In been an up and down season, with the Boilermakers sitting at 3-4 at the halfway point.
Opening up with a win over Troy, the Boilermakers fell to an early 1-3 start with losses to #1 Notre Dame, #25 Oregon State, and #15 Nebraska. With confidence waning, the Boilermakers were able to win on the road against Wisconsin. The last two games upped the ante. In a game where the Boilermakers turned the ball over on downs 4 times in the red zone, they lost by 3 on the road against Illinois. Then, the Spoilermakers struck back, in a huge 31-7 victory against the Oregon Ducks.
Hudson Card has been effective, throwing for 1860 yards (ranking 20th in the country), 11 TDs and 9 ints on an efficient 76% completion rate. The Boilermaker's offense has been surprisingly effective at moving the ball, rankings 5th in the conference in total offense, but has struggled to turn that movement into points, rankings 8th in the conference in that category. Card will look to clean up on the turnovers to prove himself as one of the best QBs in the conference.
Devin Mockobee leads the way on the ground, with a total of 684 yards and 6 TDs. Reggie Love III has had his touches as well, going for 181 and a TD. The rushing attack, while slowed for the past few weeks, has done what it has been asked to do.
The most surprising player for the Boilermaker's has been WR Andrew Sowinski, who leads the team in receptions and yards with 46 for 511. TE Max Klare in second in both categories, but has struggled this season with 5 drops. Top receiver Jahmal Edrine started the season off very slow, but had his best showing yet against the Oregon Ducks. WR C.J. Smith has had an up and down season. Starting off hot, he seems to have fallen out of favor with the coaches due to his frequent drops. Coach Dub hopes Smith can turn it around, as he can be a game changer when used to his full potential.
The biggest question mark this season has been the defense. The Boilermakers rank 14/18 in the conference for total defense. The worst metric by far is their run defense, finishing last in the conference and 8th worst in the country in that metric. Coach Dub maintained the Defensive Coordinator from the previous staff, which caught flak from fans. There have been rumblings that coach Dub may fire the defensive coordinator and promote the defensive back coach who will implement a new scheme, but after a 31-7 win over Oregon with two pick 6s the heat has died down some.
The Boilermaker's face a gauntlet of games to end the season, facing #8 Northwestern, #16 Penn State, and #3 Ohio State in the next 3 weeks. The Boilermaker's also face Michigan State and Indiana, who can't be overlooked. At 3-4 with a win goal of 5 1/2, it doesn't look likely that coach Dub and the Boilermakers will be able to hit their win goal on the season.
"I'm not concerned about our win goal. We're done some good things this year and I'm excited for the challenge that awaits."
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