We are a third of the way through Purdue’s football season and the Boilermakers sit at 2-2. Starting in October, Purdue will play 8 more conference games: against Illinois, Rutgers, Ohio State, and Indiana while traveling to Minnesota, Northwestern, Michigan, and Washington. Because Purdue has been scrappy in its losses to USC and Notre Dame thus far, it seems fair to say that the general consensus around the team is more positive than at the start of the season. But how many games can this team win
in the remainder of the season? Well, our friends over at Fan Duel have given some futures odds on Purdue season and they are as follows:
Over 3.5 Regular Season Wins – +136
Under 3.5 Regular Season Wins – -182
Also included are odds based off of each minimum number of wins. As far as I can tell, odds for 8 or more victories are not even given for Purdue.
3+ Regular Season Wins – -320
4+ Regular Season Wins – +135
5+ Regular Season Wins – +430
6+ Regular Season Wins – +1100
7+ Regular Season Wins – +3000
Obviously, these odds are subject to change so be sure to check out Fan Duel for the most up to date odds. Overall, it makes sense that Purdue is a betting favorite to win 1 or more games considering the home game against Rutgers and road contest against Northwestern. Purdue has been given about a 3.5 season win total from the jump and while the Boilermakers have looked very much improved as a team, they still have a difficult schedule and a ton of roster overturn. Personally, I believe this team can manage to get to 4-5 victories on the season and part of me wants to believe that Purdue can squeak out a bowl game bid by winning 6 games. Fan Duel is fairly sure that will not happen as the implied probability of Purdue winning 6+ games is 8.3% based off a line of +1100. So, you’re saying there’s a chance?
As for now, Purdue is going to gear up in their off week for likely the most important calendar month on their schedule. Purdue’s 4 October games are at home to Illinois, at Minnesota, home against Rutgers, and at Northwestern. Illinois just got destroyed at Indiana and lost their best DB for several weeks, if not the season. Minnesota lost to a Cal team that turned around and lost 31-0 to San Diego State. Rutgers has struggled against some MAC teams this season and just allowed 31 points to Iowa’s offense. And lastly, Northwestern is about to fight in the battle of the bottom B1G teams when it hosts UCLA. If the Bruins beat the Cats, David Braun’s seat may be getting hotter. All of this is to say that each of Purdue’s games in October can be won. Will Purdue go 4-0 in October? Probably not, but maybe a 3-1 month gets you 1 upset away from a bowl game. But let’s take it one game at a time. Purdue has two weeks to prep for Illinois who is battling USC this weekend. The hope is that Barry Odom will clean up some of the many things that need cleaning but considering the fight this team has shown so far this season, we have no reason not to trust in his process.
