Purdue football 2022 season prediction, preview, awards, 2022 bowl game
Purdue football caused massive upsets in college football over the last few seasons and now must exceed expectations for Jeff Brohm and the folks in West Lafayette.
If you live in West Lafayette, the first things that come to mind are the vast cornfields and the Purdue Boilermakers. Over the past six seasons, Purdue football under head coach Jeff Brohm has put multiple players in the pros while scoring massive upsets against big-time competition.
Still, a 28-29 record over six seasons, while close to average, doesn’t exactly sit well with the black and gold considering how the Big Ten boasts some of the most significant college football programs in the country. Additionally, more competition is on the way in the form of USC and UCLA.
At some point in time, a jump will have to be made and the program can’t keep relying on a few signature upsets to continue the tradition of the Boilermakers, not when players like Drew Brees, Cliff Avril, and others have walked through the program and delivered.
So, coming in at No. 32 on FanSided’s Preseason Top 50 Rankings, the Purdue Boilermakers!
Purdue football 2021 season in review
Last season, Purdue knocked off two teams ranked in the Top 5 at the time of competition. The Boilermakers went into Iowa and stunned the then No. 2 Hawkeyes while hosting the No. 3 Michigan State and hanging 40 points on Sparty. Both teams were denied any chance of competing in the College Football Playoff.
Individually, the Boilermakers went 8-4 in the regular season before capping off the year with a 48-45 overtime victory over Tennessee in the Music City Bowl thanks to a field goal by kicker Mitchell Fineran. Quarterback Aidan O’Connell passed for 534 yards, and game MVP Broc Thompson had seven catches for 217 yards and two touchdowns. That was good for nine wins for the first time since 2003.
That season is in the past and three players from the team found their way to the NFL via the draft. Defensive end George Karlaftis was drafted in Round 1 by the Kansas City Chiefs; wide receiver David Bell went in Round 3 to the Cleveland Browns, and fullback Zander Horvath was taken in Round 7 by the Los Angeles Chargers.
Previewing Purdue Boilermakers offense for 2022 season
- Returning starters (6): QB Aidan O’Connell, C Gus Hartwig, TE Payne Durham, G Spencer Holstege, T Eric Miller, RB King Deroue
- Notable Newcomers: WR Elijah Cannon (Auburn), WR Tyrone Tracy (Iowa), WR Charlie Jones (Iowa), 4-star QB Brady Allen
- Impact player: Broc Thompson
Broc Thompson got the start in the Music City Bowl because David Bell opted out. Now, he will have to take on a more significant role as Milton Wright is academically ineligible to compete this year. Aidan O’Connell, entering his sixth year in college football, is also having to deal with competition as well, mainly from the inside.
The running game and lack thereof could be a cause for concern. The Boilermakers must understand that while throwing the football is elaborate and stylish, the Big Ten is still about the line of scrimmage play and establishing control. That means running the ball at the right time and often. Purdue will need to get that identity in full throttle if they wish to chug along and continue to surprise their competition.
In terms of throwing the ball, transfers Elijah Cannon and Tyrone Tracy should help this team make life easier for O’Connell and tight end Payne Durham looks to be as unique as Brycen Hopkins was for this group. Purdue has weapons, but can they hit their targets this season? Time will tell.
Previewing Purdue Boilermakers defense for 2022 season
- Returning starters (8): NT Lawrence Johnson, DL Branson Deen, DE Kydran Jenkins, LB Jalen Graham, LB Kieren Douglas, CB Dedrick Mackey, CB Jamari Brown, S Marvin Grant
- Newcomers: DL Cole Brevard (Penn State), DB Reese Taylor (Indiana), 4-star DE Joe Strickland
- Impact player: Jalen Graham
Because George Karlaftis did not play against Tennessee, Jack Sullivan joined the other three returning defensive lineups in the Music City Bowl. Now, Sullivan is likely to slide into that role full time, and with eight players returning from the Music City Bowl starting lineup and likely to be on the field for Week 1 in the fall, experience is not short for this team.
The secondary will have to play up to their experience as Mackey, Brown, and Grant will be relied upon heavily to limit the pass. Still, Big Ten football is about controlling the line of scrimmage. With recruit Joe Strickland likely to find his way into the mix, it will still be incumbent upon the front seven to maintain the line of scrimmage for Purdue to have a chance to make some noise defensively this season.
Defensive dominance allowed the Boilermakers to cause upsets in the past, notably the Ohio State game where the defense and Rondale Moore took over the show and shocked the Scarlet and Grey. Again, that attitude that Karlaftis had and left behind will need to be replicated if this team wants to stay in games.
Purdue football players awards watch for the 2022 season.
