Purdue Defense
Really since Joe Tiller’s arrival, Purdue football has been all about the offense. The fast-paced frenetic style led to some high scoring fireworks every week.
But this year, the Boiler defense is actually the strength of the team. Its the Purdue defense that has improved fortunes in West Lafayette.
This year Purdue is #8 in the Big Ten in scoring defense and #9 in total defense. In addition, the Boilers have the fourth worst rushing defense and fifth worst passing defense in the conference.
Purdue senior linebacker TJ McCollum is the name to know on the defense. He has 40 total tackles, good for a tie for seventh in the Big Ten.
Here are the national NCAA numbers of the Purdue defense thus far in 2017.
- Scoring Defense (20.8 points allowed per game) #36
- Total Defense (374.8 yards allowed per game) #57
- Red Zone Defense (.833) #65
- 3rd Down Percentage (.347), #48
- First Downs Allowed (100) (53 passing, 37 rushing) #51
- Tackles for Loss (4.2 per game) #117
- Rushing Defense (151 yards per game allowed) #66
- Passing Defense (233.8 yards per game allowed) #65
So the scoring defense perhaps belies at least where the Boilers rank in other individual national categories. Of course, that’s the most important number, so that’s the good news for Purdue. The bad news is that it doesn’t create many negative plays for opposing offense. In addition, a soft run defense is a recipe for a long day in Madison.