. Iowa and Michigan State recruit slightly better than Purdue overall, but this team features the Boilermaker’s banner 2019 recruiting class. It’s one of the reasons I was/am incredibly frustrated with their performance against Minnesota and Wisconsin, because 2021 Purdue is more than capable of beating both those teams. This is the year I had circled for Brohm and Boilermakers to make their move up the Big10 ladder, because after this year, the talent drops off again, assuming Karlaftis and Bell leave for the NFL. They need 2021 to be great, because they need another class like the 2019 class ASAP and winning games is the best way to improve recruiting both short and long term.

While Purdue is on the same level as Michigan State and Iowa, (an) Ohio State University is on a different plane of college football existence. They will have an overwhelming talent advantage over the Boilermakers. They’ve clearly separated themselves both in the Big10 and nationally. That’s why I find it exhilarating every time (an) Ohio State University fails to win a National Championship, because they’re one of about 5 or 6 teams capable of pulling that off in any given year. An Ohio State University loss, in my humble opinion, is a win for the good for college football, humanity, the galaxy, and whatever lays beyond that in the universe.

That brings me to the Spoilermakers. I’m not exactly sure what a Purdue victory over Ohio State looks like this year. My guess is, it involves the defense turning over Stroud 2+ times and cashing those turnovers in on offense. I pretty sure it also involves David Bell going off for 150+ and 2 tds, but that’s a difficult proposition with the talent in the Buckeye secondary. A Boilermaker win will require Purdue’s A+ game and (an) Ohio State’s C-/D+ game. It could happen, but it’s going to take some Spoilermaker magic that wasn’t required against Iowa and Michigan State. In those game, Purdue had the talent to force both teams away from their A game. This thing is going to require a little assistance from the Buckeyes.

The smart money is on (an) Ohio State. They should beat Purdue and cover the spread without having to leave 3rd gear. That said, never, and I mean never, bet for or against Purdue when it comes to football. Beating Ohio State and losing to Minnesota is what keeps us on the hook, hoping that next year is the year Purdue wins the games it should, and pulls a big upset (next year is the year folks!).

That won’t happen this year, but I’m pulling hard for a nice Spoilermaking of Ohio State’s season. Granted the score will be over turned on appeal by the Big 10 later in the week if Purdue does manage to pull off the miraculous, but at least I’ll have something to talk about on twitter.

Boiler Up, and keep a look at for some more football stuff from me tomorrow.