Barry Odom took the podium Monday morning to break down his thoughts following a heartbreaking Week 2 loss to Wake Forest and preview the Big Ten opener against UCLA.

What did Odom have to say during his weekly presser? Here are some of the most important quotes as the Boilermakers prepare for a trip to Los Angeles.

The decision to kick the PAT in the first OT vs. Wake Forest

Saturday was one of the most exciting games Purdue has played in quite some time, even though the Boilers fell on the wrong side of the result. Odom had the opportunity to win it on fourth down from the three-yard line at the end of regulation and again by going for two at the end of the first overtime.

Odom felt the best decision was to keep his team in the fight.

“Going into that first overtime, we talked about it as a staff and decided, ‘Let’s stay in the fight.’ And see how long we could go play,” he said. “After that play, there was still more conversation, but I made the decision. Go ahead and kick the extra point. Let’s go down to the other end, the student section, and the band, and see if we can get it won.”

Unfortunately, the Boilermakers fell just a few inches short, making the decision not to end the game with the offense a point of conversation. Still, Odom believes his team is in the right spot and has the correct mentality moving forward.

Travel plans to UCLA

One of the biggest topics of conversation within the newly aligned Big Ten is the travel between time zones. The trip from West Lafayette to Los Angeles is particularly demanding, something the Boilermakers will encounter before their Week 3 matchup against UCLA. Odom said the team’s travel strategy has been planned with preparation in mind.

“We’ll get out there early Friday. We’ll have all of our work done here from the physical side. We’ll do our Friday practice here. Most of our meetings, and then we get out to the L.A. area, Friday afternoon, and then we’ve got all day, you know, all evening, Friday, and all day Saturday, to get ready to go play,” Odom said.

Purdue will complete the majority of its preparation for the Bruins before leaving for the West Coast. Once the team arrives in Los Angeles, Odom expects his players to lock in and focus during the final 48 hours before Saturday’s 11 p.m. ET kickoff.

Thoughts on Xavier Townsend’s blindside block

The penalty numbers improved in Week 2, with Purdue being flagged for 50 yards compared to 85 in the season opener against Indiana State. As a head coach, Odom obviously wants that number to reach zero, but one penalty in particular stood out.

In the third quarter, Ryan Browne found Syracuse transfer Jaylan Hornsby for a chunk gain, but a block from Xavier Townsend was ruled a blindside block and resulted in a penalty that halted Purdue’s momentum.

Odom said it was a tough position for Townsend to be in.

“I thought the crack back on the screen by Xavier, you know, he’s just gonna have to completely give himself up. That’s a tough thing to do in that spot,” Odom said. “It looked like it was a big crushing block. It really, he let up, you know, quite a bit, but, again, technique-wise, we got to get that fixed.”

Against a UCLA team with plenty of explosiveness, Purdue cannot afford to give away unnecessary yards through penalties. While Townsend appeared to let up on the block, Odom said Purdue will use the play as a teaching opportunity and continue working to clean up its penalty issues.

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