Quarterback
*Starters in Bold
Ryan Browne: Snaps – 84 – Comp – 24/38 – Yds – 296 – Td – 0 – Rushes – 15 – Yds – 11
Grade
: DSay what you will about Purdue’s defense, and I’ll say plenty in that depth chart breakdown. The offense, including Ryan Browne, has been bad since the Minnesota game. Purdue had every opportunity to put this game away before halftime but couldn’t get the ball into the end zone once they reached the red zone.
In the first quarter, Purdue had a 9-play, 34-yard drive that ended with a 47 yard Echeverria
Lozano field goal.
In the second quarter, Purdue had a 7-play, 69-yard drive that ended with a 24-yard Echeverria-Lozano field goal.
In the second quarter, Purdue had a 12-play, 60-yard drive that ended with a 26-yard Echeverria-Lozano field goal.
In the second quarter, Purdue had a 10-play, 53-yard drive that ended with a 36-yard Echeverria-Lozano field goal.
In the fourth quarter, Purdue had an 11-play, 69-yard drive that ended with a 22-yard Echeverria-Lozano field goal.
That’s pathetic.
Purdue should have been up 20-7 at halftime, and Maryland would have probably been toast. Instead, the Terps hit the locker room down 12-7, feeling like they stole something. Purdue’s defense was fine in the first half. They gave up one big run but held the Terps to 7 points at halftime. If Ryan Browne makes a couple of plays inside the 10-yard line, the second half looks totally different. Maryland needed a reason to believe, and the Boilermakers gave it to them by their complete ineptitude inside the 10-yard line.
When the field shrinks, you need a quarterback who can make a play. That wasn’t Ryan Browne on Saturday. Every throw was a little off; every decision was a split second late. Fame Ijeboi and the running game share some of the blame, but Browne’s redzone play hasn’t been good enough all season. The goal of this game is to score points, and the player most responsible for scoring them is the quarterback. He gets the praise and the fast paycheck when things go right, and he needs to shoulder the blame when things go wrong.
Purdue wins this game with better quarterback play.
Running Back
- Fame Ijeboi: Snaps – 64 – Rushes – 19 – Yds – 32 – Td 1 – Rec – 5 – Yds – 35
- Antonio Harris: Snaps – 13 – Rushes – 5 – Yds – 51 – Rec – 1 – Yds – 2
- Jerrick Gibson: Snaps – 7 – Rushes – 2 – Yds – 5
Grade: F
I’m not sure what’s happened to Fame Ijeboi since the Minnesota game, but he needs to take a seat and let Antonio Harris and Jerrick Gibson give it a try. If you’re looking for one of the main differences between Purdue during their two-game “winning streak” and Purdue now, it’s the run game, or lack-there-of.
I got after Browne for Purdue’s redzone ineptitude, but Ijeboi is supposed to be the closer, and he was terrible inside the 10-yard.
On Purdue’s first unsuccessful trip inside the 10-yard line, he had a 2-yard run and caught a pass for -1 yard.
On Purdue’s crushing failure to score on 1st & Goal from the 3 at the beginning of the 4th quarter, he had a 1-yard run, then another 1-yard run, then a run for -3 yards, which forced the field goal instead of, at minimum, another attempt to push the ball into the end zone from inside the 1-yard line. If you can’t score a touchdown from first and goal at the 3-yard line, you don’t deserve to win. Josh Henson gave it to his supposed closer three times and ended up a yard behind the original line of scrimmage.
The offensive line isn’t great, but a good back finds a way.
Speaking of good backs, I’m officially starting the #FreeAntonioHarris campaign. For the 2nd time in 3 games, Harris outrushed Ijeboi despite getting only a fraction of his attempts. He’s not only faster than Ijeboi, but he’s actually reading blocks and making decisions instead of plowing forward into the back of the offensive line for another thrilling 1-yard gain.
In the last 3 games, Ijeboi has 43 rushing attempts for 71 yards. That’s 1.65 yards per attempt.
In the last 3 games, Harris has 10 rushing attempts for 131 yards. That’s 13.1 yards per attempt.
There needs to be a change. It should have happened against Maryland. It has to happen against Wisconsin.
