Old National Presents: The 3-2-1 of Week 12

Who will go through Senior Day ceremonies? Depth at linebacker is thin … very thin. Time to worry. Kudos to the iron man six-man o-line. All that and more in the latest 3-2-1.

Three things learned

1 – It’s Senior Day on Saturday.

Purdue isn’t releasing a list of players who will go through Senior Day ceremonies. But, even if a player is recognized, it doesn’t mean he won’t be back. Just last year, Aidan O’Connell went through Senior Day festivities, so …

Players have a COVID year of eligibility from the 2020 season that they can cash in. But, Purdue isn’t obligated to let anyone return.

“We’ll have some that will choose to go through Senior Day that might be coming back,” said Jeff Brohm. “We try not to address that until after the season. We don’t want to focus on that at this point.

“I think there will be plenty of time to get that done. We want them to just concentrate and go out there and play football and try to win football games, and make that decision down the road.”

By my count, seven players have exhausted eligibility as sixth- or seventh-year seniors: QB Austin Burton; WR Charlie Jones; O’Connell; LS Nick Zecchino; LB Kieren Douglas; DT D.J. Washington; LB Semisi Fakasiieiki. They all are officially done.

2 – The linebacking unit is thin.

I could be wrong, but I don’t think MIKE LB Kieren Douglas (right knee) nor WILL LB Clyde Washington (ankle) will play on Saturday. Heck, each may not play again this season. Douglas is a starter, while Washington is a reserve for a unit that already has been lacking robust depth all season. I expect Jacob Wahlberg to start at MLB with O.C. Brothers at WILL. Semisi Fakasiieiki figures to back-up both spots.

Ben Kreul and Yanni Karlaftis may be pressed into duty. Kreuel has been a special teams player in his career. The only game the redshirt sophomore has taken defensive snaps (6 total) this season is vs. Indiana State on Sept. 10. It’s unclear where the 6-3, 235-pound Kreul would play: MIKE or WILL.

Karlaftis was moved from LEO to WILL linebacker last month. He arrived on campus as a linebacker in the spring of 2021 but was moved to LEO in the spring of 2022. Is Karlaftis ready to help?

3 – The o-line is holding up.

The last five games, Purdue has used just six offensive linemen. And things are working swimmingly for a unit that has lost its top two right tackles to injuries: Cam Craig (back) and Daniel Johnson (knee).

Eric Miller flipped from left to right tackle with Mahamane Moussa sliding into Miller’s No. 1 left tackle slot. The interior has been stable with Spencer Holstege at left guard, Gus Hartwig at center and Marcus Mbow at right guard. Sione Finau comes off the bench to help at right guard.

“They don’t get a whole lot of credit, but they work extremely hard,” said Brohm. “A lot of guys are banged right up just like every team. They continue to play through things that we have, and we got to hope that we can continue with those six the rest of the way.

“It’s going to be important we have all six, and that’s thin enough as it is.”

Having Neil Callaway around as a consultant has augmented a unit that has helped Purdue rank 10th in the Big Ten in rushing (127.2 ypg) after ranking last in the Big Ten each season from 2019-2021.

• West title dreams can wait. Purdue’s Jeff Brohm focused on beating Northwestern

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Two questions

1 – Can Purdue win the West?

The Boilermakers will be guaranteed no worse than a share of the title if they win their final two games: Northwestern, at Indiana. But to get to the Big Ten title game, Purdue needs to win-out AND have Iowa lose one of its final two games: at Minnesota, vs. Nebraska.

To reach the title game, Iowa must win out and have Illinois lose once. And the Illini are at Michigan on Saturday.

We all like Purdue’s chances to win its last two games. The big factor: Will Iowa lose? The best chance for the Hawkeyes to fall is this Saturday at Minnesota. The battle for Floyd of Rosedale is heated. And P.J. Fleck and Kirk Ferentz don’t like each other. The Gophers may be without No. 1 QB Tanner Morgan.

If Iowa wins in Dinkytown, you have to like the Hawkeyes’ chances to advance to Indianapolis with only a home Black Friday win vs. moribund Nebraska between them and the title game.

2 – Which players could enter the portal?

With the season drawing to an end, it’s time to start thinking of which current Boilermakers could leave. Recently, Purdue has had roughly 10 or so players enter the portal each year. That’s a pretty standard amount.

I would suspect similar attrition after the 2022 season. Some players will want to seek a better opportunity to play, which is understandable. Purdue always does all it can to accommodate a player.

Purdue really hasn’t lost many key players to the portal. Perhaps the “biggest” losses have been WR Maliq Carr and QB Jack Plummer. Carr is now a tight end for Michigan State and has 10 catches for 161 yards in 2022. He made eight grabs for 135 yards in 2021. Carr has no TD catches as a Spartan. Plummer has started all 10 games for the Golden Bears in 2022, hitting 62 percent of his passes for 2,521 yards with 16 TDs and seven interceptions for 3-7 Cal.

Long story short: Purdue rarely if ever has lost a key player via the portal.

• RB Devin Mockobee poised to be Purdue’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2008

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One prediction: Devin Mockobee will rush for 1,000 yards

The redshirt freshman has 732 yards rushing in 2022, leaving him 268 yards from 1,000 with two regular-season games and a bowl to go. (Maybe the Big Ten title game, too.) He needs to average 89.3 yards over those three games. Devin Mockobee is gonna do it, becoming Purdue’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2008.