Barry Odom was in this situation once before when he was a head coach for the first time. During his second season at Missouri, the Tigers started off the 2017 campaign with a 1-5 record and appeared to be heading towards another finish at the bottom of the SEC. Then, something happened.
A blowout victory over Idaho in the middle of the season sparked a six-game winning streak, which included victories over Florida, Tennessee and Arkansas. Mizzou ended that season with a 7-5 record in the regular season and earned a trip to a bowl game.
Fast forward 10 years and Odom finds himself in a similar situation. The Boilermakers got off to a 1-3 start, losing to Wake Forest, UCLA and Notre Dame. Whether anyone wanted to acknowledge it or not, Purdue entered October in a do-or-die situation.
Over the last two weeks, Purdue has looked like a completely different football team. The Boilers secured a 24-17 victory over Illinois, ending a nearly three-year drought without a Big Ten win. On Saturday night, the Boilermakers pummeled Minnesota 41-13 to even their record to 3-3.
The offense is playing efficiently, protecting the football, and has been effective both through the air with quarterback Ryan Browne and on the ground with running back Fame Ijeboi. The defense has been stingy, something we couldn't say through the first four weeks.
Everything seems to be coming together in West Lafayette. And now, major opportunities lie ahead over the next three weeks. Purdue hosts Washington at Ross-Ade Stadium on Friday. The Huskies are 3-3 without a Big Ten win. The Boilers get a bye week, then travel to Happy Valley for a matchup against a Penn State squad that is also 3-3 and still winless in the conference.
Not to put the cart before the horse, but Purdue has a legitimate opportunity to end October with at least four wins. If the Boilers continue to perform the way they have over the last two weeks, they could enter November needing just one victory to return to the postseason.
A goal that seemed almost impossible when September ended is now back on the table.
Odom did this once when he was at Missouri. Can he channel that same energy and produce a similar result in his second season at Purdue?
Not getting ahead of your skis
For Purdue to continue having success, Odom is taking a one-day-at-a-time approach. The Boilers are obviously preparing for Washington, but they're looking at the game with binoculars right now.
To avoid a letdown, Purdue is only focused on the next practice.
"I think you look at how hungry we are to go get the next one and have a 1-0 mindset. Whatever we did five weeks ago, we learned those lessons, and then it's gone. Whatever we did last Saturday, we learned from those lessons, and it's over," Odom said during his Monday press conference. "The mindset that takes. The understanding of having a great Tuesday practice, that's the most important thing we've got right now."
Odom has been consistent this season, never getting too high after a victory or too low following a loss. Although Purdue had its best performance in four seasons on Saturday against Minnesota, the team continues to approach every day and every practice with that "1-0" mentality.
If Purdue goes 1-0 this week, the Boilers will be 4-3 heading into their bye week. It's much further ahead of schedule than anyone outside of the locker room expected at this point in the year.
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