Purdue Boilermakers vs Northwestern Wildcats Football Preview

The Purdue Boilermakers will try to put a brutal non-conference start behind them when they travel to Northwestern for their Big Ten opener on Saturday night.

Purdue has lost star wide receiver Keith Smith and quarterback Robert Marve to ACL injuries, and was embarrassed at home against Toledo two weeks ago, so a well-timed bye week could help the Boilermakers regain their focus as they try to salvage their season.

A win at unbeaten Northwestern would be a great start, but it’s a tall order.  Wildcats quarterback Dan Persa has had a phenomenal start to his career as a starting signal caller, and Northwestern has risen to the occasion in every difficult situation, including a 29-28 win at Minnesota last week.

In preparation for this night game, Purdue has been practicing at night for the past week.  Last season, the Boilers also practiced at night before their game at Oregon, and almost upset a Duck team that eventually ended up in the Rose Bowl.

Now that Marve is out, redshirt freshman Rob Henry is the starter at quarterback, and will face his first road start on Saturday. In addition to Marve, Smith, and running back Robert Bolden, wide receiver Justin Siller will now also miss several weeks with a sprained foot.  Siller, who saw action at quarterback for the Boilermakers two seasons ago, was being counted on to pick up some of the playmaking slack when Smith went down, and to perhaps take snaps at quarterback. Some had suggested that Siller should return to quarterback full time.  That obviously won’t happen now.  The offense belongs to Henry.

Sophomore running back Al-Terek McBurse, who was expected to be the starter this season after Bolden went down in the spring, has missed the last two games with a turf toe injury.  He may return to the lineup on Saturday, which would allow young wide receivers Antavian Edison and O.J. Ross to return to their usual positions instead of splitting time between receiver and running back.

Despite the health disaster, Purdue’s offense still has plenty of playmakers, and if Henry is able to deliver the ball to the right team, the Boilermakers could be explosive. Former wide receiver Keith Carlos, who missed fall practice and the first three games with a fractured foot, carried the ball at running back for the first time in his college career against Toledo.  Carlos is comfortable at tailback after playing the position in high school and junior college, and will add a new weapon to a Purdue offense that truly could be one of the conference’s best, if Henry can emerge as a legitimate Big Ten quarterback.

That’s the optimistic slant.  Realistically, Purdue’s pass offense is one of the nation’s worst, averaging just 5.3 yards per attempt.  The Boilermakers will need to be creative to compete.  They’ll be counting on a defense led by superstar end Ryan Kerrigan to shut down Persa and prevent their young offense from collapsing under the pressure to score on every possession.

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