Final Score: Nevada 34 Purdue 31

Brief Recap: Year 3 of the Jeff Brohm era appeared to be getting off to a good start. Purdue opened the game with a 10-0 lead on the road against a Group of Five opponent, building a 24-7 lead at half and maintaining a 31-14 advantage into the third quarter over Nevada. But Wolf Pack quarterback Carson Strong took things to entirely different level in the fourth quarter, leading two touchdown drives in the final minutes of the game, and getting his team into field goal range following a late-game interception thrown by Purdue’s Elijah Sindelar. Brandon Talton finished the upset with a 56-yard field goal to win it.

Key Moment: Less than a minute to play and the game tied a 31-31, Purdue tried to move the football down the field in a hurry to get either in field goal range or across the goal line. Neither happened. Instead, Sindelar threw an interception on the second play of the drive, picked off by Daniel Brown. It was a really bad decision that cost Purdue the game.

Key Stat: Purdue had five turnovers. Nevada didn’t have any. That’s really the extent of it. Any other questions on the subject?

Key Player: Coming into the season, Carson Strong was expected to be the backup quarterback or potentially even the third-string quarterback. Thrust into a starting role, Strong performed well on the bright stage. He completed 30-of-51 pass attempts for 295 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. He also rushed for 34 yards on six carries. He came up huge in the fourth quarter during critical stretches for the Wolf Pack.

What it Means: Losing to Nevada isn’t exactly great for a Purdue team that was expected to challenge for a division title. But, it’s certainly not time to panic. There were a lot of factors involved, and the late-night kickoff and altitude can’t be ignored. I think it’s fair to say those things played a role in the outcome. Most importantly, though, the Boilers are still young and a bit inexperienced, meaning there are some growing pains involved. You saw Purdue tighten up in the final minutes of the game — which is the most common trait of a young team.