Indiana football is set to make the short trip up north to West Lafayette on Friday to take on rival Purdue in the battle for the Old Oaken Bucket at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.
We (metaphorically) sat down with the good folks at our SB Nation sister site covering all things Boilermakers, Hammer and Rails, to talk about the matchup.
Here’s what they had to say about Barry Odom’s first team:
Q: What’s the general sense around the Purdue football program and how this sort of fall has
happened? Ryan Walters clearly didn’t have it and they made the move, but this looks like a long road back to what the Boilers were. Are there concerns about Purdue’s ability to navigate what the sport has become in 2025? Or is there more of a long term “trust the process” approach?
The blame is abundant and can be placed everywhere. First, Jeff Brohm did a poor job recruiting during his final few seasons and so the cupboard was left, shall we say, not as full as it should have been. Then, Ryan Walters came in and basically was just not ready for the job. He didn’t do anything right except maybe put Devin Mockobee on scholarship. He ran a good defense at Illinois but just clearly wasn’t ready for the big chair yet. Then there’s AD Mike Bobinski and the hiring committee who hired Walters and then had to abort that mission after two seasons. That’s a huge problem. Plus, the lack of big money coming into the program in the modern era is a huge problem.
I think most Purdue donors feel like maybe football is lost right now and they’d rather give to basketball to get them over the hump for the title. The problem is, if you don’t invest now it’s just going to get more expensive in the future. With Bobinski aging out of his role in the next few years there’s going to be huge changes in the department coming and that has to come with a focus on adapting to the modern era.
Q: Abstract one here. What does the rise of Indiana under Curt Cignetti look like from the perspective of a Purdue fan? Watching the rival go from a perennial confusion machine to this burgeoning powerhouse that’s developing quarterbacks on top of everything?
It’s just been bizarre. Look, Purdue has never been a top notch football program. Joe Tiller raised the level at Purdue and we made a Rose Bowl. The offense was fun, the defense was tough, and Purdue fans felt like they made the next step. Well, we all know how that worked out. But there was always some solace that at least we were better than IU. That’s just how rivalries work. Well now, everything is flipped on its head and I think it makes Purdue’s current situation FEEL much worse than it is. Make no mistake, Purdue is bad right now but if you’ve watched every game you know there’s about 3 games they should have won. If suddenly Purdue had 5 wins instead of 2 there’s a whole different feeling, but again, with IU just mowing folks down it amplifies the issues with Purdue.
Q: Aside from the obvious, what’s different about the Purdue team that’ll take the field in Ross-Ade on Friday and the one that traveled down to Bloomington last season?
They’re a lot closer to competitiveness this year. I know that sounds bleak but it’s true. As I said, Purdue has nearly won about 3 games this year that could have flipped the season on its head but didn’t. There’s more talent distributed evenly on the roster I feel like versus a few standout players. The coaching staff has been a big upgrade as well though I’m sure that’s obvious.
Q: Hand-in-hand with that, what’s Purdue’s identity on both sides of the ball? What are they trying to do to create favorable conditions to win football games?
I’m not sure Purdue has an identity yet. One season under Odom has resulted in a defense that tries to sell out to stop the run and as a result has given up tons of big plays in the passing game. The Purdue secondary needs tons of help.
On offense they’ve moved to playing two QBs with neither seeming to be the answer. They’ve relied on the running game as well but the loss of Devin Mockobee to a season ending injury has been tough to stomach.
Q: Purdue played two quarterbacks against Washington last week with Malachi Singleton taking the majority of snaps. What are the big differences between the two and who would you expect to see the most time there on Friday?
Well, the difference seems to be they let Ryan Browne throw the ball. We haven’t seen enough of Malachi Singleton to know what he’s capable of throwing the ball, but for about 90%+ of his snaps it’s an obvious running play. Purdue isn’t a good enough team to telegraph their offense like that. So while it can work on occasion it hasn’t exactly turned Purdue into a powerhouse on offense. Browne will likely get most of the snaps on Friday with Singleton coming in on occasion.
Q: Which names are circled on whiteboards in Indiana’s facilities right now as players to watch out for?
Michael Jackson III has done some good things at the WR position but there truly hasn’t been a breakout star at that position. With Mockobee injured Purdue is doing RB by committee for the last few games. On defense you’ll want to watch out for the linebackers Mani Powell and Charles Correa. They’ve shown real improvement throughout the season.
It’s gonna be a long day for Purdue fans it feels like.
