I’ve never seen a defensive coordinator lose their job based on a single quarter, but that’s what happened to Kevin Kane on Saturday. Now, there’s a long list of defensive transgressions that had the Boilermaker defensive coordinator living on a razor’s edge coming into the game, but things looked promising in the first half. The defense was getting the ball back to the offense, and the offense was squandering golden opportunities to put the Terps away. They were looking for a reason to quit, but the Boilermakers’
red-zone offense kept giving them hope.
Maryland’s third quarter sealed Kane’s fate. They scored 3 touchdowns on 13 total plays, including a 75-yard touchdown run and a 44-yard touchdown pass. One of the 3 touchdowns came from a Ryan Browne fumble that put the ball on Purdue’s 2-yard line, so it’s hard to blame them for that one, but the other 2 were pretty much inexcusable. The third quarter bled into the 4th quarter, with Chris Durr Jr. making Purdue’s defense look like a bad J.V. unit on his 87-yard touchdown reception that drove a stake directly into the heart of the Kevin Kane regime.
It’s one thing to lack talent, and don’t get it twisted, Purdue lacks talent on defense, but it’s another thing altogether for a defense to quit on the field. The defense quit on that play, and it was all over for Kane. It will be interesting to see what the defense looks like under the yet-to-be-announced interim defensive coordinator, but something tells me he’ll struggle in similar ways.
These guys aren’t getting any bigger or faster; hopefully they don’t quit again.
Defensive Line
Defensive End
- CJ Madden: Snaps – 31 – Tackles – 4 – Sacks – 1 – T.F.L. – 1
- Breeon Ishmail: Snaps – 21 – Tackles – 1
- Keyshawn Burgos: Snaps – 17 – Tackles – 1
- Aiden Solecki: Snaps – 4 – No Stats
Nose Tackle
Curt Neal: Snaps – 34 – Tackles – 6 – T.F.L. – .5
Defensive Tackle
- Ian Jeffries: Snaps – 39 – Tackles – 2
- TJ Lindsey: Snaps – 13 – No Stats
- Josiah Hope: Snaps – 6 – No Stats
Outside Linebacker / Edge Rusher
- Jeremy Lewis: Snaps – 20 – Tackles – 1
- Trey Smith: Snaps – 10 – No Stats
Grade: D-
The stats look weird in this one because Maryland only needed 45 plays to score 34 points. It continues to be musical chairs at strong-side defensive end, with CJ Madden getting the nod here with 31 snaps despite Keyshawn Burgos getting the start. Madden recorded the Boilermakers’ only sack, and Burgos was credited with a quarterback hurry.
Jeremy Lewis started on the weak side but didn’t record a single pressure and made only one tackle. In theory, he’s Purdue’s best pass rusher. That theory was flawed on Saturday.
Mayland threw 18 passes, and Purdue managed to pressure Malik Washington only 3 times. That’s not good enough.
On the interior Curt Neal and Ian Jeffries received the majority of the work. 101 of Maryland’s 144 yards came from runs in the A gap, which isn’t ideal, but much of that blame falls on the linebackers and safeties. Credit where a sliver of credit is due; only 3 of Purdue’s 14 missed tackles were issued to the defensive line.
This group lacked talent on opening day and continues to lack it 9 games in.
Linebacker
Middle Linebacker
- Charles Correa: Snaps – 48 – Tackles – 5 – T.F.L. – .5
- Anthony Speca: Snaps – 3 – No Stats
Middle Linebacker
Jojo Hayden: Snaps – 48 – Tackles – 11
Weak Side Linebacker
Tre Moore: Snaps – 25 – Tackles – 2
Grade: F
Chales Correa played his worst game at Purdue. He made 5 tackles and missed 3 tackles in the run game. He hasn’t lived up to expectations this season. I don’t see anything on film that suggests he’s a Big Ten-caliber starting linebacker. He’s not fast enough to be a sideline-to-sideline linebacker, and he’s not strong enough to be a run-stuffing box linebacker. He misses too many tackles and doesn’t make up for it with big plays.
In terms of the run defense, JoJo Hayden may be the only Boilermaker who can walk off the field with his head held high on Saturday. He led the team with 11 tackles and missed only 1. He hasn’t been the problem. He’s been the best middle linebacker on the team by a wide margin, but he needs to be paired with someone faster than Correa. Hayden should always play inside and only in zone coverage because he’s not fast enough to cover running backs and tight ends man-to-man. According to PFF, he ended up matched up against a wide receiver twice in this game, resulting in 2 receptions for 55 yards a touchdown.
Tre Moore is playing about as well as you’d expect Tre Moore to play. He’s a replacement-level player in terms of talent, but he plays hard.
I don’t know, y’all, linebacker is pretty bleak, to be honest. I’d keep Hayden and rethink the rest of the position group this offseason. This defense needs a massive injection of speed.
Secondary
Right Cornerback
Don Saunders: Snaps – 45 – Tackles – 3 – Targeted – 2 – Rec Allowed – 2 – Yds – 11
Left Cornerback
Hudari Hines: Snaps – 44 – Tackles – 3 – Targeted – 5 – Rec Allowed – 5 – Yds – 82
Nickel Corner
- Smiley Bradford: Snaps – 18 – Tackles – 1 – Targeted – 1 – Rec Allowed – 0
- Mister Clark: Snaps – 10 – Targeted – 1 – Rec Allowed – 1 – Yds – 87 – Td – 1
Grade: F
I’ve defended Hudari Hines this season. He’s been adequate as a 2nd cornerback … for the most part. That wasn’t the case on Saturday. Maryland completed every throw they directed his way, with 4 of the 5 going for first downs. There’s no need to go after Don Saunders when you can attack Hines instead.
Speaking of Saunders, he’s been a bright spot in an otherwise dismal defense. He had another solid day in coverage but missed 2 tackles in run defense. He hasn’t been the problem this season.
I thought Mister Clark’s return would help the defense. Turns out I was wrong. He’s the defensive back on the hook for Maryland’s 87-yard touchdown. Bradford was better in coverage, but he also missed a tackle as a run defender.
At the end of the day, when Maryland needed a reception, they got a reception.
Free Safety
John Slaughter: Snaps – 48 – Tackles – 4 – Targeted – 2 – Rec Allowed – 1 – Yds – 6
Strong Safety
Justin Denson Jr.: Snaps – 38 – Tackles – 5 – Targeted – 1 – Rec Allowed – 1 – Yds – 4
Grade: D
This group was OK. They only missed 1 tackle, but when the other team was breaking off huge plays at will in the 3rd quarter, both were M.I.A. Slaughter’s been decent, but there’s a reason why both of these guys have bounced around to multiple teams in their careers. Their former teams have always found a player they prefer more. That makes sense.
