Jeff Brohm praises QB Aidan O'Connell, 'grit' of Purdue in road win over Northwestern
Purdue is getting pretty good at pulling off dramatic, late-game finishes.
After knocking off Nebraska with a late touchdown by David Bell, the Boilermakers used a big second half against Northwestern to secure the win. The Wildcats scored the first 14 points in the game, but Purdue stormed back in the second half.
Jeff Brohm’s squad used a 17-6 run in the second half to overcome the deficit and pull out a win. It took a game-winning field goal, but it goes down as back-to-back wins as Purdue continues to deal with numerous injuries.
After the win, Brohm praised his group’s grit and perseverance, highlighting that some of his players are even battling through injury:
Jeff Brohm: “We took the field hungry and competed and that’s what we needed to do to win.”
— ISC Purdue 🚂💨💨💨 (@ISC_PU) November 9, 2019
Jeff Brohm: “We have some toughness, we have some grit… we have some guys playing injured. To come up here and win when we haven’t won here in 9 years is big.”
— ISC Purdue 🚂💨💨💨 (@ISC_PU) November 9, 2019
One of the positions where Purdue is especially banged up is at quarterback. The Boilermakers lost starter Elijah Sindelar earlier in the year and then lost backup Jack Plummer in the game against Nebraska.
That led Aidan O’Connell to start for Purdue. All he did was pull off a second straight game-winning drive for the Boilermakers in dramatic fashion. Needless to say, Brohm knows Saturday’s win had to feel good for O’Connell:
Jeff Brohm: “We got him a lot of easy completions under 10 yards and he took it… they adjusted and changed and made it tougher….he puts in the time and the work. For him to come up here and win not to far where he’s from, we know he’s happy.”
Brohm on Aidan O’Connell
— ISC Purdue 🚂💨💨💨 (@ISC_PU) November 9, 2019
Now at 4-6, Purdue faces tough games against Wisconsin and Indiana in an attempt to get to bowl eligibility. While that may be tough, it’s been an undoubtedly resilient year for the Boilermakers.