Michigan comes off a bye week to face the 2-5 Boilermakers on Saturday, November 4th. Purdue is also having a bye this coming weekend. In the past, M had a tendency to play flat, uninspired football. We have yet to see team 144 do anything than demonstrate a laser focus on the game at hand as it is played.
Purdue is the next victim enroute to contests against @ PSU, Noon Fox, @ the Terps TBD and the buckeyes Fox Noon in that order. It's hard not to look ahead to those final three games that will determine M's trend line to the BTC and CFP. But those games are for later. Purdue and their big drum comes to Ann Arbor as not much more than a speed bump in the pathway toward M's 2023/Team 144's goals.
Purdue adds to the distressing list of terrible football offenses in the BTW and in the second and third tiers of the entire BT conference. Yes, it's a transition year with new HC and staff but QB play has limited what Purdue does on the field as much as it has for the entire BIG QB roster.
We're at a point in the season where raw cumulative stats say a lot about the team's MO. Purdue struggles to win games. Their avenge points per game is 23, opponents 30. Their yards/rushing attempt is 3.2; opponents rack up 4.6. Purdue QBs average 6y/per passing attempt and yields almost 8. Those stats speak volumes about a Purdue team that has no identity being shitty at running and passing the ball and just as shitty defending opponents pass and run game. There's no attempt at sass there. Purdue is just bad at football right now and aren't likely to show much deviation from who they are when they play Michigan in Ann Arbor even with a bye week. Gadget plays? Purdue still has them and there is enough film of them for Minter to figure out what they do and how to not to have his defense get caught by surprise with them.
I don't think there is any question that M fans are probably over-valuing the football team right now. It's hard not to with good reason and especially on the high of a Sunday where MSU just got paved. Recency bias not with standing, and looking at the relative strengths of M's next 4 opponents, it's hard not to say M's chances of going 4-0 in those important contests are pretty good.
Purdue is the next victim enroute to contests against @ PSU, Noon Fox, @ the Terps TBD and the buckeyes Fox Noon in that order. It's hard not to look ahead to those final three games that will determine M's trend line to the BTC and CFP. But those games are for later. Purdue and their big drum comes to Ann Arbor as not much more than a speed bump in the pathway toward M's 2023/Team 144's goals.
Purdue adds to the distressing list of terrible football offenses in the BTW and in the second and third tiers of the entire BT conference. Yes, it's a transition year with new HC and staff but QB play has limited what Purdue does on the field as much as it has for the entire BIG QB roster.
We're at a point in the season where raw cumulative stats say a lot about the team's MO. Purdue struggles to win games. Their avenge points per game is 23, opponents 30. Their yards/rushing attempt is 3.2; opponents rack up 4.6. Purdue QBs average 6y/per passing attempt and yields almost 8. Those stats speak volumes about a Purdue team that has no identity being shitty at running and passing the ball and just as shitty defending opponents pass and run game. There's no attempt at sass there. Purdue is just bad at football right now and aren't likely to show much deviation from who they are when they play Michigan in Ann Arbor even with a bye week. Gadget plays? Purdue still has them and there is enough film of them for Minter to figure out what they do and how to not to have his defense get caught by surprise with them.
I don't think there is any question that M fans are probably over-valuing the football team right now. It's hard not to with good reason and especially on the high of a Sunday where MSU just got paved. Recency bias not with standing, and looking at the relative strengths of M's next 4 opponents, it's hard not to say M's chances of going 4-0 in those important contests are pretty good.
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