Express Data Driven: Purdue's win at No. 21 Illinois
Each week after Purdue football games, we’ll take a closer look back at the game through PFF data and analytics. Today, the Boilermakers’ 31-24 win at No. 21 Illinois.
PURDUE OFFENSE
Quarterback
Aidan O’Connell all 79
Offensive Line
Mahamane Moussa (LT) all 79
Gus Hartwig (C) all 79
Eric Miller (RT) all 79
Spencer Holstege (LG) all 79
Marcus Mbow (RG) 52
Sione Finau (RG) 36 (he or Mbow must have played multiple spots)
Wide Receiver
TJ Sheffield 47
Deion Burks 32
Andrew Sowinski 36
Running Back
Tristan Cox (FB) 11
Tight End
Payne Durham 73
Paul Piferi 25
GRADES AND STUFF
• No really high-end grades or bad ones among high-volume-snaps players, but Payne Durham was the highest-graded offensive player and Devin Mockobee second (grade watered down by the outsized weight of one dropped pass).
• Very good pass pro grades for the offensive line, led by Eric Miller. Notably, Devin Mockobee and Payne Durham as well. Pass protection grades have been up and down for those guys this season at times. This was Mockobee’s season-best pass pro grade after four consecutive bad grades. This was Durham’s second-best pass pro grade, his best being last week at Iowa.
This was Eric Miller’s best pass-blocking grade in a non-Indiana State game.
PASSING GAME
Aidan O’Connell’s strange passing chart …
Clean: 23-34, 220 yards, TD, INT (mediocre grade)
Pressure: 2-6, 17 yards, 2 TD (best grade)
No Blitz: 18-22, 198, 2 TD (best grade)
Blitz: 7-18, 39, TD, INT (bad grade)
• Concept …
Playaction: 8-14, 103, 2 TD (7.4 per attempt)
No Playaction: 17-26, 132, TD, INT (5.2 per attempt)
Screen: 4-5, 13 (2.6 per attempt)
No Screen: 21-35, 224, 3 TD, INT (6.4 per attempt)
• Purdue was 2-3 on throws of 20+ yards in the air with the TD to Charlie Jones
• Two dropped passes. TJ Sheffield and Devin Mockobee.
• Team-high 11 targets for TJ Sheffield, his season-high by a mile.
• Season-low six targets for Charlie Jones. His two lowest target totals of the season — Maryland (seven) and Illinois — were both Big Ten road wins.
RUNNING GAME
• Just 1.67 yards after contact for Mockobee.
• Mockobee averaged 7.4 yards on five carries over left end, including the one big play and he forced two missed tackles to that zone. He averaged eight yards on the same amount of carries over right end.
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PURDUE DEFENSE
Snap Counts
Defensive Line
Branson Deen 52
Cole Brevard 22
Nic Caraway 17
Scotty Humpich 14
Prince Boyd 13
Linebacker
Jalen Graham 70
OC Brothers 60
Secondary
Cory Trice 65
Reese Taylor 50
Cam Allen 41
Jamari Brown 22
GRADES AND STUFF
• Jalen Graham was the highest-graded high volume snaps player. (Scotty Humpich was actually team-best on 14 pass-rush snaps). Graham’s tackling grade was excellent, as was OC Brothers’ even though he graded very average overall due to a bad coverage grade.
• Big-time run-defense grade for Sanoussi Kane.
• Bad tackling grades for Cam Allen and Branson Deen. I tend to not pay attention to tackling grades for defensive linemen since so much of their job is containment and such.
NOTABLES
• Three pressures on 27 snaps for Khordae Sydnor
• Nine missed tackles for Purdue.
Danny DeVito’s passing chart …
Clean: 16-28, 190, TD, INT
Pressure (7): 2-4, 11, (bad grade)
No Blitz: 16-25, 187, TD, INT
Blitz (7): 2-7, 14
Concept …
Playaction: 5-12, 62 yards (great grade)
No P/A: 13-20, 139, TD, INT
Screen: 2-3, 9
No Screen: 16-29, 192, TD, INT
• After not completing a pass of 20+ yards in the air all season, DeVito was 2-6 for 58 yards against Purdue, but keep in mind that Illinois dropped a long touchdown.
• Only 1.13 yards after contact for Chase Brown. That’s a big win for Purdue.
