The Purdue Boilermakers begin their 2019 season and their quest for a third straight bowl game with a road trip to face the Nevada Wolf Pack. Game time is at 9:30 EST on Friday, August 30, at Mackay Stadium in Reno, Nevada. Fans can watch the game on CBS Sports Network.
Oddsmakers list the Boilermakers as 10-point road favorites with an over/under of 58.5 points. Be sure to check out a full list of this week’s college football odds.
In two short years, Jeff Brohm has stabilized the Purdue program after inheriting one of the worst power-5 teams in the country. Brohm has led the Boilermakers to bowl games each of the past two seasons. The school rewarded him with a new seven-year contract to keep him from taking the open job at Louisville.
Last year’s season was particularly impressive after the Boilermakers started the year 0-3. After such a poor start, Purdue won five of their next six games, including wins against three against ranked teams, highlighted by their 49-20 upset of Ohio State. With two bowl games and a couple of marquee wins under his belt, Brohm would love to take the Boilermakers to another level in 2019 and start competing at the top of the Big Ten West division.
Nevada, meanwhile, is in the midst of a turnaround as well. The Wolf Pack went 3-9 in Jay Norvell’s first season in 2017. But they made huge strides last season, winning five of their last six games, including a bowl win over Arkansas State, to finish 8-5.
Of course, now Norvell has to sustain that success. Nevada has failed to reach a bowl game only three times since 2005, so this is a program that’s grown accustomed to winning seasons over the past decade. Also, the Wolf Pack hasn’t won a conference championship since 2010 when they were part of the WAC, so they have aspirations to compete for a Mountain West title this year now that Norvell has a strong foundation in place.
The only previous meeting between Purdue and Nevada came in 2016. The Boilermakers came away with a 24-14 win at home, a result the Wolf Pack would be happy to match this time around.
I’m always a little nervous to have a mid-level power-5 team play as a road favorite against a solid mid-major program. But I honestly believe that Purdue is capable of taking that next step, and that means taking care of business against a good Nevada team. In the end, 10 points isn’t that big of a spread, especially since the Wolf Pack have a few questions to answer. I’ll trust the Boilermakers to cover.
Purdue may have lost starting quarterback David Blough, but Elijah Sindelar should be ready to step in without skipping a beat. Sindelar split time with Blough two years ago and passed for over 2,000 yards, tossing 18 touchdowns to just seven interceptions. He has big-time arm strength, which will allow the Boilermakers to take chances down the field against a Nevada secondary that is replacing a lot of key contributors from last season.
In addition to Sindelar giving Purdue a quarterback with some experience, the Boilermakers also have one of the most electric playmakers in the country in Rondale Moore. As a receiver, runner, and returner, Moore had over 2,200 all-purpose yards last season. He saved some of his best performances for late in the season, so I expect him to hit the ground running as a sophomore. The Boilermakers also have some young, promising receivers and an experienced tight end in Brycen Hopkins, so Sindelar will have no shortage of playmakers around him.
To be fair, Nevada also has a nice collection of offensive skill players. Receivers Kaleb Fossum and Romeo Doubs are both proven commodities while starting running back Toa Taua is also back in the fold. The wild card, however, is the quarterback spot with Ty Gangi out of the picture after two years as the starter.
Replacing Gangi will be redshirt freshman Carson Strong. He beat out a few talented, not to mention older, quarterbacks for the starting job, and there’s little doubt that Strong brings plenty of upside to the position. But it won’t be easy for him to pick up where Gangi left off last season. There could be some early-season growing pains, especially against the Purdue defense.
Ultimately, I expect the Purdue defense to be the difference in the game. The Boilermakers return most of their key players from last season and also added a couple of nice pieces during the offseason. Given some of the additions to the defensive line, the Boilermakers have a chance to push around the Nevada offensive line, which has some holes to fill after last year. With Purdue returning plenty of experience at linebacker and in the secondary, they should be ready to face a young quarterback.
While I expect Nevada to be competitive in this game, I like Purdue to pull away in the second half. The Boilermakers have the more experienced quarterback and more explosive playmakers. Both teams will have some success on offense, but it’ll be tough for the Wolf Pack to keep up over four quarters. I like my chances leaning toward Purdue to cover 10 points.