Ryan Walters can expect more texts, calls if he notches first Ross-Ade win Saturday night

Ryan Walters‘ phone was blowing up with text messages and calls. It seemed everyone wanted to reach out to the first-year Purdue coach and congratulate him after the Boilermakers’ 24-17 victory at Virginia Tech last Saturday.

How much did it blow up?

“Almost as much as it blew up when I got the call from (Purdue AD) Mike (Bobinski) that I was going to be the head coach,” said Walters. “It was great to see the amount of support.

“But, even more, it was great to see the guys celebrate in the locker room. I didn’t play a snap, for all those that watched the game. So, it’s all about the players. They pulled this one out, and they played well, and they prepared well all week, and I’m excited for this week and to see their improvement.”

Up next is a 7:30 p.m. ET tilt on NBC in Ross-Ade Stadium vs. Syracuse, which has opened with victories over Colgate and Western Michigan. The Orange knocked off the Boilermakers in a wild game at JMA Wireless Dome last season, tallying the winning TD with seven seconds hanging on the clock. Ross-Ade Stadium is sold out for this Saturday prime-time affair.

“I’ve heard from the guys in the locker room just how crazy Ross-Ade gets and how special night games are here in West Lafayette,” said Walters. “To have an opponent like Syracuse and to play at night at home coming off of a win, I’m sure the energy is going to be electric, and our guys will be ready to play.”

Purdue dropped the opener in Ross-Ade, losing 39-35 to Fresno State. But the Boilermakers have mojo coming off the win in Blacksburg?

“Resiliency, how we would respond to adversity,” he said. “That was really the only question I had going into the season was just when adversity struck is how we would respond with the new staff, new faces in the locker room, all of those things surrounding the program.

“They responded the right way, and it started the week of preparation and practice and meetings, and trickled over to starting fast during the game and then headed into the locker room and relaxing but staying focused on the task at hand, fighting through them getting back into the game, and doing enough to pull it out on the road with a five-and-a-half-hour delay.”

Purdue was helped by a 95-yard rushing effort by RB Devin Mockobee, an eight-catch breakout by TE Max Klare, crafty running and passing by QB Hudson Card that saw him hit 68 percent of his aerials for 248 yards and run for 16 yards and a TD.

The offense may get a lift from the return of C Gus Hartwig, who was on the depth chart for the first time in 2023 as he rebounds from a knee injury suffered late in 2022. Austin Johnson started the first game at center, with Josh Kaltenberger getting the call last week.

“I don’t know if he will play or not Saturday,” said Walters. “We’ve got to trust the docs and trust where he’s at in the rehab process, but I can guarantee you when he’s ready to play, he’s going to play.”

But it may have been the defense that was the star in the victory at Virginia Tech, which had only 286 yards and was shutout in the second half. Tech’s 11 yards rushing were the fewest Purdue ever has yielded in a road game.

“I was proud of the staff’s ability to adjust at halftime and also the players’ ability to understand situational ball and where their help is schematically and what routes they can’t get beat on and being more sound in our rush lanes,” said Walters. “All of those things go together. So, they as a result played well, especially in the second half.”

Walters hopes his D can excel again vs. Syracuse which is led by Dino Babers, who was an assistant at Purdue under Jim Colletto from 1991-93.

“Offensively, they know what they’re doing,” said Walters. “With the new offensive coordinator that was on staff a year ago, they’ve changed a little bit, but how much of that is just the nature of the two opponents they played, and will they get back to doing what they were doing a year ago.

“Then, defensively, Rocky Long is highly respected in the defensive ranks of coaches in this profession, runs that 3-3 stack — 3-3-5 defense — and brings pressure 50 percent of the time and is always moving up front. So, from a schematic standpoint, they do a really good job offensively and defensively, and we’ll have to be on our P’s and Q’s going into Saturday.”

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