Football Predictions 2010 – Purdue Boilermakers

The Purdue Boilermakers didn’t go 5-7 in NCAA Football Picks in 2009, going 6-5-1 against the spread, topping total betting odds 5 times, under 6 times and getting pushed 1. Danny Hope enters his second season as Purdue’s head coach, and he’ll try to get them to a bowl game again, after missing the postseason the last 2 years. The Boilermakers had the talent to get into a bowl, but a terrible turnover margin, the worst defense against the run in the Big 10 conference and a 1-5 start held them back. The biggest moment of last season came on Oct. 17 when they beat Ohio State at home 26-18, but that was it for the highlights. For this season, the schedule is friendly with two weak MAC teams coming to West Lafayette, they will also host Western Illinois, that’s the non-conference schedule, plus Penn State and Iowa are off the schedule for 2010. The Boilermakers travel to Notre Dame to open the season on September 4 and go to Ohio State on October 23. Purdue should win a bowl birth in 2010, and that’s the bottom line for head coach Danny Hope, Purdue had been a bowl 10 of 11 seasons under former coach Joe Tiller.

This sports tipster watched Purdue in disgust last season, except for the Ohio State game, Northern Illinois just roughed up the Boilermakers at the line of scrimmage in 2009. Last season, the offense ranked 53rd overall in college football, averaging 391.3 yards per game, ranked 34th. through the air with 255.2 yards per game, the running game was below average, and the offense scored 27.8 points per game, which he ranked 58th overall in college football. Purdue’s 2009 defense was a very bad team against the run, allowing 173.4 yards per game, which ranked 94th in college football, pass defense was very respectable, allowing just over 203 yards per game , and ranked 37th in the nation, the defense also yielded an average of 29.1 points per contest, and that was 94 on the FBS.

The 1010 Purdue offense will be led by former Miami Hurricanes starting quarterback Robert Marve, a former Mr. Football in the Sunshine State. Marve is a dueling threat with a good set of receivers to get the ball to, Keith Smith leading the Big 10 with 91 receptions for 1,100 yards last season. Kyle Adams and Jeff Lindsay make tight end a strength. The bad news for the offense is that last season’s leading running back, Ralph Bolden, suffered a knee injury in spring practice, Al Terek McBurse will have to prove why he was the star of Purdue’s 2009 recruiting class. The offensive line has work to do, they lost 3 starters from last season.

The defensive line needs an overhaul, they were pathetic last season, they allowed 26 rushing touchdowns in 2009. Defensive end Ryan Kerrigan is one of the best in the nation at that position, he had 13 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss last season. Linebackers have been bad in recent seasons, but that may change as Jason Werner has been awarded a sixth year of NCAA eligibility. The secondary lost all 4 starters from last season and that will be a problem for Purdue. The Boilermakers will go 6-6 and reach a small bowl game in 2010.