Storylines I'm Watching in Purdue's Week 10 Game vs. Maryland
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The calendar has officially turned to November and Purdue returns to Ross-Ade Stadium for its second-to-last home game of the season. On Saturday, the Boilermakers host Maryland for Homecoming, hoping to put an end to a two-game losing streak.
Maryland travels to West Lafayette with an interim head coach and nothing to lose. The Terrapins are 2-6 on the season and have yet to win a Big Ten game. This weekend might be the best opportunity for that for coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim.
Here are a few storylines to monitor for Saturday as the Boilers attempt to bounce back from a pair of Big Ten losses.
Ryan Browne's response
For most of the season, Browne has played extremely well, putting Purdue in position to win multiple games. He has struggled in his last two games, though, throwing just two touchdowns and tossing four picks. Two of those interceptions came late in the game when the Boilers were desperately trying to make something happen, but it's still worth mentioning.
Perhaps the more concering issue is his completion rate. Browne has completed just 44.3% of his passes in Purdue's losses to Washington and Penn State. That's quite a dip for a quarterback who completed at least 63% of his passes in five of the first six games.
Not all of this falls on Browne. The running game has to be more effective and the offensive line must hold up in pass protection. Still, how will the veteran quarterback respond after a pair of forgettable performances?
Will the defense show up?
After a pair of impressive performances against Illinois and Minnesota in October, the worst defense in the Big Ten showed up again in the last two games. Washington racked up 488 yards on Oct. 16, and Penn State totaled 457 last weekend. The troubling part about those efforts? The Huskies were using a backup quarterback, and the Nittany Lions were without their top two receivers.
So, which defense shows up on Homecoming? Will it be the group that kept both Illinois and Minnesota in check, helping the Boilers secure a pair of Big Ten wins? Or will it be the unit that we've seen most of the year, one that hands out free yardage like candy during the trick-or-treating hours? (Yes, I'm aware Halloween is over).
Maryland hasn't shown the most dynamic offense this year, but quarterback Malik Washington is capable of making plays with his legs and through the air. Purdue's defense must be ready.
New wrinkles from the Terps
On that same note, it will be interesting to see if there are any new wrinkles from the Terrapins on either side of the football. In his weekly press conference, head coach Barry Odom said that Maryland hasn't changed much in its first game without Mike Locksley on the headset. That doesn't mean they won't try something new on Saturday, though.
At 2-6, winless in the Big Ten and staff changes on the horizon, Maryland doesn't have anything to lose. The Terrapins might throw some new things against a struggling Purdue squad to see if they can spoil Homecoming and travel back to College Park with their first conference victory of the year.
Ending an ugly trend
In each of its last two games, Purdue played a team that entered the contest without a Big Ten win. Washington was 0-3 when it traveled to Ross-Ade Stadium on Oct. 16. On Halloween, Penn State had a 0-4 league record before notching its first victory.
This week, Maryland comes to Ross-Ade Stadium with a 0-5 record. If Purdue loses, it will be the third consecutive game in which it lost to a team that was winless in the Big Ten. That's a trend the Boilers must end this weekend.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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