“Come game day we’ve just got to cut it loose and let the pieces fall where they may.”
That’s what Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm had to say earlier in the week about Saturday’s game against Ohio State.
And it’s a pretty good glimpse into how the Boilermakers are going to play when the ball finally kicks off.
Purdue comes into this game with a 3-3 record (2-1 in the Big Ten), but their aspirations are much more pedestrian than the Buckeyes’. If they lose, it’s no big deal. They’re expected to lose. Ohio State is favored by two touchdowns. The thought by many is as long as the Buckeyes don’t screw this up, they’ll get the win.
Which is why Brohm intends to use as much aggression as possible on Saturday in order to force some of those screw ups to happen.
While Urban Meyer may be coaching not to lose, Brohm will only be coaching to win.
“This week’s a new challenge because this is a very talented team that is playing extremely well,” Brohm said of the Buckeyes. “We’ve got to come out and play aggressive and not make mistakes. Both are things that we didn’t do at the beginning of the season. I don’t think we played as aggressively as we should have and we made too many mistakes.
“So if we cannot hurt ourselves and do silly things after the whistle or things like that, dumb penalties, costly penalties, and not give the ball to the other team. I feel confident that our guys will come out and play hard. We’ve just got to come out and play aggressively. This is one of those games where you’ve just got to cut it loose and throw your punches and see where you stack up at the end.”
There is a fine line between playing smart, aggressive football, and then going a bit overboard and becoming foolish. That aggression and attitude can often carry past the whistle, or can lead to poor decisions by any number of players. But Brohm understands that if the Boilermakers don’t swing for the fences, they’re not going to beat Ohio State with singles.
“Well, we work hard at it and that is what we’re trying to do,” Brohm said of his team being third in the nation in plays of 40 yards or more.
“I think in order to win football games and in order to play exciting football and in order to play a brand that people want to watch and play in, you’ve got to try to get big plays. To do that you’ve got to try to be aggressive. And to do that you’ve got to be able to run the ball and throw the play action. But you’ve got to be able to throw the ball vertically. You’ve got to work it. We spend a lot of time in every practice we have throwing the ball vertically.
“It doesn’t happen just as easily as you think it would, you have to work at it. I think we’ve had better success at it this year than last year. That is our goal. To sustain a drive for 8-12 plays and get a touchdown is much harder to do than you think. But when you complete some big plays and some big chunk yards, it not only gets you down the field faster, but it gives you momentum and it gives your players confidence. And that is what we’re trying to do in every game is create big plays.”
Of course, Ohio State also has their own explosive offense. The Buckeyes have nine 40-yard pass plays compared to Purdue’s 12, but OSU has more 30-yard plays (18) than the Boilers do (17). That’s why Brohm knows his team is going to have to bring it defensively as well.
Looking back at the Boilers’ first three losses, the lack of aggression is a common theme. That has changed, which helps explain Purdue’s current three-game winning streak. If they are going to make it four games, things are going to have to get even more feisty.
“I think we’re a different team now. I thought we sat back and weren’t as aggressive. We didn’t attack,” Brohm said of his defense early in the season. “So I think our defense is better at this point. We’ve got to do things to disrupt the quarterback. If our quarterback’s jersey is not dirty after the game, normally we are going to win the game. So we’ve got to make sure we give him different looks and create some pressure. Continue to be aggressive in our approach and not just stand back there and let him continue to pick us apart. Because if you do that, he can definitely do that, and it will be a long night if that happens.”
Brohm has no plans to just watch Buckeye quarterback Dwayne Haskins drop back and throw in the comfort of a large, agreeable pocket. That has never worked for anyone, and certainly didn’t work for Purdue earlier this year.
Against Northwestern to open the season, and then Missouri two weeks later, the Boilers managed just one sack while allowing 80 pass attempts. They have faced 100 pass attempts over the last three weeks in wins over Boston College, Nebraska, and Illinois, and have 10 sacks to show for it.
The aggression has paid off defensively and Brohm has no intentions on slowing things down now.
Especially after he saw the success that the Minnesota defensive line had with getting pressure on Haskins last week.