Purdue would like to forget the last time it was in Nashville for the Music City Bowl.
“Well, it was a long day for us and it was one that the team put it to us pretty good,” said Jeff Brohm. “Yeah, it did sting.”
"The team" was Auburn, which took a convincing 63-14 victory vs. the Boilermakers in the 2018 Music City Bowl. And, honestly, it wasn’t even that close. The Tigers scored eight touchdowns in the first half en route to building a 56-7 lead at halftime.
“That's three years ago, it's a completely different team, completely different opponents,” said Purdue quarterback Aidan O’Connell. “You want to right those wrongs. But at the same time, you're looking forward to this year and we're trying to have the best performance we have this year without thinking about too much of the past. We're focused on ourselves, and hopefully that'll carry us.”
That was then, and this is now, as the Boilermakers arrive in Nashville today to continue bowl prep.
This is a largely new Purdue roster that will take on Tennessee on Thursday in the Music City Bowl. Many new faces will dot the Nissan Stadium field who weren't on the team back in 2018 or weren’t key players that day in Nashville.
But if Purdue is going to reverse the 2018 Music City Bowl script, it will have to do so without its top two players: defensive end George Karlaftis and wideout David Bell have opted out to prep for the NFL.
“We try not to dwell on the past too much,” said Boilermaker tight end Payne Durham. “The guys that were here, at least, remember it, and we don't want that again. And so we know kind of how we prepared ourselves for that game versus how we're doing it for this game. Just different things we're doing and we're focused and taking it very seriously.”
A victory vs. the Volunteers (7-5 overall and 4-4 SEC) would be meaningful on many fronts for Purdue (8-4, 6-3).
"I think it'd be huge for everybody," said defensive tackle Branson Deen. "The players, because of the fans. I think it's something like 18 years since we've had like nine wins ... So, I think it'd be good for everybody in the community. And I just think it will catapult us into the next year and hopefully we can do some of the same stuff."
A victory would allow the program to bury the bad memory of the 2018 Music City Bowl. And--as Deen mentioned--it would give Purdue a ninth victory for the first time since 2003.
“I think it's just important that you give them a little break but yet work them and understand that this is still this season and we want to finish it off,” said Brohm. “We've done a really good job to this point to get to play in this bowl game against a really good Tennessee SEC opponent, but you need to finish what you started. No matter who's out there, you got to go out there and perform. We want to do a really good job and play hard and find a way to pull out a win.”
Then, there is the intangible of momentum which a victory in Nashville would provide. The Boilermakers would be given a big injection of mojo as they head into the offseason to begin preparations for a 2022 season that is filled with promise with the return of O’Connell spearheading hopes for a push for a Big Ten West title.
“I think we've concentrated this time on what we need to do to get better,” said Brohm. “I think we've had the right combination of working the young guys, giving the older guys a little bit of a breather as we speed up to getting back to full-game speed. … “
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The significance of a win isn’t lost on Durham.
“I think it's huge,” he said. “I think it really capitalizes our season. The losses we don't like ,obviously, but we're pretty happy with where we're at. It's kind of the beginning of the season.
"I think in the Oregon State interview I said this kind of shows what we can do and be like. And I think we proved ourselves right. We lost some tough ones, obviously, but this win would would capitalize a great season for us. So, I think it'd be a huge momentum setter going into next year.”
And Durham has a little extra motivation as a Purdue player who hails from deep in the heart of SEC territory: Georgia.
“I grew up right down the road from UGA, and not too far from Auburn,” said Durham. “We went there all the time. It's a little bit different down there with just how people approach football and how people act on game days and stuff. I'm excited. I'm super excited.
“I got a lot of my friends who went to Tennessee from high school. It's a big opportunity for us and I think it will kind of help us prove to ourselves who we are, if that makes sense. And everyone talks about, there's nothing like the SEC, all this and all that. I'm excited that we get an opportunity to play.”
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