Penn State football’s Nov. 16 opponent has made a significant chance.
Sunday evening, Purdue, which is off to a 1-3 star, fired offensive coordinator Graham Harrell.
Purdue’s offense is 15th of 18 teams in the Big Ten, averaging 21.8 points per game.
That number is inflated by a 49-point output in a Week 1 shutout against Indiana State, which is Purdue’s only win. In the next three games, the Boilers scored 7, 21 and 10 points, respectively, good for a 16-point average. The most recent loss was a 28-10 clunker against Nebraska at home this past Saturday, where neither team scored in the first half and Purdue trailed 28-3 with 1:30 left prior to scoring a meaningless touchdown.
Announcing the decision, Purdue coach Ryan Walters said it was a difficult one.
“Decisions like this are never easy,” the statement read. “After evaluating our start to the season, I felt that it was best for our team to make a change now. We are appreciative of Graham’s contributions to our program and wish him the best going forward.”
BREAKING: #Purdue and Ryan Walters have relieved offensive coordinator Graham Harrell of his duties, effective immediately. @BoilerUpload pic.twitter.com/iB9gF1Dgh2
— Dub Jellison (@DubJellison) September 29, 2024
Harrell had been with Purdue since before the 2023 season.
Last year, Purdue finished sixth in the Big Ten in scoring, averaging just under 24 points per game.
Harrell is probably best known to college football fans for what he did as a player. More than 15 years after his last game, Harrell is still the all-time leading passer at Texas Tech.
Penn State is familiar with firing offensive coordinators.
The past November, it parted ways with Mike Yurcich with two games left in the regular season. So far, that decision has paid off. Penn State is averaging 36.3 points per game under new coordinator Andy Kotelnicki.
