Heading into the season, it felt like Purdue had some real promise. Safety Dillon Thieneman was an All-American. Talented quarterback Hudson Card was in his second year with the program. Running back Devin Mockobee is one of the more underrated rushers in the Big Ten. Even a 49-0 decimation of FCS Indiana State seemed to portend good things.
Instead, the Boilermakers are cratering. In their first FBS game of the year, Purdue lost 66-7 against Notre Dame, the worst loss in the 128-year history of the rivalry. They were shut out against both Ohio State and Oregon. Purdue’s minus-28.4 point margin is 133rd nationally, only ahead of Kent State. Next up is, gulp, No. 4 Penn State on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS).
Purdue took a chance in 2023 by hiring Ryan Walters, a young defensive coordinator who excelled at Illinois and was the 247Sports Defensive Coordinator of the Year in 2022. Walters’ energy was a welcome addition and translated into a top-30 recruiting class in his first season. However, the on-field product is well below expectations. According to a panel of CBS Sports and 247Sports college football writers, Walters faces a critical November to stay off the wrong end of the hot seat.
Coaching at Purdue comes with challenges. Since 1981, only two coaches have finished with career winning records at Purdue: Joe Tiller and Jeff Brohm. The program has won only one Big Ten championship since 1967, a split title in Drew Brees’ final season in 2000. The program’s NIL situation sits near the lower end of the Big Ten, a matter only complicated by Purdue’s newfound focus on basketball after a Final Four run.
At the same time, the runs of Tiller and Brohm show there are ways to win at Purdue. The school is misdiagnosing the problem. Finding quarterbacks is one piece of the puzzle. The real identity is innovating.
Certainly, quarterbacks can be at the forefront at the school that labels itself the Cradle of Quarterbacks. Thanks to a big boost from the legendary Drew Brees, Purdue quarterbacks have combined for the most passing yards in NFL history. Brees, Jim Everett, Len Dawson and Bob Griese each have cleared 25,000 career yards to rank among the top 100 individual passers in NFL history. In recent years, David Blough and Aidan O’Connell both started NFL games.
Purdue tried to lean into this identity by bringing in an Air Raid offensive coordinator, Graham Harrell. They brought in a really talented quarterback, the Texas transfer Card, and stocked the room with highly-touted freshman Marcos Davila out of West Texas. The talent doesn’t jump off the page, but ranking No. 37 in the 247Sports Talent Composite shouldn’t lead to 1-8 results.
MORE: How Purdue’s QB legacy (and Drew Brees) led Hudson Card from Texas to the Boilermakers
Looking to the quarterback position was a reasonable move for Walters as he took over at Purdue, but quarterbacks aren’t the historic advantage for Purdue. It’s innovation. Tiller brought the revolutionary spread offense to the Big Ten at a time where essentially every program was aiming for three yards and a cloud of dust. Brees went over the head of opposing defenses. Brohm kept much of that identity, but with his own unique play-calling flair that emphasizes deep shots and spreading out opponents.
“One thing about Purdue is that they haven’t ever been scared to be different,” Harrell told CBS Sports in September, before he was fired. “Being innovative, being a little bit different, it’s always been a part of this place.”
At this point, Air Raid concepts are integrated into every offense in America, even in the Big Ten. USC countered Harrell with Lincoln Riley. Oregon’s Will Stein actually coached Card as offensive coordinator at Lake Travis High School — which for my money is the top quarterback development factory in the country behind its spread offense. Ryan Day at Ohio State and Mike Locksley at Maryland are touted quarterback developers. Even Dana Holgorsen just joined Nebraska. Holgorsen played for the fathers of the Air Raid, Hal Mumme and Mike Leach at Iowa Wesleyan.
Four games into his second season, Purdue fired Harrell. Astonishingly, Walters — a defensive coordinator by trade — has taken over as offensive play-caller. No one else on his offensive staff has ever called plays. Card was also briefly benched for redshirt freshman Ryan Browne before returning to the lineup. There’s no long-term plan or vision in place on offense.
Instead of leaning on the Cradle of Quarterbacks alone, Purdue needs to find the next innovation. Liberty‘s Jamey Chadwell has worked wonders with his spread-option offense. Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki uses wide zone and misdirection to confuse defenses. UNLV‘s Brennan Marion developed his unique “Go Go Offense” that messes with personnel groupings to create mismatches. It doesn’t have to be any of these systems, but there’s innovation to be found.
Granted, when Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski hired Walters, he pointed to the defense as being innovative and revolutionary. Between Thieneman and pass rusher Nic Scourton, the unit showed some signs of life in 2023. After losing 55 players to the transfer portal over the past two seasons, including Scourton to Texas A&M, the defense might be worse than the offense.
Purdue ranks last in essentially every defensive category in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers give up 9.2 yards per pass attempt. For comparison, Texas averages only 8.7 yards per attempt. Purdue turns every opposing passer it faces into freakin’ Quinn Ewers. Purdue is giving up 37.8 points per game, the worst mark in the Power Four.
While Walters deserves the lion’s share of blame for the struggles, Purdue has to get serious about football. The Boilermakers ranked last among Big Ten public schools in operating expenses during the 2022-23 school year. And by the way, Purdue was not last in generating revenue. These fans care and continue to show up despite a miserable product.
Bobinski spent most of his athletic directing career at non-football Xavier. Now, it’s incumbent on him to deliver serious resources in the most competitive Big Ten in history. Purdue plays five top 10 teams in 2024. The gravy train of the Big Ten West is over.
Purdue is a unique school in the Big Ten. Despite strong fan support, the community is patient and willing to try something new. If Walters can’t discover the next offensive revolution, Purdue will have to find someone else who can.