Purdue Shows Positive Change Ahead of Iowa

Purdue produced its most complete performance of the season on Saturday, which resulted in a 44-19 rout of Illinois for the Boilermakers' first home and Big Ten win of the Ryan Walters era.

The rookie head coach made some rather large changes after a 1-3 start to the year, including moving offensive coordinator Graham Harrell and defensive coordinator Kevin Kane to the box after the pair had previously been on the Purdue sidelines.

It was a move that, in part, allowed both coordinators to revert back to spots they've been comfortable in before, particularly Kane, according to Walters.

"The communication that he and I had last two seasons, when he was in a box was very informative and quick and concise. Nobody knows the defense or the signals the way I do and so it just made sense for him to go upstairs and for me to be signaling and for us communicate that way on game day," Walters said.

The switch paid dividends for the Boilermakers' defense, who gave up a few big plays through the air, but kept the Illini in check for nearly the entire second half. Walters and company dialed up exotic blitzes that we hadn't seen much from the unit, which resulted in five sacks, including the strip sack and score from Markevious Brown and another from safety Sanoussi Kane.

Walters dove into the give and take of playing as aggressively as they did defensively in the victory.

"The give and take when you're aggressive in the way you play the game defensively and try to get hits on the quarterback and when the quarterback gets hit as much as he did you tend to overthrow those type of throws," Walters said.

Purdue also held Illinois to 2-14 on third downs, which has been an area that the defense has struggled in throughout the year. One of the key players behind that success was redshirt sophomore linebacker Yanni Karlaftis, who started for the injured OC Brothers against the Illini.

Karlaftis had a career day in his first start with the Boilermakers, totaling eight tackles with a sack and tackle for loss from the middle linebacker slot. Walters wasn't ready to name him the outright starter, but shared that it was the best that position had played all year.

"I was really happy with the way Yanni played and the way he prepared. So we'll see how this week's practice goes, but Yanni played better than that position has played up to this point," Walters said.

Walters has been vocal about his desire for the Boilermakers to play complimentary football on both sides of the ball and his group succeeded in that endeavor on Saturday with an offensive outburst. Purdue's 38 offensive points were the most this season and Graham Harrell moving upstairs aided in that.

"Graham has spent a lot of time in the box. He's spent more time up [in the box] than he has down [on the sidelines]. I think with Hudson's maturity and his understanding of the offense now, it allowed Graham to go up top," Walters said. "You can just see better from up there. You can see the rotations, defensively you can see the alignments. You can see what happened during the play from that bird's eye view a lot a lot clearer than you can from the sideline."

Harrell's Air Raid attack hasn't been the same pass heavy style as his former head coach and late Mike Leach, as the Boilermakers are finding a new identity - ground game. Walters was complimentary of Harrell's ability to lean on Purdue's strengths, which created a strong balance on offense.

"I thought Graham did a nice job of sticking to what was working. Anytime you can run the ball the way we did and have balance that way, it bodes well offensively for sure," Walters said.

Led by breakthrough running back Tyrone Tracy Jr., Purdue has rushed for 191.5 yards per game and five touchdowns in its last two outings, compared to 209.5 yards per game through the air.

Walters believes getting Gus Hartwig back has helped improve the offensive line play immensely, but also gave credit to Lamar Conard's room as they've come into their own heading into October.

"I think our running backs are starting to get their groove and we as an offensive staff are finding out what they're good at and what's their comfort level in the type of runs that we're calling," Walters said.

Tracy Jr. has been the catalyst of the success out of the backfield, accounting for 196 yards and two scores against Wisconsin and Illinois which has elevated him into the role of Purdue's featured back.

That leaves Devin Mockobee on the wrong side of a timeshare out of the backfield, although he did get 14 carries on Saturday, as he attempts to overcome his ball security issues. Despite the former walk-on's struggles, Purdue is still going to utilize him in the run game moving forward.

"Nobody is happy with, including him, with the ball security issues," Walters said. "At the end of the day, you want to keep him engaged because we're gonna need him. Like, he's a good player. He runs the football very well."

The Boilermakers will put this new recipe to the test when they take on Iowa in Kinnick Stadium this coming Saturday on Peacock.

Walters is no stranger to the Hawkeyes, having played them twice during his tenure at Illinois and while it's not the most flashy football to watch, the Boilermakers' head coach knows Kirk Ferentz's formula has proven to work.

"Getting to know Coach Ferentz over the last couple of years and now, as a head coach, you just tell like that program operates the way it operates, and they don't care what anybody else thinks about it because that has been a winning formula for them," Walters said.

Iowa's biggest critics have harped on the Hawkeyes' offense, which is averaging 22.2 points per game this season (9th in the Big Ten) and has been stagnant over the last two weeks. An offense that was already struggling is now dealing with injury troubles on top of it.

Starting quarterback Cade McNamara suffered a leg injury against Michigan State and is expected to miss the remainder of the season. The same can be said for star tight end Luke Lachey, who also went down with a leg injury. Running back Kaleb Johnson, who had 200 yards against Purdue last season, has also been out since week two but could return on Saturday.

Sophomore signal caller Deacon Hill took over for McNamara on Saturday, going 11/27 for 115 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and will likely get the start against the Boilermakers. A suddenly confident Purdue defense will look to feast on a compromised offense led by a backup quarterback.

The Hawkeyes' bread and butter has been defense and special teams under Ferentz and this year is no different. Walters recognizes the challenges that each of those units pose to the Boilermakers this weekend.

"Iowa's going to be Iowa and they have been since 1999," Walters said. "They're gonna play really, really sound defense and not make mistakes and make you earn it. Special teams is going to be a weapon for them."

Iowa has allowed just 16.8 points per game through five outings and is 13th in the nation in defensive efficiency. Special teams has also shined for the Hawkeyes and was on display during their win over Michigan State with start defensive back Cooper DeJean's punt return for a touchdown helping Iowa put the final nail in the coffin last week.

Iowa and Purdue are the only teams in the conference with a touchdown on offense, defense and special teams so far this season. Walters knows the hard nosed style of the Hawkeyes will put Purdue's newfound success to the test on Saturday.

"We'll have to do a good job of not letting them dictate the pace, dictate the tempo or dictate the style of play and try to do everything we can to play our brand of ball and make them adjust to it," Walters said.