10/14/2024 Boilermaker Water Cooler Chat: Cannon Edition
Rants, ravings, and somewhat sensical opinions following the wild, wacky, and wide-wide world of Purdue sports.
There are plenty of things that I have been wrong about in my life. There are plenty of things that I have been right about too. It is an almost constant ebb and flow of a media guy. If you say enough things you’ll eventually prove yourself to be wrong and right, occasionally simultaneously. Often times on my “takes” I try to be more broad and not very hot. I have been wrong about things much too frequently for me to ever come out with a 100% certitude statement.
God knows I have been wrong, time in and time out. I’m mature enough to admit it. Hell, I am probably wrong more than I am right when it comes to Purdue football. At least this season. That’s fine. There are plenty of folk out there in a similar situation as me. This season has been a strange series of mishappenings, and although I am easily confused, this season has my head spinning even faster.
But if you want a luke-warm take, I will give you one. This time, I know that I am right.
That was a fumble.
To those of you who didn’t watch, Purdue’s furious comeback led to the Illini needing a last second drive to score in order to force overtime. During that drive, Illinois made some improbable plays, which was status quo for this game. But what wasn’t status quo, was that Purdue sacked Illini QB Luke Altmyer in the waning seconds, Purdue scooped it, would’ve probably been a touchdown if Altmyer wasn’t called down by contact. Except he didn’t have the ball under control as he was going to the ground. The ball was loose. Would have ended the game. Play went to review and the agonizing wait went on and on. As expected, Purdue can’t have nice things, and the play stood as called.
That was absolutely a fumble, and the Big Ten officiating crew got a little nervous having to make that call. I wouldn’t use stronger words like cowardly or chicken, but I will say that this officiating crew didn’t want the spotlight of that call. So, they used the relief valve of “stands as called”.
I get it. Even doing the right thing in the face of enormous consequence is difficult for some people… most people. I will add that I understand why that wasn’t ruled as a fumble. I understand it, but in the spirit of the rule and the spirit of the sport…
That was a fumble.
Now, I am not sitting here saying that the officiating is why Purdue lost the game. Couldn’t be further from the point that I am trying to make. Purdue, despite the valiant comeback, didn’t deserve to win that game. They seized the momentum, but still made some awful mistakes. Couldn’t tackle a lick. Somehow stumbled into the path of a victory. That call is not why Purdue lost. It is, however, why Illinois won. If you watched the game, you understand the convoluted logic, as idiotic as it sounds. The bottom line is, if you are playing a game so close that you have to depend on Big Ten Officiating to do the right thing in crunch time… you probably deserve to lose.
Regardless, that was a fumble.
The Game: Purdue 49, #23 Illinois 50
Purdue stumbled its way in the first half. While Purdue could sustain drives with newly minted starting quarterback Ryan Browne’s running ability, they couldn’t score. Boilers managed 9 total passing yards in the first half, while Illinois had the lead 24-3 going into halftime. Immediately after half, Illinois extended the game to 27-3, and judging by the last few weeks of football
Something changed at this point. Purdue’s offensive strategy got more loose. Purdue’s defense started playing more stout, and the Boilermakers dominated the 3rd quarter. Despite only passing for 9 yards in the first half Browne put up 288 more in the second, throwing for 3 total touchdowns, and rushing for 118 yards. Devin Mockobee rushed for 102 yards both rushing for and receiving for touchdowns.
Defensively, the strong play to slow the Illini down, depleted their energy reserves. As a unit the group had 5 sacks, 8 tackles for loss, and a defensive score by Will Heldt. By the end of the game this group was running on fumes, but they played well enough to get Purdue in position to win this game.
As the game went on, neither defense was able to stop the opponent’s offense. Illinois hit a last second field goal to force overtime, assisted by the previously mentioned questionable fumble no call. Illinois eventually won in overtime, after Walters elected to attempt a 2 point conversion rather than kick the PAT. He had to try. The defense couldn’t stop Illinois, and this was the chance. Unfortunately, for the Boilermakers, the play was blown up.
Purdue-Illinois Gallery by Mark Elsner: https://iscpurdue.com/purdue-vs-illinois-10-12-24/
Break It Down:
Ryan Browne played his ass off, folks. He was excellent, filling in for an injured Hudson Card.
Browne was the beneficiary of an offense that called creative plays, that actually tried to stretch the field, that attempted to put players in position to succeed. While Hudson Card hasn’t gotten the benefit of creative play calls to this point, it appears that Browne has made a claim to the starting QB position. 18/26, 297 yds 3TD, 118 yds rushing, on the road, against a ranked rival. That is pretty damn good.
What is refreshing, however, is the different tone for two quarters of this game in the second half. What has been absent for the past 4 games is Purdue’s fight. Their heart wasn’t in it. They were going out there, rolling over, and dying. Yes, Purdue lost this game but they are trying. We don’t ask for much as Purdue fans. Just fight.
What Went Well:
- OFFENSE!: Well, wouldn’t you know it, Purdue’s offense showed some pulse! I praised the philosophy last week, but disparaged the execution. This week, I praise the concept and the execution. Why was it different this week? Ryan Walters, a defensive coach, called every offensive play this week. While there were some duds in the mix, on the whole, particularly in the second half, this offense was humming.
- Ryan Browne: Took his opportunity and ran with it, literally and figuratively. His 118 yards led the team rushing, but his 297 yards passing and multiple touchdowns through the air is something that Purdue has sorely lacked this year. Play calling had a big part of that, but Browne went out there and played his ass off.
- Will Heldt: played like a madman today, and it culminated with scoop-score in the second half. He is growing into his role as a potentially dominant force on the field.
Opportunities for Improvement:
- Running Quarterbacks: Continues to be the bane of this defense’s existence. Illinois’ Luke Altmyer may have only rushed for 60 yards, but they were painful, back breaking play extensions which gained first downs.
- For the second time this season, PHYSICS: In the late first half, Illinois kicked the ball off with some extra height underneath it. Caught up in the wind, the ball fell nearly vertically down, landing on its point, and bouncing 15 yards directly into the hands of an Illini player. You could watch football for 100 years and not see that happen twice. In a one point loss, this play loomed large, as Illinois scored a touchdown right after the recovery.
- Replay Officials: My buddies and I text throughout these games, often times civilly. One buddy said, “We literally have miniature cameras capturing hummingbirds drinking milligrams of liquid, at the nanosecond, in high definition… but we can’t figure out whose ball it is.” In this case, we didn’t need nanosecond technology, we just needed officials who had the cajones to call the play correctly.
- Purdue Defensively: While they played valiantly for a stretch, some of the same old habits are killing the Boilermakers. Poor tackling and pursuit angles led to big plays for Illinois. Poor pass coverage allowed the Illini to pick up 3rd & 23. Purdue can’t spy on a running QB, nor keep an edge. You can’t expect the offense to score 51 points in order to win.
A Look Ahead:
Oregon will be (at worst) ranked #2, or potentially even #1, as they come in to Ross Ade undefeated, coming off an inspiring victory against #2 Ohio State. This will be a Friday night lights matchup, meaning that I will be broadcasting my prep football show at the exact moment of this game. Probably for the best.
Regardless, we have seen Purdue in this position before, taking on a top 5 foe, under the lights, as the opponent is riding high. Could it happen again? Oregon comes in as a prohibitive favorite, favored by a whopping 28 points.
I’m not betting on it. However, if you read this article, I readily admit that I am frequently wrong.
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