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Jeff Brohm: Boilermakers entering primetime season opener with ‘a chip on their shoulder’
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Jeff Brohm and Purdue are ready for week 1. The Boilermakers get a prime-time tilt against Penn State on Thursday. Thus, Purdue will be looking to make a statement against one of the nation’s traditional powers.
Brohm admitted at his press conference it’s a position the Boilermakers have thrived at over the years (Via 247 Sports):
“Well, that’s one of our strengths, ” said Brohm. Our guys have a chip on their shoulder. They all think they’ve been overlooked to a certain degree. They’re out to prove themselves. They’re willing to put in the work to get it done. They love playing great opponents.”
Purdue finished 9-4 (6-3 B1G) and won the Music City Bowl over Tennessee last season. Penn State went 7-6 (4-5 B1G) before losing to Arkansas in the Outback Bowl. The Nittany Lions are looking for a bounce-back season with Purdue first in the way.
“So we’ve had a couple of good games where we’ve risen to the challenge,” said Brohm. At the same time, Penn State is going to be hungry. I know last year didn’t go exactly the way they wanted, but they’re very talented and they’re very physical and they’re fast. “So they present challenges to us that you’re normally going to face one or two, maybe three teams of this caliber every year. Right off the bat, it just means we’ve got to be able to do that Game 1.
This is a huge test for Purdue, who also has road tests against west division favorites Minnesota and Wisconsin later in the season. A win could give the Boilermakers a ton of momentum.
“We have some expierence,” said Brohm. I hope that will help us get going, but at the same time, it’s a new team, new year, and new players have to step and emerge.”