Purdue searches for offense

TE Max Klare knows what ails the Purdue offense. It’s pretty simple, really.

“I think just staying ahead of the chains, getting past those third downs, converting on those third downs,” said Klare. “That’s what we have to be better at. At the end of the day, we got to put it in the end zone. We’re not doing that, we’re not doing our job.”

What does not doing your job look like? Purdue (1-4 overall; 0-2 Big Ten) will limp to No. 23 Illinois (4-1; 1-1) with an offense that ranks 17 our of 18 Big Ten teams (300.8 ypg). What would it mean to leave Champaign with a victory?

“It would mean everything,” said Klare. “That’s what we’re striving for. We got to build each day to go get that win. And it’s gonna feel great.”

Yes, the defense (last in the Big Ten in scoring, allowing 36.8 ppg) has had its issues during a four-game losing streak that has seen the Boilermakers lose by an average of 35 points. But it’s the offense that has been the biggest albatross in a season that’s quickly disintegrating.

Ryan Walters is trying to fix things, making a bold move after a 28-10 loss to Nebraska on Sept. 28 by firing offensive coordinator Graham Harrell. Walters made as bold a move by anointing analyst Jason Simmons–who has spent the bulk of his career in the high school ranks–as the play-caller. Ready or not, Simmons was entrusting with finding some solutions.

Simmons first foray was not a success. Purdue kicked just two fields and gained only 216 yards in last week’s 52-6 loss at Wisconsin. On third downs, Purdue went 1-of-11.

“The area that I have to do a better job is putting our guys in a position to be successful in situational football,” said Simmons. “I didn’t do a good enough job on third down, got rushed in the red zone a little bit, didn’t do a good enough job down there.”

Simmons opted to work from the sidelines as opposed to the press box, where play-callers typically operate.

“Feel more than anything else,” said Simmons of his choice of location. “I spent a large part of my career on the field coaching. I can feel it. I can see it. Had an opportunity to talk to Hudson (Card) in between drives, on what he saw, what he liked, what he didn’t like, what he was comfortable with, what he wasn’t comfortable with.

“And to be able to have some of those same conversations with our coaching staff, when you can look somebody in the eye, you’re not trying to have conversations over a headset helps.”

Simmons tried some new things. There was some option. Card was rolled out and put on the move. There were some new personnel groupings. To no avail.

“You look at game management,” said Walters. “You look at how we’re using the roster. You look at schematic issues. Then you evaluate the play of the individual, all those things and take an assessment and evaluate and try to improve the areas that you failed.”

Purdue key offensive stats

Stat	Avg./Big Ten rank
Total offense	300.8/17th
Passing	161.2/16th
Rushing	139.6/12th
Third downs	30.5 (18 of 59)/17th
First downs	13.4/18th
Long scrimmage plays (10-plus yards)	62/13th
Sacks allowed	2.8/14th

This offense has failed in a lot of areas. The biggest issue has been an anemic passing game that struggles for consistency and rarely generates big plays. Also: The offense can’t sustain drives, the pass blocking has been spotty and the receiving unit has failed to fulfill expectations.

“I think a lot of that’s just opportunity,” said Simmons of the why the wideouts haven’t excelled. “We’ve been inconsistent. I say inconsistent in terms of personnel, week in and week out. We’ve been moving guys around quite a bit, which disrupts rhythm and timing when it comes to practice opportunities. We got to be more intentional about giving them opportunities to be successful, and I think we did a little bit of that on Saturday, but we got to continue to grow and expand that group.”

Purdue has just eight pass plays over 20 yards (16th in Big Ten) and four over 30 (14th).

“We got to build confidence,” said Simmons of the receivers. “We got to build confidence with that group. They’re hungry, they’re ready for opportunity, they’re ready for the football and it’s our responsibility as a coaching staff to put them in the best possible position to be successful.”

Purdue recently got presumed No. 1 wideout Jahmal Edrine back from injury but it continues to operate without its fast receiver: CJ Smith, who has yet to play a snap in 2024 due to a hamstring injury.

On and on it has gone for the Boilermaker attack. Walters continues to seek solutions. What can fans expect this week at Illinois?

“Obviously, there are tweaks,” said Walters earlier this week. “It would be irresponsible of me to tell you what those tweaks are with the game coming up on Saturday. The last 48 hours have been emotional. It’s been challenging. You know, it’s been — again, I’m a problem solver, so I’ve been working diligently to solve problems.”

Klare knows what’s being said about the offense on social media. How does he tune it out?

“You just have to attack every day,” he said. “Don’t really look into it because obviously they don’t know what’s going on out here. You know what we got. We know we can go win games.”

MORE: First and 10 | First look: Illinois | Three thoughts | Purdue’s Ryan Walters on if season can be fixed: ‘I don’t see any reason why it can’t’ | The 3-2-1: Purdue searching for answers. Will it find any to save season? | Opponent view | Matchup preview