2008 Purdue Boilermakers College Football Predictions Courtesy of Alex Smart, An Expert College Football Handicapper featured on Touthouse.com. If you are interested in college football betting this year, be sure to buy Alex Smart’s college football picks each week and guarantee a winning season!!

Purdue Boilermakers (8-5, 3-5 in 2007, 7th place in Big 10)
Last season the Boilermakers opened the season strong, starting 5-0 before getting roughed up at home by Ohio State, 24-7, and closed the season losing five of their last seven. Only 12 starters return from 2007 and questions abound if anyone can step up on the defensive side of the ball.

Offensive Outlook: The good news for Purdue is that senior QB Curtis Painter (32 starts, 8763 passing yards, and 54 touchdowns in his career) is one of the better quarterbacks in the Big 10 and has loads of experience. However, four of his five leading receivers don’t return in 2008 meaning that Greg Orton (752 yards receiving and three touchdowns) has to play a huge role this year.

Defensive Outlook: Five of the top six leading tacklers for the Boilermakers will need to be replaced, but LB Anthony Heygood (14 tackles for loss in 2007) does return to provide stability to the defense. This unit was gashed on the ground last year surrendering more than 150 yards rushing in seven of their games, and the front seven will need to show improvement.

2008 Outlook: The Boilermakers have two tough non-conference match-ups against Oregon and Notre Dame and can’t sleep on MAC favorite Central Michigan. The Boilermakers have made ten bowl appearances in Joe Tiller’s eleven seasons of coaching the team and want to send the coach out with one more bowl bid.

2008 will be a success if… The Boilermakers can make yet another bowl game and finish 2008 with a winning record. This has become the norm to expect in West Lafayette and what the team has accomplished virtually every year this decade.

The Boilermakers had only made four bowl appearances before Joe Tiller arrived and with the help of all time leading school passer Drew Brees, put Purdue on the map and made them a perennial contender in the tough Big 10. In his swan song, Tiller hopes to take the Boilermakers to one last bowl before he rides off into the sunset, but it will be tough after losing 23 lettermen.

Prediction: 5-7, 10th place in Big 10

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