COLUMBIA, MO. • With every turnover and penalty flag they’ve earned this season, the Purdue Boilermakers have proved why quick fixes are unusual in college football.
Not that last year’s 7-6 record was a mirage. But with home losses to Northwestern and Eastern Michigan to kick off this season, the magic spells first-year coach Jeff Brohm cast on his program last year seems to have worn off.
Penalties sabotaged both games, turning one of the turnaround teams of 2017 into an early fraud candidate for 2018.
With his creative offense and a veteran defense, Brohm built an instant winner, enough to earn looks from Tennessee’s dysfunctional head-coaching search in the offseason.