Indiana football is set to make the short trip up north on Friday to take on Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.
The Boilermakers have had a less-than-ideal start to the Barry Odom era
this season. Purdue sits at 2-9 on the season and is still searching for its first win in conference play. Odom inherited a mess of a program and wasn’t able to bring over as much as he would’ve liked from his prior stop at UNLV.
But it’s not like they’ve been completely hapless up north. This is a football team that’s competed in more games than it hasn’t rather than sitting down and getting blown out. Purdue’s losses include scores of 27-20 against Minnesota, 21-16 against Michigan, 27-24 against Rutgers and a 33-17 loss to USC that was closer than the score makes it out to be.
This is, without a doubt, a better football team than the one that strolled into Memorial Stadium last November before getting 66-0’d. One of the things that makes it better is the wide receivers. Purdue’s had some pretty iffy play at quarterback and may play two against Indiana, but its receivers have been pretty reliable.
If the Boilermakers have a go-to guy at the position, it’s Michael Jackson III, who leads the group in receptions and yards with 57 and 507, respectively. He joined the team this past offseason after stints at Georgia and USC. His game is fast and shifty, he’s capable of cutting and using his speed to create yards after the catch and can get the chains moving if he gets the ball in the open field.
Second to Jackson III is Nitro Tuggle, who like the former spent the previous season at Georgia before transferring to Purdue this offseason. He creates problems down the field, with 29 receptions, 420 yards and four touchdowns to his name.
Last but not least, EJ Horton, Corey Smith and Arhmad Branch fill out Purdue’s rotation. Each have similar numbers, double digit receptions and 200+ yards.
I mention this because it tells something of a story. Jackson III gets the ball the most, but Purdue has done a good job of spreading the ball around the field and has created some explosive plays. Indiana’s secondary is going to need to stay tight to keep one of these guys from getting loose and making the Hoosiers pay with a big catch.
