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Purdue may be shorthanded on defense vs. Northwestern on Senior Day

On3 imageby:Tom Dienhart•11/17/22•

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Jeff Brohm (Getty Images)

If Purdue is going to beat Northwestern on Senior Day this Saturday, it may have to do so with a compromised linebacking unit and without its best defensive tackle.

“It will be possibly a little thin, without question,” Jeff Brohm said of his linebacking unit after practice on Thursday. “But certain guys will have to step up and play more. And certain guys will have to step up and be ready in case they need to go in.”

Last week, No. 1 MIKE linebacker Kieren Douglas was helped off the field with an apparent right leg injury. And backup WILL linebacker Clyde Washington sustained what’s believed to be an ankle injury. Brohm said Douglas will be a game-time decision, while Washington is out for the year.

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Expect Purdue (6-4 overall; 4-3 Big Ten) to start Jacob Wahlberg at MIKE if Douglas can’t go. Semisi Fakasiieiki also will need to play a big role in reserve behind No. 1 WILL O.C. Brothers, while also possibly helping at MIKE, too. Brohm said Ben Kreuel and Yanni Karlaftis could be used, too. Kreul has played almost exclusively on special teams during his career, while Karlaftis was just moved to linebacker from LEO last month after arriving on campus as a linebacker in 2021.

Purdue also could be without Branson Deen, the team’s best defensive tackle. Brohm said he will be a game-time decision after believing to have hurt an ankle at Illinois. If Deen is unable to play, Brohm feels players like Cole Brevard and Sulaiman Kpaka can fill in alongside Lawrence Johnson.

A win vs. Northwestern (1-9 overall; 0-7 Big Ten) would keep Purdue in the thick of the Big Ten West title chase. If the Boilermakers win out vs. the Wildcats and then next week at Indiana, they would do no worse than a tie for the division title. If Purdue wins out and Iowa loses one of its final two games (at Minnesota, vs. Nebraska), then the Boilermakers would play in the Big Ten title game for the first time. The game is Dec. 3 in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

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Purdue will face a struggling Northwestern team that has lost nine in a row after opening with a win vs. Nebraska in Ireland in August. Last week, the Wildcats lost 31-3 at Minnesota and played four quarterbacks. Despite the struggles of Northwestern, Brohm is wary of a program that has won the last five times it has visited Ross-Ade Stadium dating to a Purdue victory in 2007.

“Every week, anybody can win in this conference,” he said. “And if you don’t approach it that way, and if you read anything else and believe it, you’re gonna hurt yourself and lose the game. This team has played us well every year. They’ve got a good formula that is hard to beat, which is sound defense, make you earn it, try to get turnovers, run the football on offense, control the clock. If we don’t do the small things like I said, it’ll be a long day.”

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