Purdue's Ryan Walters: 'Fully expect us to respond the right way'

Two days later, the 66-7 loss resonates with Purdue coach Ryan Walters. How couldn’t it? It was a defeat of epic proportions, the worst in school annals. Walters is owning it. He’s also doing all he can to fix it.

“Obviously, we still have 10 games left,” said Walters. “So you don’t want to put a ton of stock in one or two games, but in order to accomplish what we have set out to accomplish this season, the urgency is right now.”

Purdue is right where most prognosticators thought it would be after two games.

“The fact right now is we are a 1-1 football team that has lost to a ranked non-conference opponent, but the fact also is that we lost 66-7, and we have to own the worst loss in program history,” said Walters. “That falls on my shoulders.”

No doubt, the Boilermakers arrived here in an undesirable fashion, following a 49-0 opening victory vs. FCS Indiana State with last Saturday’s evisceration at the hands of the Fighting Irish.

“There’s a lot that can be corrected,” said Walters. “I think the disappointing thing is you felt like the issues that we had were corrected before the game. Obviously, that was not the case.

“We need to take pride in the physicality of the game of football. You’ve got to give Notre Dame credit. They punched us in the mouth right from the opening kickoff, and we flinched.”

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Purdue can’t afford to flinch on Saturday when it plays at Oregon State (2-1) for the first time in a return trip for OSU, who opened the 2021 season in West Lafayette with a 30-21 defeat.

The Beavers are coming off a beat down of their own at home: 49-14 to Oregon in the “Civil War.” The Beavers will get no sympathy from the Boilermakers, who have had heart-to-heart talks amid the rubble of last Saturday.

“What I’ve been pleased with is I’ve seen that urgency today,” said Walters. “I saw the intent and the receptiveness and the eagerness to get it fixed yesterday. Like I said, we had a truthful meeting, a long meeting where everyone had to take some accountability, players and coaches alike. Nobody flinched in that meeting. Guys were locked in. They were honest, as well.”

There was a lot to get honest about. Purdue was out gained 578-162. It went 1-of-12 on third downs. It trailed 42-0 at halftime. By the second half, large swaths of the once-packed sun-drenched Ross-Ade stands were empty. They had seen enough.

What happened?

Walters is doing the detective work this week before the team leaves on Thursday–a day early–for Oregon, just the second time Purdue will have played in the state (38-36 loss at Oregon in 2009).

“I think when you have a group that can have uncomfortable conversations and be open and comfortable having those conversations, I think you have a chance,” said Walters. “We’ll see how we respond on Saturday.

Purdue, which opened as a six-point underdog, faces a likely must-win situation in Corvallis if it hopes to reach the six wins needed for bowl eligibility. After its return, the Boilermakers will welcome Nebraska for homecoming to open Big Ten play. But the Huskers can wait. For now, it’s all about the Beavers and their first-year coach Trent Bray.

“Like I said post-game, I also can’t ignore what I have seen since January,” said Walters. “I can’t ignore what I saw in spring ball. I can’t ignore what I have seen in fall camp and how I felt going into last Saturday, but we also can’t turn a blind eye to what transpired for the last four quarters.”

“I am excited as heck to get back on the practice field. I can’t wait for Saturday. I embrace struggle. I embrace adversity. This team will as well. So I’m excited to see how we respond and fully expect us to respond the right way.”

Walters isn’t making any major changes. The depth chart was tweaked in the secondary, with backups shuffled–S Salim Turner-Muhammad and CB Derrick Rogers out; S Anthony Brown and CB Earl Kulp in. Otherwise, the lineup is the same.

Injury-wise, Purdue figures to be without CB Nyland Green (foot) and WR CJ Smith (hamstring) for a third game. And it sounds like TE George Burhenn (hamstring) is doubtful. Otherwise, Walters will have a full arsenal of this key players.

“George is recovering,” said Walters. “Obviously, CJ and George are now recovering from some hamstring issues. Nyland is very close. He’s running on the grass now. It’s just a matter of when he can get back to moving like himself. So, you know, I wouldn’t even rule this week out yet. So we’re eager and excited to get him back. CJ is feeling good. He’s working his butt off. When he is ready, he’ll be out there.”

Otherwise, Walters’ focus has been on who is available.

“I have to do a better job in preparing our guys for what is to be expected from that type of opponent on a game day,” said Walters. “I’ve got to do a better job of preparing us for opportunities in moments like that because we’re going to have them all throughout the course of the year.

“So, you know, there were obviously a couple of schematic issues, technique issues that are easily corrected. Just being disciplined with eyes, disciplined with pre-snap alignments, disciplined with ID’ing the right formation and set that is in front of you pre-snap. You’ll get those every game, right?

The most disheartening thing?

“To me the disappointing thing coming out of the game was that we physically got beat up, and I didn’t see that coming,” said Walters. “We’ll make sure that never happens again.”