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New Purdue Coach Has ‘Plan to Win’ – Will it Work?

December 20, 2024 | The Paper of Montgomery County |

New Purdue football coach Barry Odom has been working quietly to not only put together a staff but fill the many holes on the Boilermaker roster.

Odom has announced that his staff will include holdover running backs coach Lamar Conard, offensive coordinator Josh Henson from USC and two assistants from Arkansas, defensive line coach Kelvin Green and defensive ends coach Jake Trump.

For those Purdue fans wanting to know more about Odom, a handful of YouTube videos from the American Football Coaches Association offer a hint of his philosophies and coaching style.

“The Plan to Win” outlines six baselines that Odom used to win 19 games over two seasons at UNLV. Sadly, many of these principles have not been seen inside Ross-Ade Stadium for years.

  1. Take care of the ball. The 2024 Rebels were tied for eighth in the nation in turnover margin at plus 13. Purdue was 130th out of 133 schools at minus-14, having forced only five turnovers in 12 games.
  2. Run the ball and stop the run. UNLV’s 251.2 rushing yards per game average ranked fifth this season. Purdue tied for 110th at 115.3 yards per game. Defensively, the Rebels held foes to an average of 109.8 yards to rank 16th. Six Big Ten teams ranked in the top 11, including Indiana’s nation-leading 70.8 average. Purdue gave up an average of 200 rushing yards, ranking 119th.
  3. Special Teams Factor. UNLV led the nation with five blocked punts and tied for third with three blocked kicks.
  4. Preparation is our edge.
  5. Penalties/Discipline. Part of Odom’s offseason preparation is called “Winning Edge.” Starting in late February, Odom’s teams gather at 6 a.m. for drill work. “It’s one of the best things I believe our coaches do … in getting us a winning edge of having discipline and structure.
  6. Finish in the fourth quarter. UNLV outscored its opponents 110-72 in the final 15 minutes.

At the same AFCA Convention in Nashville, Tenn., Odom laid down the foundation of “The Rebel Way,” which presumably becomes the Boilermaker Way.

  1. Commitment to being a great teammate. Not always easy to do in an era where some players only commit to the highest bidder. “Our accountability level to ourselves and our teammates will make the difference in our level of success,” Odom said. “How badly do we want to be great?”
  2. Unselfishness. See above. “We over Me” seems cliché but it was obvious during last season’s 11-game losing streak fans saw far more “me” than “we.” That’s coaching and a lack of leadership from the players.
  3. Three promises. Go to class, have a great attitude and have the willingness to be coached. “If you don’t go to class and are not responsible in that area, there’s no way in the world we can count on you when its fourth down and one and we need a stop … or complete a slant,” Odom said.
  4. Trust. “Build trust in each other to always do the right thing for our team,” Odom said.
  5. Growth every day. This covers academics, social life and athletically. “There is almost no limit to the potential of an organization that recruits good people, raises them up as leaders and continually develops them,” Odom said.
  6. Toughness. This covers mental and physical traits.
  7. Self–discipline. Have the character and the toughness to make the right choice.
  8. Unmatched effort/urgency/enthusiasm.
  9. Eliminate mistakes.
  10. Be a great competitor. “Don’t ever accept losing. As soon as it’s allowed once, it will be easy to do the rest of your life,” Odom said.
  11. Expect to win.
  12. Consistency. “(Give) your very best every time.”
  13. Leadership. “Be willing to change what isn’t right.”
  14. Responsibility. No excuses allowed.

As of Dec. 17, Odom has supplemented the five-man recruiting class held over from Ryan Walters’ staff with five former UNLV signees. Odom says he has 13 questions for a recruit’s high school or junior college coach, including one that echoes former Purdue coach Joe Tiller’s must-have of “do what you’re supposed to do, when you’re supposed to do it, the way it’s supposed to be done and do it that way every time.”

Some are obvious (Does he have the ability and desire to be a great college player? Does he have a good attitude? Is he a great competitor? Can he be coached and how does he react to criticism? Any medical problems?).

Some are not so obvious (Does he love to play football? Is he liked and respected by his teammates and coaches? Does he lead vocally or by example?)

Coaches are also asked to rate the prospect on a scale of 1 to 10 for traits such as toughness, character and work ethic.

Time will tell if this is a winning template for Odom at Purdue.

Big Ten goes bowling

Eleven of the Big Ten (Plus 8) are in the postseason, and the league has one quarter of the 12-man College Football Playoff field.

Indiana opens both the conference and Playoff slate Friday night at Notre Dame. The winner gets a trip to New Orleans and a matchup with No. 2 seed Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

The Hoosiers have parlayed the nation’s best rushing defense and the No. 2 scoring offense (44.3 ppg.) into the first 11-win season in school history. Notre Dame is third in scoring offense (39.8) and 10th in rushing offense (224.8). Both are in the top 10 nationally in total defense.

Amazingly, this will be only the second matchup of the two in-state schools in my 63-year lifetime. The Fighting Irish won 49-27 in 1991 to increase their series lead to 23-5-1 against the Hoosiers. Four of Indiana’s five wins against Notre Dame came between 1898 and 1906, long before Knute Rockne made his way to South Bend as an undergraduate. The other came in 1950, the same year Purdue ended Notre Dame’s 39-game undefeated streak.

It’s possible this matchup will come down to the final possession, but Notre Dame Stadium is a mighty difficult place to leave with a victory. The Fighting Irish will move on.

Ohio State and Penn State continue the Playoff schedule on Saturday and both should win. The Buckeyes should be motivated to get the bad taste out of their mouths for losing again to Michigan. They will ride the nation’s top-ranked defense to victory against Tennessee and earn a rematch with top-seeded Oregon in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.

James Franklin is not known for winning big games, and SMU has the speed and playmakers to test Penn State in Happy Valley. A victory sends Penn State to the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve and a winnable matchup with third-seeded Boise State in the quarterfinals.

Most years, a Michigan-Alabama matchup is College Football Playoff quality. It’s a rebuilding year for both, but I like the Crimson Tide in the ReliaQuest Bowl on New Year’s Eve.

Here are my picks for the other Big Ten bowl games:

Guaranteed Rate (Dec. 26); Kansas State over Rutgers

Las Vegas (Dec. 27): Texas A&M over USC

Pinstripe (Dec. 28): Nebraska over Boston College

Music City (Dec. 30): Iowa over Missouri

Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl (Dec. 31): Louisville over Washington. It’s too bad the winner of this game and the Pop Tarts Bowl champion (Iowa State or Miami, Fla.) can’t meet for the Kellogg’s Cup in Battle Creek, Mich.

Citrus (Dec. 31): Illinois over South Carolina

Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Jan. 3): Minnesota over Virginia Tech.

Kenny Thompson is the former sports editor for the Lafayette Journal & Courier and an award-winning journalist. He has covered Purdue athletics for many years.