The grades are in from week 1!
Week 1 is done.
The Boilermakers won. Beating another Power 5 team to open the season is never easy, but Purdue found a way in 2021. This was the first time Purdue saw a non-conference opponent since the fall of 2019.
Ross-Ade was electric, the tailgating was electric, it was all GREAT.
Football is back, and I think I am more appreciative than ever.
But, here are the week 1 grades.
Offense: B
The offense left some points on the board, mostly due to some just boneheaded mistakes. Jack Plummer was fantastic, David Bell was great as well was Payne Durham. Jackson Anthrop made some clutch catches out of the slot, but the other outside receiver position was abysmal. It failed to get open and Milton Wright dropped a sure fire touchdown on absolute beauty of a ball from Jack Plummer.
I really wanted to give a B+ or an A- for this grade, but the offensive line was exposed. They made some adjustments with leaving a RB in or using an extra tight end, but the interior OL failed to pick up basic Inside Blitzes. This needs corrected fast.
The run game was solid. Coach Brohm never abandoned it, which is important. In years past he had, not this weekend though. As a team, we averaged right around 4 yards per carry, which is just good enough.
Defense: B+
Far from perfect, the defense was improved and much different. It played loose, fast and aggressive, much the opposite from the 2020 version. The three headed Co-Coordinators worked well together in week 1. All three levels of the defense appeared to be on the same page, which was a question of mine with 3 “Cos”.
George did George things, while he did not have a sack, he had 8 QB hurries and the coaches aligned him in a variety of spots. Jalen Graham was our best linebacker and it was not all that close. The third year starter is going to have a solid year. Corey Trice, another 3rd year starter showed promise at corner, making some very good plays late, at 6-4, his length and athleticism will be great this year.
Special Teams: A-
When was the last time we felt like we won the battle of special teams? Purdue did just that this weekend. The grad transfer kicker was perfect and our Aussie Punter was solid. There is room for improvement from Ansell, but it was still better than last year’s guy.
The fake field goal was perfect, literally, everything was perfect, until the drop that lead into the interception. But I love the creativity of it, something we had not seen the last couple years.
Overall: B+
It is hard to be mad about a season opening win against another P5 team. There is plenty of room to improve, but it was a feel good win. Oregon State returned 7 starters on offense and 6 on defense. They played us very well, especially early on, but coaching took over and Brohm’s staff was superior.
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