The Weekly Word is GoldandBlack.com's weekly, obviously, column covering Purdue football, basketball and recruiting, as well as college sports issues, the true meaning of life, or whatever other topics might come to mind in a given week.

Look, there's nothing more I can write about Devin Mockobee's emergence this season that hasn't already been said. He's been terrific, he's been clutch, he's been consistent and his energy has elevated his team.

But there's another point to make here, too: Where would Purdue be without him? That's where his improbable emergence has been a saving grace of sorts for this Boilermaker team.

Zander Horvath's loss from last season was a big one. Purdue has not gotten done in the portal what it's needed to at the running back position. Dylan Downing's been a solid rank-and-file guy, but Sampson James didn't stick, Christopher Brooks split and Kobe Lewis hasn't been able to really take the reins. The transfer market is a high-stakes game of boom or bust, and Purdue's experienced the latter to this point.