10 Observations for Nebraska loss

This is what has us talking after Purdue’s 28-10 homecoming loss on Saturday in Ross-Ade Stadium to Nebraska.

1 – Purdue came out with a new, unexpected, wrinkle. Dillon Thieneman was moved from deep safety to up safety, swapping spots with Joseph Jefferson–who was starting for the injured Antonio Stevens. The idea: Get Thieneman closer to the ball. It seemed to be effective.

“DT would tell you, the last three games, he hadn’t really played like himself,” said Ryan Walters. “Joe Jefferson is an aggressive guy who’s got some range. He’s also the younger and inexperienced guy … so we kicked Joe back and moved DT down. DT could process what was going on in front of him at a fast rate. We also got him involved in plays where he’s supposed to make them early to kind of get him going. I thought DT played well. I thought Joe made some splash plays.”

2 – Purdue has been searching for a fast start for a few weeks. It didn’t happen today. The offense went three-and-out on its first possession. The Boilermakers marched to the Nebraska 21 on the second drive only to see true freshman Spencer Porath miss his first career field-goal attempt–from 39 yards. On and on it went, as Purdue was held scoreless in the opening half. (more on that below)

How does Purdue get on track?

“I do the only thing I know how to do, and it’s go work, try to continue to make adjustments,” said Ryan Walters. “I thought from a defensive perspective, we tweaked a few things and made adjustments that I felt like helped us. We’ll continue to go to work and make adjustments to continue to improve.”

3 – Where was the ground game? It was feckless. It was tractionless. The Boilers had no juice in the rush game, running for 50 yards on 31 carries (1.6 ypc). Five sacks mutes that total.

The long run? It was 13 yards. This, a week after Purdue had 263 yards on the ground at Oregon State. This offense is in a slog, totaling 38 points in the last three games (12.7 ppg). How does Walters sum up the entire game?

“Extremely, extremely disappointing,” he said. “Frustrating.”

4 – Purdue made an emphasis of stopping the run this week after Notre Dame (362) and Oregon State (341) ran roughshod over the Boilers the previous two weeks. The bleeding wasn’t as bad this Saturday, with the Huskers tallying 161 yards. Nebraska ended up with 387 total yards. Another down note: Purdue still has no takeaways on the season. Incredible.

5 – The search was on for a passing game, a week after Purdue completed 7-of-17 passes for 56 yards at Oregon State. Purdue is still searching. Hudson Card completed 18-of-25 passes for 174 yards with a TD and interception. He often was under duress, sacked five times. And there is this: Card tossed his third pick-six in three weeks. The receivers? There’s nothing there … no explosion, no separation, no big plays.

6 – Purdue took the opening drive of the second half and drove 55 yards in 13 plays in 8:08, resulting in a 45-yard field goal for Porath. Life! It was his first career field goal and gave the Boilermakers a 3-0 lead with 6:42 left in the third quarter. It was the Boilers’ first lead vs. a FBS foe all season.

7 – Oh, special teams starred in the first half, as Purdue blocked two Nebraska field goals (Damarjhe Lewis and Joe Anderson) from 44 and 32 yards. NU also missed from 42 yards. High snaps were an issue for the Huskers. Purdue last blocked two field goals in a game in 2011.

MORE: Points after–Purdue’s loss to Nebraska

8 – Time and again, Purdue was done in by penalties. On this day, it was flagged a mind-numbing 13 times for 165 yards. Pass interference? The Boilers were whistled a staggering six times with four different players drawing yellow. Nyland Green had four PIs in his Boilermaker debut.

“The pass interferences, I thought there were a couple of them that were blatant,” said Walters. “There also were a couple that were judgment calls. … Obviously, Nyland Green, this was his first start and back in live action. You knew there were going to be some jitters there. The ones that drive me crazy are the pre- and post-penalties. The stepping over a receiver. That’s stupid. Can’t happen. This is a disciplined program, and that was not indicative of what we’re teaching or what we harp on. … So, I’ll address that, and we got to be better.”

9 – It was 0-0 at the halftime, creating a dubious buzz across the nation. It was the first time Purdue went to intermission 0-0 since 1993 vs. Notre Dame and Lou Holtz in Ross-Ade Stadium. The Boilermaker offense got no steady production in the opening two quarters, producing 89 yards in the first half on this day.

What’s the issue with the offense?

“I gotta watch the tape,” said Walters. “It’s easy to sort of come in and be frustrated just by looking at statistics. But until you watch the tape and evaluate what happened … I would like to make an educated answer to that question after I study it.”

10 – To say September didn’t go as planned would be massive understatement. There were dreams of a 3-1 month. A 2-2 mark? That seemed very plausible. Alas, the Boilermakers leave September 1-3 filled with nagging questions. Bowl eligibility? It’s gonna be mighty difficult to attain. Next up are road games at Wisconsin and at Illinois followed by a visit from Oregon. The question can be asked: Will Purdue win another game this season?

“I’m extremely competitive,” said Walters. “So, when you’re competitive, the thought of not competing is not ever in the equation. So, the goal is to keep improving. Got every intention on an expectation on this program to do so. Am I angry? Absolutely. Am I frustrated? Hell yeah.”