What to expect from Odom’s offense/defensive schemes
He’s been feted. He’s been celebrated. He’s been lauded. The dust is settling on the hiring of new Purdue coach Barry Odom.
Now, what can we expect from his offense and defense when the 2025 season kicks off on August 30 vs. Ball State in Ross-Ade Stadium?
Odom’s offenses at UNLV were prolific, ranking No. 2 in the Mountain West in scoring last year and No. 4 overall (see chart).
“Number one, you’ve got to play complementary football,” said Odom. “Statistically, if you look at the years I’ve been a head coach, what we’ve been able to do on offense, we’re averaging over 35 points a game. We’re going to be explosive, but it’s going to start with the ability to try to control the line of scrimmage and run the ball.”
2024 UNLV OFFENSE
| Statistic | Per Game | Mountain West Rank | FBS Rank |
| Scoring Offense | 36.2 PPG | 2 | 14 |
| Rushing Offense | 251.2 YPG | 2 | 5 |
| Passing Offense | 174.5 YPG | 11 | 121 |
| Total Offense | 425.8 YPG | 4 | 35 |
Who will be Purdue’s coordinator? GoldandBlack.com has learned UNLV OC Brennan Marion is not coming to West Lafayette to run his “Go Go Offense,” which uses triple-option concepts out of a pistol or shotgun formation. Rather, Odom is vetting coordinators now and may have one late next week. Who will it be? What will the scheme look like?
“There’s going to be some elements of quarterback run game built into that, and the better you can run the ball, then you’re going to be able to open up the vertical passing game, which is so important in today’s world,” said Odom.
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“But you look at creating explosive plays, you find players that are good with the ball in their hands, out in space. You develop and find ways to get them the ball creatively. And just because I’m saying you’re running the ball, we’ve got to establish a run, that doesn’t mean line up and run the power 25 times a game. You can run in jet sweep. You can run a lot of different ways to establish a run game.”
Defense is Odom’s bailiwick, the side of the ball he knows best. It is thought Odom’s UNLV coordinator–Mike Scherer–will come to Purdue. In 2024, the Rebels led the Mountain West in scoring defense and were No. 2 in total defense.
2024 UNLV DEFENSE
| Statistic | Per Game | Mountain West Rank | FBS Rank |
| Scoring Defense | 21.9 PPG | 1 | 35 |
| Rushing Defense | 109.9 YPG | 1 | 17 |
| Passing Defense | 241.2 YPG | 9 | 106 |
| Total Defense | 351.1 YPG | 2 | 50 |
“Defensively, we need to be aggressive,” said Odom. “We need to be attacking. We need to be in an ability to get after the quarterback. But it all starts again on that side of the ball stopping the run. So, you’ve got to build the front seven, in my opinion. The world that I live in and at Mizzou and Arkansas, if you’re not good up front defensively, it is gonna be hard to be good, and I think this conference is very similar to that.”
MORE: 2025 Purdue schedule | Purdue coach Barry Odom’s UNLV stats – what do they mean? | Gold and Black Radio: Odom hired | Photo gallery: Odom press conference| Five observations from Odom’s press conference | Can Purdue flip any 2025 UNLV signees? | Purdue hires Odom | Get to know Odom | Three thoughts from the weekend| Q&A with Las Vegas AP writer | Purdue signing day notebook | Purdue roster