Wide Receiver
- Xavier Townsend: Snaps – 56 – Targets – 9 – Rec – 5 – Yds – 22
- De’Nylon Morrissette: Snaps – 50 – Targets – 5 – Rec – 3 – Yds – 40
- Chauncey Magwood: Snaps – 14 – Targets – 2 – Rec – 0
- Jaylan Hornsby: Snaps – 37 – Targets – 1 – No Stats
- Assad Waseem: Snaps – 33 –Targets – 2 – Rec – 2 – Yds – 57
- Tra’Mar Harris: Snaps – 33 – Targets – 3 – Rec – 3 – Yds – 76
- Brandon Kinsey: Snaps – 32 – Targets – 8 – Rec – 3 – Yds – 49
Grade: C
The only positive about Purdue’s current plight is that there’s no harm in getting some of the young guys in the field. Chauncey Magwood started the game, dropped a reception, and then went to the bench for the remainder of the game, with Jayland Hornsby, Tra’Mar Harris, and Brandon Kinsey dividing his snaps on the outside. Hornsby didn’t do anything of note, but Harris continued to make plays downfield when given the opportunity, including a late 4th-quarter catch that put Purdue in perfect position to blow another redzone attempt and carry on the night’s theme through the final whistle. Whatever Kinsey was doing out there, he was at least drawing Browne’s attention. The freshman receiver out of Miami had the second most targets on the team, in what was essentially his first meaningful action of the season. All 3 of his receptions went for first downs, and he looked close to breaking something long. I want to see more from him down the stretch.
Xavier Townsend’s saving grace was his 30-yard touchdown run, as he couldn’t get anything going in the passing game. He’s supposed to turn short passes into long gains, but he couldn’t make anyone miss on Saturday. None of his 5 receptions went for a first down, and he only managed 12 yards after the catch. He’s got the speed to take it the distance if he can find space, but he’s not particularly elusive in the open field and goes down on first contact.
I’m not sure why Josh Henson and Ryan Browne forget about Waseem for large chunks of the game, because when they remember he’s on the field, good things tend to happen. Unlike Townsend, he did take a short pass and turn it into a big play, with a combined 24 yards after the catch on his two receptions. Including a reception where he actually made the first tackler miss. I didn’t realize that was still allowed.
Morrissette played well in his return from injury but really needed to find a way to get into the end zone instead of going down at the 3-yard line after his big catch in the 4th quarter. At this point, everything should be on the table to avoid the redzone. If you’re going down, pitch the ball, fumble it forward, literally do anything other than fall down inside the 10-yard line. In fact, if you’re running with the ball and think you can get inside the 10, but don’t have an angle for the end zone, just go ahead and step out of bounds at the 20 because this offense is better at putting it in the end zone from 20 yards out than they are at putting it in the end zone inside the 5.
I liked what I saw from the young players in this game, but, like every other position group, no one managed to get the ball into the end zone, which is the objective of the sport.
Tight End
- George Burhenn: Snaps – 69 – Targets – 2 – Rec – 2 – Yds – 15
- Brock Brownfield: Snaps – 8
Remember when I was complaining about Burhenn playing too little? Now he’s playing too much. He’s not a good run blocker, and Purdue has players on the roster who, in theory, are good run blockers, but they’ve been parked on the bench after being utilized earlier in the season. If Burhenn’s going to play 69 snaps, he needs to have more than 2 targets.
Freshman offensive lineman Brock Brownfield returned to the field as an auxiliary blocking tight end in short-yardage situations. As mentioned above, Purdue was abysmal in short-yardage situations.
Offensive Line
Left Tackle
Nuku Mafi: Snaps – 84
Left Guard
Marques Easley: Snaps – 84
Center
Boaz Stanley: Snaps – 84
Right Guard
Micah Banuelos: Snaps – 84
Right Tackle
- Rico Schrieber: Snaps – 50
- Jude McCoskey: Snaps – 34
Grade: F
If I’m calling out Browne and Ijeboi for Purdue’s inept redzone play, I’ve got to call out the offensive line, too. As an offensive lineman, you want your coach to give the running back 3 consecutive carries inside the 3-yard line. Coach Henson challenged the offensive line, and they failed to rise to the occasion. Center Boaz Stanley hasn’t moved a single defensive tackle out of a hole this season, and neither guard seems interested in getting lower than a defensive lineman and driving them off the line of scrimmage. This offense has been softer than baby poop, and I’m talking the newborn, black tar stuff. Part of the reason Fame can’t get going is that he’s fighting off tacklers as soon as he touches the ball, and the supposed “holes” are nothing but mirages. As soon as he gets to where the hole is supposed to be, he finds a defensive lineman and a linebacker waiting, while holding off a Purdue offensive lineman like a small child.
At tackle, Nuku Mafi and Rico Schriber had the two lowest run-blocking grades according to PFF. Schriber was so bad that he was replaced by McCoskey, who then posted Purdue’s lowest pass-blocking grade. McCoskey and Mafi both gave up a sack; neither was good in the run game, and a Maryland team credited with 4 quarterback pressures in their loss to Illinois had 30 quarterback pressures on Saturday.
Purdue made Maryland’s anemic defense look like the second coming of the 2001 Baltimore Ravens. I can assure you, they’re not that good.
The offensive line was simply that bad.
