The Three Point Stance: Purdue (3-6) vs. #16 Iowa (7-2)

Purdue will travel to take on the 16th ranked Iowa Hawkeyes in an effort to salvage a season that at one point seemed very promising at 3-3 following victories against Illinois and Minnesota. Head Coach Barry Odom will take on defensive play calling duties following a Sunday afternoon announcement that he had fired defensive coordinator Kevin Kane following a season of continued errors and fundamental mistakes. To get a victory would mean a seismic shift from what Purdue has been over the last several weeks but not out of the realm of possibility from what they have shown at times this season.

Iowa enters this game as a team on the fringe of consideration of a College Football Playoff invitation. Sitting at 7-2 with remaining games against Purdue, Illinois, and Nebraska, Iowa’s destiny is out in front of them to make their first appearance in the playoff under head coach Kirk Ferentz in his 28th season. The offense isn’t anything to call home about but the defense continues to be one of the nation’s best units under the widely considered best defensive coordinator in the country in Phil Parker.

Let’s get into three keys for this B1G matchup in ‘The Three Point Stance’:

1 | Offensive Line Controlling the Line of Scrimmage

When Ryan Browne has been given time to throw the ball this season, he has done a pretty good job of finding his playmakers at receiver. The improvement of those receivers from last year has allowed Browne to take a big leap in his development but that quickly goes away when he isn’t given a clean pocket to work with. That starts up front with the offensive line that features some very promising but young players like Rico Schreiber, Brock Brownfield, Nuku Mafi, and Marques Easley.

Iowa’s defensive front relies heavily on pressure from their front four led by players like Joseph Anderson (4 sacks), Bryce Hawthorne (3.5 sacks/8TFL’s), Drew Campbell (2.5 sacks/4TFL’s), and several other players. DC Phill Parker’s main priority is to ensure explosive plays are limited and force offenses into long, sustained drives that end in mistakes. It’s a formula that is very simple but incredibly effective for the Hawkeyes as they consistently rank near the top of the B1G every season in total defense.

What is most effective about this scheme is that the Hawkeyes force QB’s into mistakes and they have been able to get turnovers at a high rate. This season has been on the lower side of forcing turnovers with just 9 but the fundamental aspects of the defense remain: don’t miss tackles, limit big plays, force offenses to sustained drives, and don’t put yourself in bad situations by blitzing too much (roughly 20% of the time).

2 | Force Iowa Into Obvious Passing Downs

In Iowa’s recent victory over Northwestern, running back LJ Phillips racked up 128 rushing yards on 21 carries to keep control of the tempo. Purdue’s defense, which has struggled to play in the backfield most of the season, must hold Iowa to minimum yards on first down to force QB Hank Brown into drop back passing situations. One aspect that has seemingly gotten better over the last several weeks on the defensive side of the ball is that they are generating some turnovers. That has got to continue by forcing Iowa into obvious passing downs where the defensive backs can worry solely about defending the pass.

Through nine games, Purdue has struggled to consistently disrupt plays in the backfield, surrendering 170.8 rushing yards per game at a 5.2-yard clip while ranking 86th nationally in stuff rate. Purdue doesn’t need to suddenly become a dominant TFL team, rather, they simply need to win enough early-down reps to hold Phillips and the Hawkeye ground game to two or three yards on first down.

Doing so forces quarterback Hank Brown out of his play-action comfort zone and into pure dropback situations. While Brown has been efficient managing games this season (1,316 yards, nine touchdowns, four interceptions), Iowa isn’t built to win shootouts when forced into 3rd-and-long. More importantly, winning first down unlocks what has quietly become Purdue’s biggest defensive bright spot over the last month: takeaways. After recording just two turnovers through the end of September, the Boilermakers have rattled off nine more in the weeks since. When Purdue’s defensive backs don’t have to worry about run support or biting on play-action fakes, they can sit on routes, play aggressive coverage, and generate the kind of game-flipping turnovers required to steal a win at Kinnick.

3 | Capitalize with Red-Zone Touchdowns

Against Maryland, Purdue left the door wide open in the first half by settling for field goals instead of getting into the endzone. Yes, Purdue has one of the best kickers in the country with Jacobo Echeverria Lozano but Purdue really should have been leading by double digits. Instead, Purdue led just 12-7 instead of potentially 24-7 and that would have meant a very different second half.

Purdue does have the 19th rated red zone offense on the season, largely because of their freshman kicker connecting on 21-22 kicks this season. That is good for 2nd in the country and he likely has an argument for All American Honors alongside All B1G recognition. However, the Boilers have got to convert their opportunities into touchdowns if they want to beat the Hawkeyes on the road.

Iowa, at home, is too good of a football team for Purdue to settle for field goals when scoring opportunities are presented to them. Notably, Ryan Browne has got to make high level throws when the field shrinks and the throwing windows get tighter and tighter. If that isn’t going to happen, Purdue better hope their offensive line is able to open up running lanes for Fame Ijeboi.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS PURDUE’S MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR TO BEAT THE IOWA HAWKEYES???