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Purdue won 56 minutes Thursday night against Penn State.
But the Nittany Lions walloped the Boilermakers for 4 — a critical 2 minutes at the end of the first half and 2 at the end of the game — and Penn State escaped Ross-Ade Stadium with a season-opening 35-31 win. Purdue, meanwhile, has to recover from seeing one slip through its fingers.
Let’s take a look at 5 things we learned:
Can Purdue run? Or not?
For the first 54 minutes on Thursday, the Boilermakers’ running game was competent, as King Doerue had rolled up 53 yards on 14 carries. As whole, Purdue had 87 on 20 attempts (taking out the yardage lost on sacks).
But when the moment mattered most, Coach Jeff Brohm went completely away from the running game, and Purdue’s inability to run a 4-minute clock-killing offense spelled doom in the final 6 minutes. On the 2 drives after the Boilermakers took the lead on Chris Jefferson’s pick-6, Brohm called for passes on 13 of 14 plays. It extended the game and allowed the Lions to take the lead with less than a minute left.
Granted, Purdue could have won had only Aidan O’Connell connected with Payne Durham on a 2nd-down attempt — his catch was reversed, correctly, on replay — or Tyrone Tracy on 3rd while the Boilermakers were nursing a 3-point lead with less than 3 minutes left. But if Brohm had confidence in the running game, he could have leaned in on it more frequently, chewed up clock and gotten the needed first down.
Yes, Purdue wants to be aggressive, but it must be able to run the ball while holding a lead. And the Boilermakers couldn’t do it on Thursday.
Not ready for primetime
Mistakes doomed the Boilermakers.
Purdue had a chance at the end of the first half to at least pull within a point, if not take the lead, at halftime. Instead, TJ Sheffield turned the ball over on a fumble, then the Lions scored on a big play against a broken defense with only ticks left to the break. It was at least a 10-point swing, if not 14.
But penalties killed too. The Boilermakers had 9 of them for 92 yards, frequently nuking momentum and sapping Purdue of a chance to win. On Purdue’s first offensive possession after taking the lead, the Boilermakers looked to have picked up a critical clock-milking first down on an Aidan O’Connell pass to Durham. But Doerue was called on a chop-block penalty, then Purdue had a delay-of-game, forcing it into a 2nd- and then 3rd-and-30.
Penn State also converted 5 first downs via penalty, severely hampering the Boilermakers’ ability to get off the field.
Everything’s fine
Purdue lost.
But the season isn’t down the drain. Purdue did enough well on Thursday night, scoring 24 points offensively and getting a defensive score, plus rallying back in the third quarter after the disastrous series of events at the end of the first half, to make many feel like the Boilermakers can win a lot of games in 2022.
They still have a favorable schedule, likely to be favored in the next 3 games, before difficult back-to-back road games at Minnesota and Maryland. If Purdue wants to win the Big Ten West, it might need a make-up victory somewhere, perhaps at Minnesota or at Wisconsin, but a single loss hasn’t destroyed goals.
O’Connell had a solid day, with 356 yards and a touchdown, while the Boilermakers, at times, appeared to have plenty of skill weapons. And the defense came up with several big plays, none bigger than Jefferson’s 72-yard interception return for a touchdown.
The real deal
The biggest star of the game for the Boilermakers was newcomer Charlie Jones, who had a game-high 12 receptions for 153 yards and a touchdown.
The former Iowa WR transferred to Purdue looking for a chance to be a bigger part of an offense. And so far, so good. He rekindled a boyhood relationship with O’Connell — the 2 had played together as youths in Illinois — and it was a great connection. Jones might not be the same kind of star as Boilermakers before him such as David Bell and Rondale Moore, but he’s a reliable catcher who has a great rapport with Purdue’s QB.
And it’ll be a duo that’s fun to watch this season.
No go
Purdue’s quest to replace the productivity of George Karlaftis gets a Game 1 … D-minus.
The Boilermakers simply couldn’t hit home and pressure PSU QB Sean Clifford, and it killed the Boilermakers at moments in the loss. Purdue had only 1 sack, when Scotty Humpich came off the bench to bring down Clifford in the second half. It was a good look for the Boilermakers, with Humpich lining up on the outside and forcing starting end Jack Sullivan to tackle. It’s a D-line package that Purdue should likely go to more frequently, especially on opponents’ passing downs.
But the Boilermakers must disrupt the opposing quarterbacks if they are to have more sustained defensive success.
Kyle Charters, a familiar face at Gold & Black, covers Purdue, Indiana and college basketball for Saturday Tradition.