USC 33 - Purdue 17 - Three Plays Change The Game

Make no mistake, Purdue fans didn’t expect to win this game. Did they think there was a chance? Sure, but expect to win it? No. Just look at the fan survey results from this week. Just 25% of you all thought that Purdue would take down the Trojans. What we wanted though was some signs that this team was building something. We saw a BIT of that in the first half while also seeing that this team still has so much more to go. After putting together a really impressive second drive that brought them all the way to the red zone Purdue found themselves in a 3rd and goal situation. Ryan Browne was flushed to the left and instead of trying to take one man and maybe get in the end zone he opted for the more difficult through to the end zone. Instead of the TD or the ball falling harmlessly to the turf it resulted in a USC interception and a touchback. So instead of taking a 7-3 lead it allowed the Trojans to take the ball and go down to put more points on the board and make it 10-0. Those kind of mistakes are exactly what a team like Purdue, a team trying to rebuild from the cellar of college football, cannot afford to make. There simply isn’t enough margin for error with this squad to make mistakes like that. Browne will learn that he can’t make that decision, but in the meantime Purdue suffers the consequences.

It wasn’t all on the offense though as Purdue gave up big play after big play to an admittedly very talented USC offense. In the first quarter alone USC had five plays of over 20 yards. They just couldn’t stop the USC offense. That’s a talented group out there, we’ve got future WWE wrestler, and possibly Tribal Chief, Jayden Maiava out there going 11-14 for 184 yards in the first half in addition to 12 rushing yards and one touchdown. He’s a handful. Then you add in a crop of USC wide receivers/tight ends who measure in at Lemon (5’11”), Lane (6’4”), McRee (6’4”), and Hines (6’0”) and you can see why it might be a bit of a problem. USC was able to make a couple very good catches on deep ball in the first half thanks to that height advantage. USC also trusted their offense to make plays. Purdue’s defense did their best with USC going 3-6 on third down in that first half but USC then converted 2-2 on 4th down which essentially means they were 5-6 on third down (yes I know that’s not exactly what it means but the end result was the same, just stay with me.) This USC team had averaged 66 points coming into this game and had managed 42 and 31 points in the first halves of their two pervious games. In this one Purdue held them to 17. It’s not a win, but it’s progress.

Halftime was a fun ceremony celebrating the retirement of former Purdue QB Gary Danielson as he is retiring. Drew Brees of course was involved. Nice little scene.

Purdue’s defense held the USC offense to a FG on their first drive and it became dangerous territory for the Boilermakers as they went down 20-3. Purdues needed to make a play in order to stay in it and what’s that phrase, then a hero comes along? Purdues was driving down the field and drew up a trick play and the result? Well, you can’t argue with the results.

I’m sure that’s exactly how Barry Odom and staff drew it up. Right? Has to be. That made the score 20-10 and gave Purdue fans hope that they could turn it around. After holding USC to another field goal, after getting their hands on passes three times in the same drive, the score was 23-10. I’m not saying that Purdue had the momentum, but they kinda did have the momentum. A great throw to Nitro Tuggle led Purdue down to the USC 20 yard line on the ensuing possession. Tuggle appeared to have a seam to get into the end zone but just couldn’t get there fast enough before three USC players converged on him to make the stop. Just to plays later, disaster. Ryan Browne stepped back to pass and his arm was hit as he threw. That resulted in an interception from the 360 pound lineman Jamaal Jarrett who lumbered all the way down for the thickest of sixes.

It made the score 30-10 and a game that felt within Purdue’s grasp slipped away. A swim from 23-17 to 30-10 is backbreaking. Purdue had plenty of time remaining but that moment started an exodus of fans who had stuck with Purdue through the 3+ hour rain delay. It was a valiant effort by the Boilermakers but again, their margin of error is already so slim that these kind of mistakes just compound upon themselves.

One thing you can say about this Purdue team that you couldn’t say about last year’s team is they don’t give up. Despite the backbreaking thickest of sixes Purdue took the ball right back down, got to the red zone, and Browne threw a strike to Nitro Tuggle for his second touchdown of the season. The score was 30-17 at that point but it could’ve been so different. Hell, just flip that thickest of sixes to even a Purdue FG and you’re looking at 23-20. One play just made all the difference (yes I know USC would’ve had a possession in there with who knows what outcome, just go with me.).

The Purdue defense simply couldn’t get off the field with USC continuing to score points on every drive except for the one that ended that half. That is, until they attempted a FG. They doinked it, the third doinked FG at Ross-Ade this season somehow, and life was breathed back into the Purdue sideline. Purdue easily went down the field and made it into the red zone yet again thanks to some bad penalties from USC. Browne threw a perfect pass to Michael Jackson III but the King of Pop couldn’t hang on as replays showed the ball moving as he went to the ground. On the very next play Browne went to the air again and it resulted in the third red zone interception for the Boilermakers. That was all she wrote. USC went down the field once again and scored to make it. 33-17 but three plays had made all the difference in this one. Three trips to the red zone for Purdue resulted in 0 points for the Boilermakers. That’s the difference right there.

Overall, it’s hard to be too terribly upset with this loss for the Boilermakers. Yes, it’s frustrating that they put themselves in position to win this one but made costly mistakes at the worst possible times. Yes, it’s frustrating that USC went 4-4 on fourth down. Yes, it’s frustrating that Purdue just couldn’t make the plays when they needed them on either side of the ball. Yes, it’s frustrating that Purdue still has not gotten either an interception or a fumble recovery on defense. But overall? This team just feels different than last year and for now, only for now, that’s enough for me.

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