Boiling Points – Week 10

This week I will review Purdue’s heartbreaking 27 – 24 loss to Rutgers and preview the upcoming game at Michigan.

About last week …

This was a tough loss for Purdue because there were several opportunities

for them to firmly take control, when they had the momentum, well before the bizarre end game where Purdue fumbled the ball away at their own 30-yard line with about a minute to play in a tie game. So instead of having a chance to win the game in regulation or go to overtime, Purdue handed that opportunity to Rutgers, who took full advantage and won the game on a walk-off FG. Purdue players made a few plays today, unfortunately they also failed to make many more plays to either keep a drive alive or stop a Rutgers drive. That’s what separates winners from losers in a close game. It’s also what prevented a win in Minneapolis two weeks prior. Let’s have a look at some of the missed opportunities.

1^st Missed Opportunity: After Purdue jumped out to a 7 – 0 lead in the first quarter, Hershey McLaurin made a play by breaking up an Athan Kaliakmanis pass on 4^th and goal to stop Rutgers. Following this stop, Purdue again drove the ball and had first and goal at the Rutgers 8-yard line. This turned into second and goal at the 6-yard line, then third and goal at the 1-yard line, and finally fourth and goal at the 2-yard line. Purdue opted for the chip shot FG to go up 10 – 0 but really needed a TD here.

2^nd Missed Opportunity: On Rutgers next possession, they put together a 10-play drive ended with a missed 45-yard FG attempt. Purdue took over on their own 28-yard line with the opportunity to add to their 10-point lead. However, they ran 3 plays and punted.

3^rd Missed Opportunity: On the subsequent series, the Purdue defense held Rutgers to a 3 and out followed by a punt. Michael Jackson III muffed the punt at the Purdue 45 yard-line, but a Rutgers player, Cam Miller, interfered and the resulting 15-yard penalty gave Purdue the ball at the Rutgers 40-yard line. The offense ran 3 plays netting 1, that’s right ONE, yard, and then punted. This was a GOLDEN opportunity, and Purdue came away with nothing.

Rutgers then executed a 17-play TD drive that consumed all but the final 12 seconds of the first half. While Purdue led 10 -7, they could’ve, should’ve, would’ve led by more and thus let Rutgers hang around. Tip of the hat to Coach Greg Schiano for some excellent clock management at the end of the first half.

4^th Missed Opportunity: Purdue opened the second half with a 4-play, 75-yard TD drive to once again extend their lead to 10 points. The defense forced another 3 and out, and Rutgers punted the ball back to Purdue. Starting at their own 33-yard line, Purdue had another opportunity to seize control of the game. They moved the ball to the Rutgers 48-yard line, but then the drive fizzled, and Purdue punted. Again, Purdue allowed Rutgers to hang around.

In the end, Rutgers cashed in on more of their opportunities. They also had the two best players on the field, and it showed. WR KJ Duff, Jr. was amazing with 6 catches (on 7 targets), some very open while others in tight coverage, for 241 years and one TD. QB Athan Kaliakmanis also had a very good game going 19 of 27 for 359-yards and one TD.

What I liked:

• Purdue played with some energy!
• RB Malachi Thomas had three carries for 62 yards and three catches for 50 yards – 112 all-purpose yards. Definitely his best game of the season!

• S Hershey McLaurin, who was filling in for Miles Slusher (injured), had 12 tackles (4 solo), a pass broken up that was likely a Rutgers TD, a sack, and a forced fumble that Purdue recovered.

• Five sacks.
• The OL yielded ZERO sacks.
• ZERO penalties (Rutgers declined on OPI call).
• No turnovers until the final possession.

What I didn’t like:

• Missed opportunities – see above.
• The defense’s inability to get off the field which allowed Rutgers’ offense to stay on the field (37 to 23 minutes time of possession), run more plays (75 to 51), and rack up 543 total yards, compared to 345 total yards for Purdue.
• The defense’s inability to slow down KJ Duff, Jr., who had six catches and averaged over 40 yards per catch.

• The offense only had 345 yards, against the worst defense in the B1G.
• Only converted one third down in nine attempts.
• Too many dropped balls.
• Too many missed tackles.

While Purdue took a small step forward in this game in that they played with energy, had ZERO penalties, five sacks, did not yield a sack, and did not lose the turnover battle, though the one turnover they had cost them a chance to win the game, either in regulation or overtime. However, these improvements were not enough to overcome the missed opportunities.

When this Purdue team plays at or close to their best, they can hang with a Minnesota or Rutgers. Unfortunately, Purdue has not been able to consistently play at that level.

Time to move on to Ann Arbor to face Michigan on Saturday evening at 6 pm GTZ on BTN. The 6-2 Wolverines are fresh off a 31 – 20 win over their in-state rival Michigan State. In this series, the Boilermakers and Wolverines have met 61 times with Michigan winning 47 of those games. The last Purdue win was in 2009 in Ann Arbor while the Wolverines have won the most recent six meetings, including the 2022 B1G Conference Championship Game.

In 2025, Michigan boasts one of the top rushing attacks in the B1G at 220 yards per game and 5.8 yards per carry as well as one of the best defenses, yielding only 16.3 points per game. Purdue will have their hands full trying to score points while containing Michigan’s running attack. My keys to the game and it’s still back to basics:

• Play with intensity.
• Execute your assignments.
• Win the turnover battle.
• Minimize penalties.
• Make tackles.
• Catch the damn ball!

To even have a chance, Purdue will have to play to the best of their abilities, which will likely still not be enough against a very talented Michigan squad.

While Purdue’s record doesn’t reflect it, they have improved over last season. Generally, the team has played with more energy and effort. If you’re into numbers, Purdue is quantifiably better this season, as shown in the BTN graphic below that was displayed during the Rutgers at Purdue game. Purdue has improved, but this is only the very first step as they still have a long, long way to go.