Aidan O’Connell, Walter Camp Player of the Year
Last year, Aidan O’Connell was among the country’s more effective quarterbacks, passing for 3,712 yards, 28 touchdowns and completing 71.8 percent of his passes. Accurate but essential to consider that Purdue is a pass-heavy offense. With no real attempt to establish the ground game, it puts more pressure on O’Connell and his arm, and the lack of balance is a cause for concern.
536 passing yards against Michigan State in an upset, combined with 534 in the bowl game win over Tennessee, shows that O’Connell can fill up the stat sheet. Still, more often than not, he’s the one running the show with no help from handing the ball off to a ball carrier. Nonetheless, it takes throwing the football to be in the conversation for the Walter Camp Player of the Year, and O’Connell is among those who have a good chance of having that added to his resume.
Payne Durham, John Mackey Award
John Mackey was a superstar in college and in the pros, as evidenced by his Hall of Fame status. In the case of Payne Durham, last season, Durham caught 45 passes for 467 yards and six touchdowns. Granted, those numbers are not superstar bloated, nor are they the most dominant of statistics. But Durham has shown the ability to get open, similar to Mackey.
Given how the Boilermaker running game is more name than execution, the passing game will need to be at its peak for Purdue to compete, and Durham will play a large role in that. If he does win the award, the pros will take a closer look. At 6-foot-5, 255 pounds, Durham’s pass-catching ability and creating separation will warrant an early Day 2 selection, provided everything goes according to plan.
Charlie Jones, Paul Hornung Award
Versatility is the key to winning the Hornung Award, and Charlie Jones is among the players that are on the watch list for this award. Sure, Paul Hornung was mostly known for his time with the Green Bay Packers and is in the Hall of Fame. However, Hornung was a star player at Notre Dame and was quite remarkable.
In the case of Charlie Jones, the reigning Rodgers-Dwight Big Ten Return Specialist of the Year, he had 920 return yards, including a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown against Illinois. Last season, with the Hawkeyes, Jones caught 21 passes for 323 yards, averaging 15.4 yards per catch.
That type of big-play potential is what the Boilermakers will need if their offense will primarily revolve around the passing game. If he keeps this up, he might also attract the attention of the NFL for teams needing an explosive playmaker as part of their arsenal.
Purdue football’s biggest game on 2022 cchedule
Week One against Penn State. No doubt the house will be packed for that one as the Nittany Lions are looking to make noise in the conference. Nothing would hurt them more than to see the Boilermakers come out on opening day with a statement.
Additionally, the game at home against Iowa and a road trip to Wisconsin will be worth watching as Purdue could make noise in both those games to help their chances of playing in a better bowl game.
Purdue football best-case scenario
The best case scenario is that within their division, the Boilermakers finish 2nd or 3rd, with Wisconsin and/or Iowa likely to be the team from that side of the bracket that heads to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship. Purdue does have the senior-laden talent to make a statement within their division, but they aren’t exactly a whole notch above the Hawkeyes or the Badgers.
Purdue football worst-case scenario
At worst, the Boilermakers finish 4th or 5th. They are clearly better than some of the other programs within their side of the conference, including Indiana and Nebraska. Moreover, Illinois is known chiefly for basketball, and Minnesota is a hit or miss, so Purdue would probably continue their average ways unless something goes inexplicably wrong and they drop well below their floor.
Purdue football 2022 season prediction
The schedule is demanding for the Boilermakers in terms of how it fluctuates. Teams like Maryland, Iowa, and Wisconsin will give Purdue a real tough test, and we just mentioned how Week One against Penn State is the toughest test of all. However, the Boilermakers have been known to surprise at inopportune times, so that will likely continue.
Nonetheless, the team will still have a winning record and become a bowl-eligible bunch. For this reason, we can predict a 7-5 season, including a win on opening day and a vindication win against Iowa to prove that last year’s road shocker was no mere fluke.
Purdue football 2022 bowl game prediction
Though Purdue will have a winning record, given the conference they play in, any chance of a major bowl is out of the question. However, to discredit them completely would be the wrong thing to do, and it’s likely Purdue ends up in a respectable bowl.
College Football News has them listed in the Quick Lane Bowl against Central Michigan. That sounds right, and Purdue will likely win that game and end the season on a high note.
Up next: No. 31: Iowa Hawkeyes
Other articles in this series:
- No. 50: Nebraska Cornhuskers
- No. 49: Iowa State Cyclones
- No. 48: Maryland Terrapins
- No. 47: UCF Knights
- No. 46: Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
- No. 45: Appalachian State Mountaineers
- No. 44: Auburn Tigers
- No. 43: Louisville Cardinals
- No. 42: Boston College Eagles
- No. 41: South Carolina Gamecocks
- No. 40: Kansas State Wildcats
- No. 39: Fresno State Bulldogs
- No. 38: Minnesota Golden Gophers
- No. 37: UCLA Bruins
- No. 36: Florida State Seminoles
- No. 35: Boise State Broncos
- No. 34: Florida Gators
- No. 33: Mississippi State Bulldogs
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