The Winds of Fall: Purdue Gears Up for Chaotic Weather

Earlier today, Purdue Athletics gave word that Tippecanoe County would be under a wind advisory for the entirety of tomorrow’s game against Iowa. As shown in the tweet below, tailgating will take a big hit, but how will the weather affect the Boilermakers on the field?

Offense

It’s no secret that Purdue’s pass heavy offense has struggled in bad weather games during the Jeff Brohm era. Planning to face adverse weather, coach Brohm did admit to using wet footballs to help simulate the rainy conditions expected. This does not account for the wind, however, as the deep ball may not be possible at all. If the passing game can’t work around the wind, Devin Mockobee and Dylan Downing will need to haul most of the offensive load. Returning from injury, Downing will provide much needed depth at RB and can provide some extra power to the rushing attack.

Defense

On the defensive side of the ball, the weather could be helpful, as DB’s Cory Trice and Jamari Brown return from injury. The Achilles’ heel of this Purdue defense is the deep pass, so the weather may nullify the chance of a receiver catching the ball over the top. A wet field does not help missed tackles, however, so the Purdue defenders may need to bust out their long cleats to gain some extra traction.

Special Teams

With gusts of wind coming in at or above 50 mph, kicking the ball could be a nightmare. In a season where Tory Taylor has been incredible for Iowa, his punting ability may be mitigated by wind, altering field position in a big way. In terms of place kicking, it’s very possible that coaches Brohm and Ferentz decide to extend drives rather than kick otherwise routine field goals, setting up potential turnovers on downs. This could also affect extra point attempts, as the teams may decide that a 2-point conversion is safer to attempt.

Stay safe out there, everybody!