WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – In Purdue’s weekly Monday presser with head coach Jeff Brohm, it became clear that quarterback Elijah Sindelars ability to play Saturday against Minnesota is still very much in question.
“Well, we’re still doing exactly what the doctors say. I think he’s making progress.” said Brohm, “We’ll see how this week goes. Really last week we thought he was making progress Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. It wasn’t until Thursday where some things popped up again, and that’s where we had to start the process over.”
Sindelar was injured during a late quarterback rush in the Boilers win over Vanderbilt on Sept. 7th. Before his injury, Sindelar led the nation in passing with 933 yards, including his 509-yard 5 TD performance against the Commodores.
In lieu of Sindelar, the Boiler went with Jack Plummer for his first NCAA start. His start was less than memorable, completing just 13 of 29 passes for 181 yards, two picks, and one TD pass. Adding salt to the wound, it’s worth noting that the touchdown pass came with Purdue trailing 34-6 and just 3:40 left in the game.
The matchup this weekend comes with both Purdue and Minnesota refreshed from a bye week. It’s the conference opener for both as well. Last season the Boilers went up to Minneapolis and received a shellacking from the Golden Gophers to the tune of a 41-10 loss.
With the lack of a true defensive presence, the boilers need production on offense. They have a 90th ranked rush defense which has allowed 175.3 yards on the ground per game and a passing defense that sits 102nd in the country, allowing 263.3 passing yards per game.
Sindelar is just one of more than a handful of Boilermaker that are banged up. Brohm is hopeful to get most of them back, but the playing decisions will have to wait until later in the week.
“As far as injuries at this point, we’re trying hard to get everybody back, and we’ll see towards the end of the week where we’re at, but I think everyone has put in the time to get better, but it’s just going to be a matter of where we’re at come Thursday and Friday.” said Brohm.
Without Sindelar in the lineup, it could be a long day for Purdue come Saturday. Even if Plummer plays and has a breakout game, it will most likely be a one-dimensional offense. The Boilermakers have the least amount of rushing yards in the country (150) and sit second-worst in the nation with 50 yards rushing per game. Without Sindelar playing, the team had 25 yards on the ground against TCU.
Written by Adrian Beecher
