Purdue 31 – Ball State 0
We could not have asked for a more Saturday to open the Barry Odom era of Purdue football. The sun was shining, there was a wonderful note of a fall breeze, and a noon kickoff means that all of the students can get out of the game and still have plenty of time to party on a lovely long weekend. Of course, the game itself was a refreshing sight and very well could be described as a sigh of relief. Following the past two seasons, Purdue fans long awaited a semblance of fight
out of their football team, starting from the top down. From Barry Odom and down the roster, the Boilermakers provided just that, shutting out Ball State for their first shutout against and FBS team since doing so against Connecticut in 2021. Ryan Browne looked the part of the starting quarterback on a Big Ten team and a few different receivers really shined. On defense, making the Ball State uncomfortable in the pocket looked like a point of emphasis and led to 4 sacks and 7 tackles for loss. On special teams, Purdue missed no kicks and booted the ball the few times it needed to punt. It was an excellent day for the Boilermakers, so lets dive right in:
First Half
It took all of 40 seconds to get 55,000 fans in Ross Ade Stadium up and cheering as Purdue received the opening kickoff and provided fireworks on their opening drive. The drive only lasted 3 plays, so I will list them all:
1. Ryan Browne throws incomplete to Arhmad Branch off play action but a Ball State defensive hold moves the ball 10 yards
2. Devin Mockobee takes an outside handoff and gets to edge for a gain of 13 yards
3. Ryan Browne completes a play action crossing route to Arhmad Branch who subsequently breaks a tackle as well as hits the circle button on his controller to perform a spin move en route to a 49-yard touchdown
Mind you, this was the first career reception for Branch, so he definitely made it one to remember. This was a perfect drive from Purdue as they were clearly amped up.
On Ball State’s ensuing possession, the Cardinals do basically the opposite of Purdue as they recorded a rush for a loss of a yard, a dropped pass, and a completed pass that was not long enough for a first down. Purdue’s defense forced the 3 and out and would get another crack on offense.
For as good as the first offensive drive was, you could argue the second drive was better in that it was a drive of consistency that even overcame a penalty and a stuffed rush attempt in the redzone. Also, it contained arguably the best pass of the day as Ryan Browne dropped the ball in a bucket down the sideline for Arhmad Branch who brought it in with a one-armed catch.
This drive, like the first, would end in a Purdue touchdown, this time being a Ryan Browne scramble to the right pylon for his first career rushing touchdown. So, less than 6 minutes into the game, Ryan Browne is 4-4 for 109 yards with both a passing and rushing touchdown while Arhmad Branch has 3 receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown and Devin Mockobee has 24 rushing yards on 3 attempts. The offense was absolutely humming and the buzz was palpable.
To add fuel to the fire, the next Ball State drive would also result in a 3 and out, including a shared sack between CJ Madden and Jamarion Harkless.
Purdue’s offense would finally stumble on drive 3 as back-to-back runs that failed to gain positive yards created a third in long that Purdue could not get out of despite a completed pass to newcomer, Nitro Tuggle. The first punt of the day for Purdue went well as Jack McCallister sent it 45 yards to flip the field.
The following drive for Ball State would produce the first first downs of the game for the Cardinals but an underthrow while under pressure from QB Kiael Kelly forced another BSU punt.
Quarter 1 would end midway through Purdue’s fourth offensive drive, a methodical effort that saw Ryan Browne throw at 5 different guys (Harris, Burhenn, Jackson III, Horton, Watson) and eventually get all the way down to the Ball State 4-yard line where it was 4th and 1. Barry Odom would be agressive and brought out his jumbo package that included 6-8 lineman Jude McCoskey. Purdue went big and ran Devin Mockobee straight ahead on a direct snap which resulted in a 4-yard touchdown run to make it 21-0 Boilermakers.
Through the meat of the second quarter, Ball State and Purdue would trade 3 and outs and the next Ball State drive, the cardinals would again drive the ball, this time getting into Purdue territory. A timely sack on 3rd and 8 from LB Mani Powell set the Cardinals up for 4th and 16 on Purdue’s 36-yard line. Rather than attempt a long field goal into the wind, coach Mikey Uremovich decided to go for a deep shot having just gotten through the 2-minute timeout. Another underthrown Kelly pass fell incomplete and the Boilermakers took over on downs.
On the first snap of Purdue’s final drive of the half, Ryan Browne took the lone sack of the day and it derailed the drive. A rush for no gain and Devin Mockobee catch and run out of the backfield were not enough to gain a first down, so Purdue turned to Jack McCallister again who sent a punt 51 yards to the Ball State 6 with 46 seconds left in the half. Ball State would rush for no gain and rode a penalty to take the clock down to zero to end the half down 21-0.
