Countdown to kickoff: Penn State at Purdue football

WEST LAFAYETTE – Welcome to Countdown to Kickoff prior to Thursday’s opener between Penn State and Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium:

What you need to know – and it’s not all game related:

▶ Happy Birthday to … quarterback Aidan O’Connell. He turns 24 on Thursday.

“Thanks for that reminder,” O’Connell said.

The easy gift is a victory to start the 2022 season.

“That’s the only thing I want,” he said.

▶ Speaking of O’Connell, Name, Image and Likeness has allowed the sixth-year standout to appear in a commercial promoting Purdue University. In the past, the school used actors. The commercial will air during the television broadcast.

▶ Speaking of O’Connell again, his first college game was against the Nittany Lions in State College in 2019. He replaced Jack Plummer, who was sacked 10 times during a 35-7 loss. O’Connell was 1-for-1 for 4 yards.

“I do remember how it came about – we weren’t playing the best. We were getting smoked. That’s a pretty big time atmosphere to get your first action,” O’Connell said. “They were really good. My guy Jack got sacked. It was a bad day, bad memories.”

▶ The Boilermakers will feature two No. 16s on Thursday.

That’s O’Connell’s number but it’s part of the helmet decal honoring former Purdue quarterback Len Dawson, who died earlier this month. Dawson, who led the Kansas City Chiefs to its first Super Bowl and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, also wore No. 16.

▶ Penn State is a 3.5-point favorite as of Thursday morning. Under Jeff Brohm, the Boilermakers have performed well in the home underdog role posting an 8-4 mark in the last 12 situations. The Lions are 10-4-1 against the number when playing Purdue in the last 15 meetings. The last time the Boilermakers were a favorite against Penn State was 2004.

▶ Purdue’s season ticket count surpassed 38,000 earlier this week.

▶ Who’s going to ask former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer about his last trip to Ross-Ade Stadium during Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff show, which starts at 7 p.m? Meyer and the Buckeyes were routed by the Boilermakers 49-20 during a Blackout atmosphere in 2018. Meyer returns to the pregame show after a brief stint as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Rob Stone, Brady Quinn, Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart are on the clock.

▶ Fox has four television production trucks on campus– two for the game and two for the pregame show. The network has approximately 200 personnel on-site for the broadcast.

▶ Purdue has issued more than 180 credentials to local, national and visiting media.

▶ Two familiar faces are part of Penn State’s program.

Former Boilermaker star Taylor Stubblefield is the program’s receivers coach and former assistant Anthony Poindexter is co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach.

Poindexter begins his second year on coach James Franklin’s staff after spending the first four years with the Boilermakers.

“I think that’s going to be fun. Great dude,” Purdue safety Jalen Graham said. “I’ve got nothing bad to say about him, but we definitely want to win.”

Stubblefield starts his third season at Penn State and second as offensive recruiting coordinator.

“I would not be telling the truth if I said that it's just a normal, regular game,” Stubblefield told Penn State reporters this week.  “I've never played, I've never coached against Purdue. My son has never been back to Purdue that he can remember. There’s things like that make it cool.”

▶ Who will lead “Shout?”

Drew Brees is in town. Other notable former players will be in attendance. How about an NBA Lottery pick?

▶ Only one freshman has a chance to see the field for the Boilermakers on Thursday and maybe this season.

Defensive end Nic Caraway has been impressive during the preseason practices and the goal is to allow the Texas native to ease into the college game on special teams. Caraway likely won’t last four years at Purdue since he’s a gifted athlete with a lot of upside.

“I don’t know when, I don’t when, but he will,” co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Ron English said. “He is strong, he is fast, and he loves football. He has to learn what to do. I see him playing. I don’t know about Thursday.”

▶ The honorary captain for Thursday’s game is former Purdue quarterback Mark Herrmann, who was named the Big Ten MVP in 1980.

Mike Carmin covers Purdue sports for the Journal & Courier and USA Today Network. Email mcarmin@gannett.com and follow on Twitter and Instagram @carmin_jc

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue football vs. Penn State: What to know ahead ahead of game today