This past week, the Boilermakers traveled to Illinois in what became the most exciting game of the season for Purdue thus far. Purdue fought tooth and nail to get themselves back into the game and earned every single point they scored. If it wasn’t for the refs not having a great camera angle, the Boilers may have won that game. Now the 1-5 Boilermakers have the chance to do the funniest thing and upset the No. 2 Oregon Ducks on primetime, on a Friday night, in West Lafayette.
Purdue Boilermakers vs. Oregon Ducks Football History
These two football teams have only played three times in the history of their schools. The first game was back in 1979 in West Lafayette, Indiana where Purdue walked away with a 13-7 victory. The next matchup was in 2008 in West Lafayette where the Ducks took home a win in double overtime! Most recently though, the Ducks beat the Boilermakers 38-36 at Oregon in 2009. These two teams have not played each other since then.
Key Players for Purdue
Ryan Browne
What a fantastic way to make your first start. Ryan Browne was slow to begin the first half last week; but he must have drank some of that water from Space Jam because he came out swinging in the second half.
Browne finished his debut going 18 of 26 for 297 passing yards, and three passing touchdowns. He also added 17 rushing attempts for 118 rushing yards, and more moxie than any Purdue quarterback has shown in years.
Browne not only played well, but he earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week. He also earned himself the right to start this week against the Ducks over Hudson Card. The past couple of articles have been saying “Card needs to step up before he gets benched” – and that time has come.
The Oregon Defense has been allowing QBs to run and cover the Wide Receivers more. If the Ducks come out with the plan, Browne should be able to smoke some Duck put up back to back 100 yard rushing games.
Devin Mockobee
It’s amazing to see what a mobile quarterback can do for a running game. The RPO and play action opportunities are enough to help give Devin Mockobee plenty of work. If Mockobee can continue to be the focal point of the running game, get used in the passing game, and play like he did last week, then he might just be able to put up a similar stat line this week.
In the game against Illinois, Mockobee ran for 9.3 yards per carry on 11 carries. He also caught all three of his targets for 31 yards. Don’t forget both his rushing and receiving touchdowns. Mockobee is a versatile weapon who can be deployed in multiple ways to help the Boilermakers this week.
Key Players for Oregon
Dillon Gabriel
The Heisman hopeful – Dillon Gabriel is having quite the season. Through six games, he has completed over 75 percent of his passes for 1,790 yards, 13 touchdowns, and only three interceptions.
While he’s not the scrambler like Browne, Gabriel is the better and more accurate passer. There’s a reason his move from Oklahoma to Oregon has worked well for both him and the team. His short range accuracy is ideal for this system as he has one of the lowest depth of target in all of college football. Who needs deep targets when you have guys like Tez Johnson, Evan Stewart, and Terrance Ferguson RACing (Run After the Catch) yards for the Ducks?
As long as Gabriel doesn’t get flustered and can find his receivers, he will put the Ducks in position to not only win, but dominate this game.
Tez Johnson
Tez Johnson has played himself into a likely on Day 2 draft pick. While he may be small, he is putting up numbers like Xavier Worthy did for Texas and Tank Dell did for the Texans. Johnson leads the team in receptions (50), receiving yards (470 yards), and receiving touchdowns (6) – and it’s not close.
Stewart has the next most receptions with 23, yards with 331, and tied for second in touchdowns with three. Just like last week with Pat Bryant, Johnson is the focal point of this Ducks’ passing game.
Purdue Boilermakers’ Route to Victory
This week, the Purdue Boilermakers have the opportunity to be the “Spolermakers” once again. They host the No. 2 ranked Oregon Ducks on Friday in what will hopefully be a fun and close match. Purdue can pull off a win if they can slow down Oregon’s offense.
The Ducks have put up an average of 465 yards per game, but last week saw the Boilers put up over 500 total yards of offense.
If Ryan Browne comes out and plays like he did in the second half of the Illinois game, if Devin Mockobee is used in both the rushing and passing game, and if Purdue’s Defense comes out on fire like the second half of last week, the Boilermakers and the fans will celebrate with smoked duck.
Hunter Greene
Hunter started writing for The League Winners in the summer of 2021. Hunter has been playing fantasy football for about a decade, starting in middle school. Now he’s a professional landscaper and avid Colts and Purdue fan.