Second Half
Coming out of the half, Ball State made it clear what they were going to try and do to claw back into the game: run the football. Aided by several missed tackles by Boilermakers, Ball State ran the ball 9 times on it’s first drive of the 3rd quarter, compared to just 3 passes. Kiael Kelly would perform 5 of those rushing attempts and the Cardinals moved the ball all the way to the Purdue 27 where Ball State would attempt its first field goal. The 45-yard kick would doink off the right upright and fall no good.
Purdue would follow up with an efficient drive of there own, spanning 7 plays, 73 yards, and ending in a Ryan Browne throw to Michael Jackson III in the end zone. The ensuing celebration from Jackson III would definitely make the highlight reel as he paid homage to the King of Pop by replicating one of his signature dance moves and cap tip.
Following the Purdue score to go up 28-0, there would only be 4 drives over the final 19:40 of the game, 2 from each team. A Ball State drive that lasted 7 plays but only went for 7 yards (and featured a call against Purdue for disconcerting signals of all things) brought the 3rd quarter to and end. Purdue would then make it’s way down the field again before stalling deep inside Ball State territory. This would bring on Spencer Porath to kick his only field goal of the day, a 28-yard make to bring the score to 31-0.
The final Ball State drive of the day was a long drive aided again by poor Purdue tackling as well as a facemask penalty on the Boilermakers. A 37-yard pass to former Boilermaker, Elijah Jackson, on 4th and 2 was the largest chunk and the Cardinals brought the ball all the way down to the Purdue 12 to set up a 29-yard field goal attempt. The kick would miss wide right, thus continuing the shutout by the Boilermakers. Purdue would seal the deal by draining the final 5:27 on the clock, with the help of a running into the kicker penalty on 4th and 3 to extend the drive. This final drive featured backup Malachi Singleton at quarterback as the game was well in hand. The offense was moving and looked intent on trying to get one more score before a Singleton run with 1:19 left resulted in a seemingly severe injury to freshman receiver Jalil Hall, who was carted off the field in an air cast. Likely to avoid further injuries, Purdue would take a knee and finish the game, winning 31-0.
Stats
Analysis
We all know that a shutout looks nice but we will not overreact to this result. Yes, Ball State is an FBS team and a MAC team for that matter but this was a team that was at or near the bottom of not just the MAC last season but all of FBS (so was Purdue though). Both of these programs went through a big transformation in the offseason but there is a clear difference in the level of talent that comes to a Big Ten school and a MAC school. That talent disparity should account for several touchdowns worth in a game by itself. Throw in the fact that Ball State did have a few opportunities to score and it changes the whole perspective of the game. 31-0 looks much better than 31-6. Do I think Purdue is better than last year? Yes, absolutely. Coaching competence, and lack thereof in previous years, is glaring but I will not pretend that one victory over Ball State makes Purdue suddenly a 9-10 win team. That said, I do think we got a glimpse of what this team could be and it is encouraging. Ryan Browne played really well in this game, setting a career high in passing yards and clearly finding a few targets he likes in Michael Jackson III and Arhmad Branch. The offensive line still needs work as the inside rushing game was pretty far off from what you’d want. I think Devin Mockobee will need to get to the outside edges more often than not to produce meaningful yards but this is only week 1. Each week is an opportunity to improve. On the defensive side of the ball, pressure on the quarterback was a welcome sight but missed tackling certainly was not. A mobile QB seems destined to give Purdue fits and it’s clear that there is a lot to clean up. But I cannot gripe too much as a shutout is still a shutout. Purdue really only gave Ball State 3 scoring opportunities and none were cashed in on by the Cardinals. I would also really like to see some turnovers make there way to the Old Gold and Black defense. None in this game, but guys were making a point to try and strip the ball, which I appreciate. Lastly, on special teams, I like what I see. Kicking went 5-5 and punts averaged over 50 yards. Kickoff coverage left something to be desired but after 2 kicks, Purdue decided to just boot the ball and make it essentially non-returnable. I like that strategy. Overall, this was a much needed convincing victory for Purdue. The Boilermakers will have another opponent in Southern Illinois next week that should allow for a convincing win before the schedule turns up to another level at Notre Dame. We likely won’t learn anything new next week but more time to gel and get the playbook down before taking on the Fighting Irish is much needed. See you all next Saturday night in Ross Ade. Boiler Up!
