Darrell Hazell managed to keep his job last year, and we're not sure how. The Purdue Boilermakers won just two games on the season, and they were abysmal for the most part in Big Ten play.
To say that the prospects are grim for this season is an understatement.
Purdue Boilermakers Regular Season Win Total Odds at BookMaker.eu
Purdue Over 6 Wins ( +250 )
Purdue Under 6 Wins ( -350 )
The good news is that the Boilermakers do have 16 returning starters, including seven on the offensive side of the ball. David Blough took over this offense in the middle of last season, while redshirt freshman Elijah Sindelar looks to be a candidate to take over the job as well. Markell Jones though, is sure to be a focal point of this offense, and he's going to be the most talented player on the field in black and gold this year.
Purdue allowed 36.5 points per game last season, but things weren't as bad as you'd think they were. They've got nine starters coming back from that unit, led by senior Jake Replogle, a defensive tackle who has a legitimate chance to get himself drafted next year and could end up being All-Big Ten.
2016 Purdue Boilermakers Football Schedule
September 3 – vs. Eastern Kentucky September 10 – vs. Cincinnati
September 24 – vs. Nevada
October 1 – at Maryland
October 8 – at Illinois
October 15 – vs. Iowa
October 22 – at Nebraska
October 29 – vs. Penn State
November 5 – at Minnesota
November 12 – vs. Northwestern
November 19 – vs. Wisconsin
November 26 – at Indiana
The best thing about this schedule is that Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State are all avoided. That's three would-be sure losses that the Boilermakers don't have to deal with. They scheduled all of their non-conference games at home, though it's entirely possible they end up going just 1-2 with games against Eastern Kentucky, Cincinnati and Nevada. We'd guess that Purdue ends up with a 2-1 mark in those three games.
The Big Ten schedule isn't brutal with all of the big names not on the docket, and the two toughest games of the bunch versus Penn State and Wisconsin are both at home. A roadie at Nebraska feels like a relatively sure loss, but there isn't another game on this schedule which you can say is a certain defeat.
QUICK PICK
We really like Purdue this year. With 16 returning starters and an incredibly favorable schedule which could be the easiest in the Big Ten, we could see this team reaching bowl eligibility, though we admit that it's a stretch for sure.
The key is going to be finding someone who can really throw the ball. Blough only threw for 10 TDs against eight picks, and in a pass-first offense, that isn't going to cut it. Still, Jones can be explosive, and this defense should be much improved, if for no other reason the fact that it doesn't have to play against the three most lethal offenses in the Big Ten.
Is Purdue going to challenge for the Big Ten title? Of course not. But the team is going to challenge to be the most improved team in the conference. There are teams which are in far worse shape than this. Purdue elected to keep the course with Hazell as its man, and though this isn't exactly a team which has a proven history of picking the right coaches, we have confidence that this is a sign of improvement is to come. At the juicy price of +250, we'll take our chances that Purdue can at least push and preferably go over the six wins.
College Football Odds: Purdue Boilermakers Over 6 Wins
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