Boilermakers in search of D; Trip to Virginia Tech next
WEST LAFAYETTE – The Purdue Boilermakers’ season opening experience was pretty much all they could’ve hoped for except one thing – the outcome.
Purdue unveiled its renovated Ross-Ade Stadium, which now features the south end zone enclosed and relocation of the Big Ten’s second-largest student seating section. Phase I renovation was done for about $50 million.
The weather was close to perfect for a Labor Day Weekend albeit hot with temperatures hovering in the upper 80s, but humidity levels were bearable.
There was plenty of buzz surrounding the head coaching debut of Ryan Walters, Purdue’s first-year coach who took over the program from Jeff Brohm, who bolted last December for his alma mater Louisville.
A crowd of nearly 55,000 sun-drenched fans were treated to an ultra-entertaining game to say the least, too.
Probably too entertaining for Boilermaker fans’ liking.
Purdue took a 35-32 lead with 4:36 left in the fourth quarter when sophomore running back Devin Mockobee scored from 11 yards out.
However, Fresno State responded with a nine-play 79-yard drive to regain the lead at 39-35 with just under a minute to play.
Purdue’s final drive ended on downs as the Bulldogs celebrated when quarterback Hudson Card’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete.
Fresno State, the defending Mountain West Conference champions, was the day’s big winners. After all, Purdue paid the Bulldogs $1.3 million to travel to the Midwest for the one-game series.
As for the Boilermakers, there’s a ton of work to do, especially on defense.
Walters, known as a defensive guru, will certainly be tested this year. He’s forced to play what he inherited from Brohm, which wasn’t much at all.
The secondary is entirely new.
The d-line struggled mightily last year rushing the passer so Walters and his staff tried to bolster it through transfers in the off-season. Purdue had two sacks against the Bulldogs.
The linebacking corps isn’t the greatest when talking foot speed.
There were a ton of missed tackles.
The highlight on Purdue’s D was the play of freshman safety Dillon Thieneman. He had a game-high 10 tackles and accounted for the game’s only turnover – a nice interception in which he hauled in after covering plenty of ground and going airborne to jump in front of the would-be receiver.
For his efforts, Thieneman was named Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week.
Fresno shredded Purdue through the air, throwing for 371 yards and four touchdowns.
Mikey Keene, all 5-foot-11 of him, looked like a Heisman Trophy favorite as he connected on 31-of-44 passes.
Nine of Keene’s completions went to 5-7 Erik Brooks. He finished with 170 yards and two touchdowns. Purdue struggled covering him all day.
Purdue couldn’t get off the field on third down as Fresno State converted 11-of-17 third downs.
The D wore down as the game wore on as no doubt the heat took a toll.
Fresno State racked up 487 total yards. That is a frightening number to say the least.
On one scoring drive, the Bulldogs were faced with three third-down-and-10 or longer situations yet converted every time.
It will be interesting to see the adjustments Walters and his staff make from Week 1 to Week 2.
Will Purdue become blitz happy, knowing it has to get more heat on the quarterback?
Will it rotate more players, especially in the secondary trying to find some lockdown cover men?
The Boilermaker offense had its shining moments.
On its first possession of the game, Purdue took three plays to go 92 yards. It took a 7-0 lead when redshirt sophomore Deion Burks scampered 84 yards for a touchdown following a really nice catch and run after the grab.
The Boilermakers led 21-17 at halftime, but a very quick three-and-out near the end of the second quarter allowed Fresno to get points on the board before the break. It capitalized, too, booting a 52-yard field.
Purdue’s lead grew to 11 to start the second half when Tyrone Tracy Jr. took the kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown.
The Boilermakers had a chance to make it a 14-point cushion, but a 43-yard field goal was wide.
Then in the fourth quarter, Purdue ran twice from the 1-yard line only to get stuffed and turn the ball over on downs.
Yes, short yardage is going to be an issue for this group.
A lot of that has to do with the Boilermakers playing their second- and third-string center since Gus Hartwig is still rehabbing from last season’s knee injury.
Purdue’s offense also missed starting tight end Garrett Miller. He will be back, but still may miss a few games after he’s recovering from last year’s knee injury.
No doubt the Boilermakers need Hartwig and Miller back as soon as possible, and need to get better on third down. Purdue was just 3-of-12 against the Bulldogs. That better change soon or the results will be the same.
Texas transfer Hudson Card looked good behind a make-shift line. The quarterback connected on 17-of-30 passes for 254 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
You wondered who Card’s go-to-receiver would be. Well, wonder no more. That guy without a doubt is Burks. The Indy product hauled in four passes for 152 yards and two scores. The challenge now will be finding players to take the heat off of Burks. Teams will now pay extra attention to Burks, bracketing him, so other players are going to have to step up.
It was surprising Purdue didn’t go to Mockobee more. After rushing for nearly 1,000 yards last season, Mockobee had 16 carries for 60 yards and a score. His production must improve if the Boilermakers are going to improve.
Speaking of surprises, Card only rushed six time for 29 yards. One must expect him to tuck it and run more going forward.
Now, Purdue’s gauntlet of a schedule continues with a road trip to 1-0 Virginia Tech.
Billed as the toughest place in college football for opponents to play by Rivals.com, Lane Stadium will be rocking when the Boilermakers come to town for the noon kickoff Saturday.
While nearly every other Big Ten team is loading up on patsies during the nonconference schedule, the Boilermakers will face back-to-back Power Five teams the next two weeks, battling ACC foes Virginia Tech this Saturday and Syracuse a week from Saturday in Ross-Ade Stadium.
Can Purdue find a way to leave Blacksburg with a W? Not if its defense doesn’t improve significantly and that’s a tough ask in the first road game in the Walters Era.
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