Purdue has no plans of stopping after first victory of season

Ryan Walters picked up what he hopes is the first of many wins during his Purdue head coaching career on Saturday against Virginia Tech. Following the Boilermakers' victory in Blacksburg, Walters' phone was ringing off the hook with people congratulating.

More so than the support he received, Walters was happy for his players, who he deflected the shine to after the marathon victory.

"It was great to see the guys celebrate in the locker room. And you know, I didn't play a snap for all those that watched the game. So, it's all about players and they pulled this one out and they played well and they prepared well all week. I'm excited for this week and to see their improvement," Walters said on Monday afternoon.

For some, it may be a relief to get the first win out of the way, especially as a first time head coach. That's not the case for Walters, however. As he shared last week, the Boilermakers' head man wasn't concerned after a week one defeat. Walters expected Purdue to have success in Blacksburg, but now it's about repeating that moving forward.

"The goal was never to get just the first one, it's to go get them every week," Walters said. "I didn't put any added pressure going into week two with dropping week one. The preparation and the routine week in and week out is going to be the same no matter who we're playing or what's at stake."

Purdue's 24-17 win wasn't the prettiest, but it got the job done on the road. Ryan Walters saw several areas of improvement from his squad and shared that the mistakes Purdue has been making over the first two weeks are correctable.

"There was a lot of positives. A lot of things that were cleaned up from week one to week two. Just looked a lot cleaner on film, obviously, some mistakes made, there will be every week. The thing is that the mistakes we've made are self inflicted and easily correctable. So it could be another week to improve and like I've been saying, I only see this team improving as the year goes," Walters said.

One area that Walters felt was most improved was the offensive line, who struggled at times in the season opener. Marcus Johnson's group helped pave the way for a successful day running the football, headlined by Devin Mockobee's 95 yards and a touchdown on the ground, along with Tyrone Tracy Jr. having 51 yards and a score on just four touches.

"I think our offensive line played a lot better week two than they did week one, just being on the same page, and then identifying who they were targeting to get to the second level," Walters said.

The group welcomed back center Josh Kaltenberger to the lineup last week and could get some more reinforcements this Saturday. Center Gus Hartwig, who has been sidelined since last November with a leg injury, appeared on the depth chart for the first time this season. Walters could not say whether the three-year starter would be available against Syracuse, but a return is just around the corner for Hartwig.

The Hudson Card led offense is also just one of two teams in the Big Ten without a turnover through the first two weeks of the 2023 season, and the aforementioned quarterback has played a large part in that. Card has thrown for 502 yards (fifth best in the conference) with a pair of touchdowns and has taken care of the football, which was one of Purdue's priorities heading into last week.

"I have been pleased with the ball security. That was one of our goals going into the game which was to win the turnover margin," Walters said. "Anytime you're on the road in front of a hostile crowd like that, you don't want to give them momentum swings by not taking care of the football and they've been doing an excellent job of that so far."

The one main question Walters had about his team going into the 2023 campaign revolved around how the Boilermakers would respond when the chips were down. That adversity came on Saturday, between a near six hour pause in the game to blowing a 17 point lead in the second quarter, Walters got his answer.

"How we would respond to adversity. That was the really the only question I had going into the season is just whenever adversity struck, this is how we would respond. With the new staff, new faces in the locker room, all of those those things surrounding the program and they responded the right away," Walters said.

The Boilermakers also cleaned things up on the defensive side of the ball in Blacksburg. After giving up nearly 500 yards of offense and 39 points to Fresno State, Kevin Kane's unit held the Hokies to 17 points and just 11 total rushing yards on the day.

While the group showed improvement, there are still areas to work on to reach Ryan Walters' expectations.

"Almost. We're still not there yet. We still got some work to do, but you saw more of it. I thought we were a lot more consistent, made a lot more competitive plays and played within the framework of the defense," Walters said.

With the first win of the season now under their belts, the Boilermakers aim to continue that success against a talented Syracuse game in week three. The Orange have gotten off to a fast start this season, going 2-0 in the early going while outscoring Colgate and Western Michigan 113-7.

While Dino Babers and Syracuse haven't faced the stiffest competition, Walters said the Orange have done "what they're supposed to do" and will be a good test for the Boilermakers.

"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," Walters said.

The nation's seventh-highest scoring offense is led by quarterback Garrett Shrader, who is back for his third year as a starter with the Orange. Shrader has 543 yards with five touchdowns and an interception over two outings, adding 71 yards on 11 carries on the ground.

Syracuse had to replace All-ACC performer Sean Tucker this off-season and have found his replacement rather quickly. Sophomore LeQuint Allen has 127 yards and four scores already this season, having a 100-yard performance in the season opener before being limited to 20 yards against Central Michigan, although he scored three times in that matchup.

Umari Hatcher, Isaiah Jones and Donovan Brown all make up a solid receiving corps for Dino Babers as well. Standout tight end Oronde Gadsden II went down with what appears to be a foot/leg injury in week two, leaving his status for Saturday's game in question.

Walters pointed out that the Orange have had a slightly different mindset compared to last season, but wondered out loud if it was a result of two lopsided games or not.

"Offensively they know exactly what they're doing. You know, with a new offensive coordinator that was on staff a year ago, they've changed a little bit. But how much is that is just the nature of their two opponents they played and will they get back to doing what they were doing a year ago?"

While the offense has been an inferno to kick off the year, Syracuse' defense has been equally dominant. The group is in the top ten nationally in points per game allowed, total defense and has four takeaways, including a pair of interceptions returned for touchdowns.

Ryan Walters gave credit to longtime defensive coordinator, Rocky Long, who is in his first year with the Orange in 2022. The innovator of the "3-3-5" defense has already made his presence felt with Syracuse early on in the year.

"Defensively Rocky Long is highly respected in the defensive ranks of coaches in this profession. Runs that three-three stack, 3-3-5 defense and brings pressure 50% of the time and there's always movement up front," Walters said.

Saturday's tilt against Syracuse will also be Ryan Walters' first game under the lights in West Lafayette, which is something he is excited to experience after talking with some of the returning Boilermakers.

"Just the atmosphere and the environment. I've heard from guys in the locker room, just how crazy Ross-Ade gets and how special night games are here in West Lafayette," Walters said. "I'm sure that the energy is going to be electric and our guys will be ready to play."

Purdue will have its hands full with a soaring Syracuse team coming to town and will look for revenge after losing in the final moments last season at the Carrier Dome.