6/22/2021 football Edit

Oregon State Opponent Preview: Purdue

Brenden Slaughter • BeaversEdge

Publisher

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With the 2021 season on the horizon, BeaversEdge.com is introducing all 12 of Oregon State's 2021 opponents over the course of summer.

Today, we dive into the first matchup of the season, a Saturday night road contest against Purdue...

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The Game

Date: Saturday, September 4th

Time: 4 PM PT

Location: Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN

TV: FS1

Betting Line: Purdue -6

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Oregon State 2020 record: 2-5 (2-5 Pac-12)

Purdue 2020 record: 2-4

Sister Site: Gold & Black

Purdue 2020 Recap

After missing the postseason and going 4-8 in 2019, Purdue essentially held water in the 2020 campaign as they tallied a 2-4 overall record.

The Boilermakers won their first two contests against Iowa & Illinois before dropping their final four contests against Northwestern, Minnesota, Rutgers, & Nebraska. Their season finale against Indiana was canceled due to COVID-19.

It was an interesting season for the Boilermakers in the sense that they secured a couple of solid wins against Iowa and Illinois, but also dropped several games that very easily could have been wins as three of their four losses came by seven points or less.

Best Win: vs Iowa (24-20 on Oct. 24)

Worst Loss: @ Rutgers (37-30 on Nov. 28)

2020 Purdue Schedule

Purdue 2021 Outlook

After going 2-4 in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, the Purdue Boilermakers will be looking to return to the postseason for the first time since 2018 this season.

Head coach Jeff Brohm will be looking to get his team back on track in 2021 and that's going to start with getting consistent performances on both sides of the ball, something they haven't routinely had since the '18 campaign.

If there's a strength for the Boilermakers, it's their passing attack as the duo of Aidan O'Connell and Jack Plummer combined to lead the BIG10 in total passing yards in 2020. They'll be spending fall camp duking it out for the starting spot, but after splitting time last season and yielding good results, Purdue is solid from the QB perspective.

Defensively, Purdue struggled in 2020 and that led Brohm to make a change at the coordinator position, bringing in former Marshall DC Brad Lambert.

The Boilermakers struggled to slow down the pass (third-worst in BIG10) and weren't really able to rely on their defense last season, so they'll be looking to get the defensive train back on track this season.

All in all, the Boilermakers look like a middle-of-the-road BIG10 team to me. They've definitely got the potential to make some noise with the experience and talent they've got under center and at the linebacker, but this group hasn't put it all together for a couple of seasons now and that's going to make this a pressure-packed season.

Like Oregon State, there's a decent amount of pressure on the program to return to the postseason this year, and that makes the opener all that more intriguing because both teams will want to start their seasons off strong.

In terms of what I see for the Boilermakers this year, I expect that they'll be in a pretty good spot to make the postseason once it's all said and done.

Key Returnees: WR David Bell - QB Aidan O'Connell Sr. - QB Jack Plummer, Jr. - DE George Karlaftis, Jr. - LB Jaylan Alexander, Sr. - LB/DE DaMarcus Mitchell, Sr.

2021 Purdue Schedule

Purdue Season Prediction: 6-6

Early Prediction

This is shaping up to be a huge game for both sides...

Both Purdue and Oregon State will need this non-conference matchup to help reach the postseason, and I think with that in mind, we'll be in store for a terrific matchup between what I believe to be two fairly evenly matched teams.

With that being said, I give the early nod to Oregon State ever so slightly. While I do believe these teams are pretty evenly matched, I think the Beavers have several edges that they'll be able to utilize to their advantage.

For starters, I like how experienced Oregon State is. That's not to say that Purdue isn't, but the Beavers aren't a young team anymore and I think that could pay off in a big way on the road to open the year.

Additionally, I think it's a bonus that the Beavers return their coordinators on both sides of the ball while the Boilermakers will be breaking in a new defensive coordinator.

Lastly, I think the Beavers' offensive weapons are superior to Purdue's. While the Boilermakers have the ability to light it up through the air on offense, I really think the Beavers have a strong contingent of skill position players who will make the difference.

Combine that with just enough defense to get the job done and I think you've got the recipe to a close OSU victory to kick off the 2021 season...