Quarterback Aidan O'Connell Motivated to Improve During Purdue Football's Bye Week
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue quarterback Aidan O'Connell was masterful to end the 2021 season, and the team's bye week marked the start of a dominant stretch that ended in a victory over Tennessee in the Music City Bowl.
As a sixth-year senior leading the Boilermakers this year, that same level of play hasn't come easy. O'Connell leads all Big Ten quarterbacks with 324.3 yards passing per game this season, but Purdue finds itself at 5-3 and 3-2 in conference play during its bye week.
O'Connell has thrown eight interceptions so far in 2022, which already matches his total from a year ago. He's gone five straight games with a turnover, including a season-high three giveaways in the team's 35-24 loss to Wisconsin last Saturday.
A break from action will offer the veteran signal-caller a chance to reset. The team will look for O'Connell to replicate last year's late-season success with four games left to play and a Big Ten Championship appearance still at stake.
"We have full confidence in Aidan because he works his rear end off and he's a great teammate and he cares," Purdue coach Jeff Brohm said on Tuesday. "He'll do whatever he can to improve and get better. You know, we've had a stretch of quite a few turnovers, and luckily we've been able to win a few of those games. And that's not normal."
Last season, the team fell to 2-2 on the year following a 20-13 home loss to Minnesota. But after the bye week, O'Connell led Purdue to a 6-2 record in its final eight games, which included wins over No. 2 Iowa and No. 3 Michigan State.
He threw interceptions in just two of those matchups while accounting for 2,969 yards through the air and 24 touchdowns, including a season-high five scores in a 48-45 overtime win against the Volunteers in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl.
O'Connell also completed more than 73 percent of his passing attempts for the Boilermakers in their eight-game stretch following a bye week. Fast forward to 2022, and Purdue is in the midst of an off week before returning to action on Saturday, Nov. 5, for a matchup with Iowa at Ross-Ade Stadium.
After a disappointing loss to the Badgers on the road at Camp Randall Stadium, the Hawkeyes are the same opponent the team met last year after its break.
"It's kind of similar to last year. We lose to Minnesota, had an off week then come back and play Iowa," O'Connell said after the loss against Wisconsin. "It's not super fun to go into the bye week like this, but I hope it motivates our team. I know it motivates me to work harder and do more than I did."
Purdue can claim the top spot in the Big Ten West by winning its final four games of the season — Iowa, Illinois, Northwestern and Indiana. It would mark the program's first appearance in the Big Ten Football Championship Game.
But to have a chance to win its games against tough divisional foes, the Boilermakers must limit self-inflicted damage. They've turned the ball over 10 times in the last four games but still managed to come away with three wins. O'Connell has also been sacked nine times in that span after only being taken down twice in the first three weeks of the season.
"We've got to figure out a way to knock it out," Brohm said. "It's not overcomplicated, but the quarterback position has to be able to tuck the football and run it at times when teams are dropping eight. He has to be able to find the check down as the last straw before he runs it and just take care of the football.
"I just think it's something we talk about and harp on a lot. He understands that and I just think he knows that that position needs, not necessarily just to play extremely well, but just be efficient and allow us the ability to score or punt the football and not turn it over."
Purdue boasts a 4-1 record over Iowa in the last five seasons under Brohm, so the Hawkeyes present a bounce-back opportunity to begin the final stretch of the year. When the two teams last met on Oct. 16 of 2021, O'Connell completed 30 of his 40 passing attempts for 375 yards and two touchdowns.
There's plenty of improvement Purdue can make ahead of its next matchup, but O'Connell will be among the most important pieces for a team that has hopes of playing for a Big Ten title.
"You get an extra week to study your next opponent, which is a great opponent," O'Connell said. "We're going to work as hard as we can and get back to it. I think when you win, sometimes things are covered up and all is well. But when you lose, those things come to light. So I think, myself personally and our team, we have things we have to work on."
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- Purdue Drops 16th Straight Game to Wisconsin, Losing 35-24
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.