Purdue fans have suffered through many, many years of mediocre football, dating back to the later years of the Joe Tiller era and throughout the next decade-plus. There were plenty of challenges for fans in sticking with the program through those times, but no part of it has been more frustrating than the program's struggles against the Wisconsin Badgers.
The first thing most of us think of when Wisconsin is brought up is that fateful October night in 2004, when Kyle Orton - well, you know. It doesn't need to be repeated. For a lot of people, that moment led to the Purdue football program spiraling into an abyss it couldn't start crawling out of until changes were made higher on the ladder than head coach.
In fact, that '04 loss was the first in a long series of matchups in which Wisconsin took Purdue's lunch. They're currently on a 15-game winning streak against the Boilers, according to the Badgers' official sports website.
I personally feel like it's mostly a matchup problem. Wisconsin always recruits enormous DUDES on its offensive line and runs the ball effectively on everyone. They typically stuff it down Purdue's throat, but Jeff Brohm has done an outstanding job of getting bigger bodies on the defensive line. Purdue has been outstanding against the run this season, and maybe that plays to its advantage.
I have to wonder, though, if the current pass defense issues this team has dealt with will show up in this game. If we cheat up to cover the run, maybe Graham Mertz has some openings and takes advantage. He's been inconsistent for Bucky, but Nebraska certainly exploited our secondary last week.
I'm wondering if Purdue might have a chance, though, just because of the internal turmoil Wisconsin is facing. Paul Chryst was fired in a mystifying decision by the school... he's been mostly very successful, with two New Year's Six bowl victories and three appearances in the Big Ten championship game. As a result of his firing, some players have announced intentions to transfer, and you have to wonder just how bad things might be for them. The Badgers are coming off a 34-28 loss to an average Michigan State team.
I think it comes down to how Purdue's offense plays. If their performance is similar to the Nebraska game and Aidan O'Connell continues to be red hot, I think this team probably snaps the streak. But man, I have a hard time calling a win against the Badgers until Purdue proves it can happen. Even Brohm, an outstanding coach, has yet to do it.
Best of luck to the team on Saturday, I suppose. Hammer down!
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