The second season of the Ryan Walters era has arrived in West Lafayette. Purdue will begin the year with one of the toughest schedules in the league and low expectations after finishing the 2023 season with a record of 4-8.
Whatever the Big Ten writers believe, there is a lot of hope and optimism surrounding the Boilermakers in 2024. Will the program take a step forward in Walters’ second year?
Let’s break down Purdue’s challenging 2024 schedule and take a look at the toughest stretches, the crucial games and the must-win matchups this season.
The early game-free week
When the final schedule was released, Purdue wasn’t thrilled about having a bye week on the second Saturday of the season, but Walters has become a fan of the early bye week.
The Boilermakers suffered a number of injuries during fall training camp that will keep key players out of the season opener against Indiana State, particularly cornerback Nyland Green and receiver CJ Smith, both of whom are Georgia transfers.
So Purdue gets a chance to play a game, address numerous issues and concerns schematically, and has two weeks to prepare and recover for the rivalry game against Notre Dame.
Most difficult route
The four games from October 18th to November 16th are as difficult as any in the Big Ten. Purdue will play three top-10 opponents from the previous season during that period. This is the month we will really see what the Boilers are made of.
It starts on Friday, October 18, when Purdue welcomes No. 3 Oregon to Ross-Ade Stadium. The Ducks are expected to field a high-caliber offense again this season, led by transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
Purdue has a week off before hosting a Northwestern team that finished 8-5 last season. The Boilers then travel to Columbus for a showdown against Ohio State on Nov. 9. The Buckeyes are ranked No. 2 in the preseason poll and will likely field the best defense Walters’ team will face all season.
As if that wasn’t enough, Purdue rounds out a brutal four-game series at home against No. 8 Penn State. The Boilers have struggled against the Nittany Lions in the past, losing 10 straight games in the head-to-head series.
Not many teams will have to endure such a difficult period this season. Even a 2-2 result in those four games would be a monumental achievement.
Games you have to win
Beating Indiana State is a piece of cake, right? So let’s break the most important rule of football—wins never count!—and assume Purdue starts the season 1-0.
There are two more games left that the Boilermakers must win if they want to be in the bowl tournament conversation at the end of the year. A win over Oregon State would give Walters and his team a huge boost heading into the Big Ten portion of the season.
A late November game against Michigan State is also a key contest for Purdue. New coach Jonathan Smith has put a lot of work into the transfer portal this offseason, but the Boilers are likely to have a more talented roster than the one assembled in East Lansing.
Three games may seem like a small number of games for a team to have to win, but there aren’t many opponents on the schedule that Purdue has far more talent than.
Pivot stretch
Want to know if you should think about bowl plans this winter? The period from mid-September to mid-October will likely help you decide.
A four-game series from September 21 to October 12 will tell us whether or not Purdue has taken a big step forward. The opponents during this period are Oregon State, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Illinois. These four teams have a combined record of 25-25 in 2023.
Will Purdue win all four games? Probably not. But the Boilermakers should be a match for any of those four opponents. A 3-1 record is not impossible – quite the opposite.
The rivalries within the state
Essentially, Purdue will begin and end the 2024 season with two in-state rivalry games. The team will host Notre Dame on September 14 and end the season against Indiana on November 30 in Bloomington.
There is a lot at stake in both games, but for different reasons.
This year’s game against the Fighting Irish will be the first time the two teams have played in West Lafayette since 2013. Notre Dame has also won six straight games in the series. This once-a-year rivalry is finally back on track and Purdue would love to win on its home turf.
As for Indiana, new coach Curt Cignetti has added fuel to the fire that burns 365 days a year. When he was hired, he shouted to an audience at Assembly Hall, “Purdue sucks!” The Boilers would love to prove him wrong.
These should be two exciting rivalry games to help kick off and close out Purdue’s football season.
forecast
First, I’m not a big fan of predicting final results. There are too many factors and variables that play out over the course of the season. But I think Purdue is good enough to win six games — even if the Boilers are tipped to finish last in the Big Ten.
Yes, the schedule is incredibly challenging. But even if you believe Purdue loses all four games against the top-ranked opponents on the schedule – Notre Dame, Oregon, Ohio State and Penn State – there are still eight games that the Boilers could win (note that “could” is in italics).
And who knows what crazy things could happen if three of those games against higher-ranked opponents were played at Ross-Ade Stadium?
PURDUE SCHEDULE 2024: Purdue will enter the second season of the Ryan Walters era in 2024. Here’s a look at the Boilermakers’ schedule next year. CLICK HERE
WALTERS TALKS ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF MORNING PRACTICE: Purdue has been practicing in the morning under Ryan Walters. The second-year coach explained the benefits of practicing earlier in the day. CLICK HERE
