Brohm is 'excited about the schedule'

A schedule can make or break a team's season. And, from all accounts, Purdue has a favorable slate of 2020 games.

"We're excited about the schedule," said Purdue coach Jeff Brohm earlier this week. "I think that there were a couple of different schedules thrown at us throughout the course of playing a 10-game season, and now the eight-game season. And we were kind of aware of some things, I think, trying to balance the home and away, you know, gave us the eight games that we have which we're excited to play."

The Big Ten announced the third incarnation of its 2020 schedule last month. Purdue began with a 12-game schedule, then saw the Big Ten move to a 10-game Big Ten-only slate before settling on a nine-game Big Ten-only schedule that will feature no off weeks and run from Oct. 24-Dec. 19.

Purdue's first game is Oct. 24 at home vs. Iowa. Two scheduling quirks: The Boilermakers will play at Wisconsin for a second season in succession, while Nebraska will come to West Lafayette for a second year in a row. Also worth noting: Rutgers visits Purdue for the first time ever.

Purdue will face all six Big Ten West foes, as well as two teams from the East: Indiana and Rutgers. The Boilermakers' ninth and final game will take place the last weekend of the season--Dec. 18-19--when the Big Ten title game will be played in Indianapolis. That weekend will pit East teams vs. West teams in to-be-determined games based on where schools finish in the standings. Reports have indicated all the games that weekend could take place in domes at neutral sites within the Big Ten footprint.

"We're looking forward to competing and proving our worth," said Brohm. "I think the plus-one game will be fun to play another extra game against someone from the other side and see if you can win that. So, you know, I think it'll be a fun season, it'll be packed together, and we'll try to roll with it and cut it loose and see how many we can win."

Purdue is coming off a 4-8 season (3-6 Big Ten) that was noteworthy for myriad injuries. Brohm's fourth Boilermaker squad has questions to answer at several areas as it tries to rebound with its first winning season since 2017.

Will the offensive line help improve the run game? Who will be the quarterback? Can the defense improve under new coordinator Bob Diaco? Will the special teams evolve under new coach Marty Biagi? Purdue must answer those questions against the backdrop of playing an ever-improving slate of teams from the Big Ten West.

"Our side of the division has gotten tougher every year," said Brohm."There’s Wisconsin, who's always going to be at the top. We saw Minnesota step up, and they played extremely well and had some very big wins, especially against Penn State and Auburn. So, they've proven their worth.

"Iowa is always tough, physical, hard to beat. They don't beat themselves. And then you've seen the other teams right below them traditionally that have stepped up and improved, as well, so we've got our work cut out for us."

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