Bowl hopes dashed, Purdue still has plenty to play for down stretch
Yes, Purdue has seven losses and is eliminated from bowl consideration. But don’t tell Ryan Walters he has nothing to play for in the final three games beginning with a visit from Minnesota (5-4 overall, 3-3 Big Ten) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
“The message to the team on Sunday was really this is like a new season within a season, right?” said Walters. “These last three games for the guys, that will be the last time that they put on a uniform to close out the right way and be remembered about the way you finished the season and the way you went out and fought and competed.”
The last thee games for the Boilermakers (2-7; 1-5) also will be a time for players to strut their stuff and show they are ready for bigger roles in 2024.
Some youngsters already have been seeing playing time, including true freshmen OLB Will Heldt, CB Derrick Rogers and S Dillon Thieneman, who is primed to be a freshman All-American. Redshirt freshman TE Max Klare was emerging before suffering a season-ending injury in late-September
Purdue also has been spotting in true freshmen WR Jaron Tibbs, TE George Burhenn and OL Jimmy Liston. WR Arhmad Branch traveled with the team to Michigan last week, while redshirt freshman CB Zion Steptoe saw some action at Michigan. Freshmen can play in up to four games and still maintain a redshirt.
“For the guys that are coming back, it’s the start of a new season,” said Walters. “How do you want practice to be ran? How do you want the games to be played? How do you want next season to look? That’s got to show up in these next three days.
“It’ll be a good benchmark for the way we need to operate in closing out the season and really to push momentum forward into next year.”
In addition to sorting through the roster the rest of the month after last week’s 41-13 loss at Michigan, Walters also wants to win out vs. a slate that includes a trip to Northwestern and a visit from Indiana in addition to his Saturday’s game vs. the Golden Gophers. Morale remains high despite a current four-game losing skid.
“When you don’t win, there is obviously disappointment,” said Walters. “There is obvious frustration. There is anger, all the negative emotions that you get as a human being in a competitive environment. They’re all there.
“But what I’ve been proud of and sort of what gives me comfort in this roster is their willingness to go back to work after disappointment. That’s the thing you worry about sitting in this seat as the head coach is like you said, the morale of the team and the morale can get ugly. I’ve seen it get ugly in programs when you are on losing streaks like that.”
Purdue will go the rest of the way without WR Mershawn Rice, whom Walters said is out for the year with injury. And the status of WR Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen is murky after missing the last three games.
“So, have we been disappointed?” said Walters. “Absolutely. Are we upset? Absolutely. Nobody is hurt more than the people in the building. At the same time, nobody is working harder to rectify the issues to try to come out in the winner’s side.
“So, definitely looking forward to this week. Looking forward to the next three games to try to put a stamp on how we come out of adverse moments so that we can move forward and look onto the bright things in the future.”
