Purdue hits road for Syracuse without No. 1 RB King Doerue
It's been loud all week at Purdue practices. Very loud.
The goal has been to try to replicate the noisy environment the Boilermakers expect to encounter when they play at JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday at noon ET vs. Syracuse on ESPN2.
"I think we spent the whole week preparing for going into a hostile, loud environment, and that's all we can do," said Purdue coach Jeff Brohm, whose team cranked the volume all week inside the Mollenkopf Athletic Center. "So, we've had the loud music. We've had to work different ways to communicate and cadences and signal and things like that to make sure we're up to speed.
"Really, we got to concentrate. The little things can't beat us. A lot of times, noise, crowd at the beginning of the game, momentum shifts can affect it. We have to win that battle in order to have a chance to win."
If Purdue (1-1 overall; 0-1 Big Ten) is going to beat Syracuse (2-0; 1-0 ACC), it will have to do so without its No. 1 running back: King Doerue, who is out with a calf injury suffered vs. Penn State in the season opener on Sept. 1.
The senior tried to play last week, but Doerue was in for just 10 offensive snaps vs. Indiana State. He leads Purdue with three rushing TDs and has 64 yards rushing. Brohm is hopeful to get Doerue back next week for Homecoming vs. Florida Atlantic, but he may not be back until the Oct. 1 game at Minnesota.
With Doerue out, redshirt sophomore Dylan Downing will be the No. 1 back. He has 69 yards rushing. Purdue also will use redshirt junior Kobe Lewis and redshirt freshman walk-on Devin Mockobee, who has a team-high 78 yards rushing which all came in his first career action last week vs. Indiana State. And fifth-year senior wideout Tyrone Tracy also could be used more as ballcarrier to pick up the slack for Doerue's absence.
Brohm also says it is "unlikely" senior wideout Broc Thompson will play. He continues to nurse a knee he hurt in the opener vs. Penn State. Thompson played just six snaps last week. Fellow wideout Elijah Canion, a redshirt sophomore, will be out for a second week in a row with a knee injury.
The top five wideouts on Saturday will be Charlie Jones, T.J. Sheffield, Deion Burks, Tracy and Mershawn Rice.
The defense has its injury hurdles to overcome, too. Linebacker Semisi Fakasiieiki is "probable," according to Brohm. Fakasiieiki will be a game-time decision as he continues to nurse an ankle injury.
But, the big absence is S/LB Jalen Graham, who will miss a second game in a row with a fracture of a tibia suffered vs. Penn State. The senior could miss the next game, too. The target for his return remains the Oct. 1 game at Minnesota. Is Purdue ready to take on a physical Syracuse offense without its top defender?
"We have to be," said Brohm. "I do think that Chris Jefferson, Bryce Hampton worked hard. They can go out there and play as hard as they can. And Chris has experienced in our defense; Bryce not as much. But those are the cards were dealt with. I think they had a good week of practice. I think we have a good plan for them. And I expect them to play well."
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