Purdue doing what it can to help 'pressing' Aidan O'Connell get on track
Aidan O’Connell admits it. He’s not playing well. He knows it.
“I am definitely not playing great football right now,” O’Connell said after Purdue’s numbing 24-3 loss vs. Iowa on Saturday.
The sixth-year senior is correct. O’Connell was off his game, hitting only 46 percent of his passes (20-of-43) And his 168 yards passing were his fewest ever in a game he started. Even worse: O’Connell tossed two interceptions. That’s five picks in the last two games for O’Connell, who threw three at Wisconsin and has thrown an INT in six consecutive games.
O’Connell now has tossed a Big Ten-high 10 interceptions, as Purdue (5-4 overall; 3-3 Big Ten) finds itself riding a two-game losing skid as it heads to Illinois (7-2; 4-2) for a noon ET kickoff on Saturday.
“I have to go watch the film and try to work harder,” O’Connell said. “Practice better, watch more film and try to maintain confidence and trust the guys around me.”
O’Connell took some big hits vs. Iowa, but Jeff Brohm says his No. 1 signal-caller is healthy. O’Connell did miss the FAU game in September with a rib injury.
“I think that he could probably be pressing too much at times,” said Brohm. “I think maybe in those conditions (windy vs. Iowa on Saturday), we may have asked the passing game to be too precise and we didn’t get open a whole lot. When we did, they found a way to grab us on double-moves and get the pass interference and not give up the big play.
“So, it’s just a combination of things. I think Aidan knows that he can play better and we’re going to try to help him play better.”
If O’Connell doesn’t re-discover his groove, Purdue figures to struggle on Saturday vs. a Fighting Illini squad that has been one of the biggest surprises in the nation. Illinois has a lot to play for under second-year coach Bret Bielema, controlling its own destiny to win the West Division championship. The Illini’s wiggle room shrunk with an upset loss at home last week to Michigan State. But Illinois figures to get on track and take another step to its prize if O’Connell is off his game again.
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“Well, like everything, it’s a combination of things,” said Brohm when assessing O’Connell’s struggles. “As you look back on it, wasn’t ideal conditions to throw, which is going to take off the ability to be precise in the passing game.
“So, we may have asked him to throw too much, I guess. … “
Brohm says Purdue considered using a multi-quarterback system to combat the windy conditions last Saturday.
“Even my brother, Brian, told me a story. In the CFL in a key playoff game when they had Henry Burris who was the All-CFL quarterback and bad conditions were coming, real bad conditions, they played their backup,” said Brohm. “It was a running quarterback the entire game and won the game and didn’t even play him at all. Not that we would go to that extreme, but you have to be smart and make sure that you’re doing things that are capable of being done.
“We had thoughts of going with a multi-quarterback package and had some of that ready. We did not choose to use it during the game, but probably should have.”
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Brohm hinted playing two quarterbacks is a possibility at Illinois. He’s done it before, using three in a win at Iowa in 2021.
“As I look forward, I don’t know what the weather is going to be,” said Brohm. “Did look great during the week and cold and windy during Saturday. Yes, everything will be in play.”
