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Indianapolis – Three forced fumbles, several red zone stops and getting off the field on third down almost scored Purdue an upset against Louisville on Saturday night in Lucas Oil Stadium. Another play or two and the Boilermakers might’ve notched the biggest upset of Week 1 in college football.
Instead, the Cardinals made just enough plays to escape with a 35-28 victory.
Purdue’s defense, though. That defense that gave up 49 points to Iowa and 62 to Penn State last fall, and ranked as one of the worst nationally against the run last season, was the reason the Boilermakers even had a chance to win.
“I was really proud of the effort of our team,” Jeff Brohm said after his first game at Purdue. “I really liked our fight. Our defense kept us in the game in the first half. We found a way to get some tremendous turnovers.”
That’s not what everyone was suppose to be talking about.
Brohm is an offensive guru. His teams averaged at least 44 points per game all three years he was at Western Kentucky. He coached one of the most potent passing attacks in the country and won a pair of C-USA titles with that mentality.
But that was the story in Indianapolis on Saturday night. It was on the other side of the ball where Purdue noticed a drastic difference. Brohm and defensive coordinator Nick Holt seemingly transformed the Boilermakers defense overnight.
Louisville was going to put Purdue to bed early, after driving down the field in just three minutes. Reigning Heisman winner Lamar Jackson had the Cardinals two yards from the end zone on the first possession of the game. And after the last four years of low expectations, that “here we go again,” feeling started to seep in.
This was a different team, though. And that old mentality was thrown out the window.
Purdue’s defensive line smothered the Cardinals at the goal line, forced a fumble and Danny Ezechukwu headed the other direction with the recovery. New energy and new enthusiasm set in for a new brand of Purdue football.
.@BoilerFootball isn't backing down.
Ezechukwu scoops up Lamar Jackson's mistake and takes him for a 25-yard ride: https://t.co/FqQLHJbi4h
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 2, 2017
Brohm knows that’s the kind of effort it’s going to take to win in at Purdue.
“I think they learned the pure and simple fact of football is that if you really want to compete and believe in yourself and try and find a way to win, you can do it,” Brohm said after the game. “We were in the game. We had a chance to win.”
That fumble wasn’t the only time the Boilermakers flexed their muscle defensively.
Purdue’s defense stood tall again in the second quarter, forcing another turnover as Louisville was just three feet away from punching the ball across the goal line. It was like deja vu, only on the other end of the field.
This @BoilerFootball defense has been on the field a lot, and it keeps making plays.
The latest example is below. https://t.co/JeVLo4smel
— Purdue On BTN (@PurdueOnBTN) September 3, 2017
If you didn’t know heading into Saturday that Purdue surrendered more red zone touchdowns than any team in the B1G last year, you wouldn’t have believed it.
The Boilers forced three turnovers and made Louisville settle for field goals when it should’ve been scoring touchdown. A defense that’s been one of the worst in the country the last four seasons went toe-to-toe with a Heisman winner and the No. 16 Cardinals and never backed down.
“I’m proud of the defense, we did some really good things,” Brohm said. “To find a way to stop them in the red zone that many times, that’s not easy to do.”
Brohm’s right, that’s not an easy thing to do. It’s even more complicated against an offense that’s perceived to be one of the top in the nation. But Purdue did it, and on multiple occasions.
This was suppose to be a night dedicated to a new-look offense. Purdue was suppose to light up the scoreboard and compete in a shootout with 16th-ranked Louisville. The next Drew Brees was expected to emerge on Saturday.
All of that will come. Saturday night in Lucas Oil Stadium was reserved for the defense, and a damn good one.
Brohm knows what it takes to win at a high level. The preconceived thought that the Brohm era would be defined by high-scoring games and frequent shootouts might’ve been put it bed after the season opener.
Winning in the B1G without a defense is nearly impossible, especially at Purdue.
After Saturday night, it’s clear that Brohm and his staff understand that.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB