Brohm thinks UConn will be motivated by Edsall's looming retirement

Purdue’s biggest challenge this week may be motivating itself.

Coming off a season-opening victory vs. Oregon State last Saturday in a packed and raucous Ross-Ade Stadium, the Boilermakers trek to UConn to play a moribund Husky squad this Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.

This is a listing program that has opened 0-2, losing 45-0 at Fresno State in its opener before getting unceremoniously dumped at home last week by FCS Holy Cross, 38-28. The crowd for the Purdue-UConn game at 38,066-seat Rentschler Field could be bleak.

"The ball hasn't rolled their way and sometimes it's due to execution, sometimes it's due to a little luck. But you know what? Anything can happen," said Purdue coach Jeff Brohm during his Monday press conference. "I know they're going to come ready to play.

"We've got to challenge ourselves this week to prepare to work hard, to put a good plan together and then go out there and try to play better than we did last week. And that's the challenge. If you want to be any good in football, you've got to challenge yourself to raise the bar and have your best performance each and every week. If you're not doing that, it'll catch up with you and you won't have a good season. So, this is an important week for us. We need to play some good football."

On Sunday following the loss to Holy Cross, UConn head coach Randy Edsall announced he will retire as Husky coach following this season. That adds a new dynamic to Saturday's game.

"I think it'll motivate their team," said Brohm. "I think Coach Edsall has done a lot for the UConn program over the years. Multiple times, I've played against him. Back when I was assistant coach at Louisville, (he) did a heck of a job and they had some really good football teams. He's coached a lot of football for a long time. I know their guys would be energized and fired up and ready to play. They got a Big Ten opponent coming into their stadium. And when that happens, teams are ready to play."

Edsall enjoyed success during his first incarnation as UConn coach, going 74-70 and making five bowl games during a stretch from 1999 to 2010 before he left for Maryland. Edsall returned to UConn in 2017, but the program has been an abyss. How bad has Esdall's second act been? He is 6-32. UConn didn’t even bother trying to play in 2020 amid the pandemic.

Odd-makers have Purdue as a 33-point favorite vs. UConn, an independent. Still, Brohm is leery of the Huskies. To get the attention of his players, the Boilermaker coach read scores of some big upsets from the opening weeks of the season.

Montana 13, No. 20 Washington 7

UC Davis 19, Tulsa 17

South Dakota State 42, Colorado State 23

East Tennessee State 23, Vanderbilt 3

Get the picture?

"You know what, there's good football teams across the country," said Brohm. "Anybody can beat anybody on any given day. I think our players understand that. We're definitely not at a stage to ever take anything for granted. And going on the road is always a challenge, as well.

"We know that we have to get better as a football team in all three segments. We got to have a great week of preparation, we got to stay locked in. And we've got to go out and execute. And if you don't, you're gonna get beat, and we're going to get beat. So, our guys got to prepare well and go out there and play well."

Jack Plummer opened the season as Purdue's No. 1 quarterback for the first time, and he promptly led the team to a 30-21 win vs. Oregon State on Saturday. The junior completed 29-of-41 passes for 313 yards with two TDs.

"I thought Jack was a great leader throughout the game," said Brohm. "Did some good things. He was able to extend some plays with his feet, which helped us at times. He was able to buy some time to get a couple completions and buy some time to throw the ball away and not take a sack. Those are always beneficial."

With the game in peril, Plummer played his best in the fourth quarter as Purdue clung to a 16-14 lead. He hit 8-of-9 passes for 119 yards and two TDs in the final 15 minutes.

"I thought that down the stretch, he played clutch for us and delivered," said Brohm. "That was due to the work ethic that he had and the preparation he put in. I was proud of his performance. There's still things we can improve upon there without question. He knows that. But he did a very good job and he helped us get the victory."

• Jeff Brohm said the team came out of the Oregon State game relatively healthy.

"Just a few things that flared it up," he said. "Hopefully nothing that will last beyond this game and hopefully we can get everybody that played in the last game able to play this upcoming week, as well. "

• Brohm is "anticipating" getting back wideout TJ Sheffield this week after he missed the opener for undisclosed reasons. The sophomore was projected to be Purdue's No. 1 slot receiver and kickoff return man.

• Senior DaMarcus Mitchell didn't start at LEO, giving way to redshirt freshman Kydran Jenkins.

"DaMarcus missed quite a bit of camp due to injury," said Brohm. "So, you know, we felt that Kydan deserved to start. Both guys played quite a bit, and they'll continue to play quite a bit. If one is hotter than the other during the game, they'll play even more."

• Nothing new to report on Purdue's quest to get Indiana transfer running back Sampson James eligible this season.

"No update yet," said Brohm. "We'll see what comes back from that and we're always hopeful. But, no answer yet."

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