Ten Observations: Big Ten title game loss to Michigan

INDIANAPOLIS — This is what has us talking after Purdue (8-5 overall; 6-4 Big Ten) suffered a 43-22 loss to No. 2 Michigan (13-0; 10-0) in the Big Ten championship game.

1 – Aidan O’Connell was dealing

Despite not having a full week of practice as he spent time back home in Illinois mourning the death of an older brother, O’Connell was on the mark. He hit 86 percent of his first-half passes (19-of-22) for 183 yards. He slid back to the norm in the second half, when he tossed two interceptions. For the game, O’Connell hit 32-of-47 passes for 366 yards. And he failed to throw a TD pass for only the third time in 2022.

“Very difficult, as you can imagine,” said O’Connell of dealing with his brother’s loss last week. “You know, when you first hear news like that, it’s shock and denial. Just a lot of emotion. So, last week was tough.

“I felt a lot better this week than I did last week. But it’s been a little crazy.”

2 – Charlie being Charlie

The star Purdue receiver was on this stage last year with Iowa. And, Charlie Jones looked like he had been here before on this night. Jones found seams in the Michigan secondary, finishing with 13 catches (16 targets) for 162 yards. He has 110 grabs on the season. Not bad for a guy who wasn’t even Big Ten Receiver of the Year.

3 – The fake punt!

With the score tied 7-7 in the first quarter and facing a 4th-and-4 from the Purdue, the Boilermakers reached into their bag of tricks with a fake punt. And, it worked: Payne Durham took a short snap and ran four yards for the first down. Purdue subsequently capped the drive with a 33-yard field goal to take a 10-7 lead.

4 – Mock Train motoring

Devin Mockobee needed 26 yards to set Purdue’s single-season freshman rushing mark. And, he did that. But the redshirt freshman walk-on was held largely in check on this night. He finished with 71 yards and a TD on 17 carries and made six catches for 31 yards. Bottom line: It was difficult to get traction vs. this Michigan D. Still, Mockobee–who has 920 yards rushing in 2022–has been a revelation who is only scratching the surface.

5 – Missed opportunities loomed large for Purdue on this night.

While the offense was able to move the ball (456 yards of offense), Purdue settled for too many field goals–five, to be exact, which was a Big Ten title game record. And the Boilermakers also had a drive in the red zone end with an interception. That’s a lot of points Purdue left on the board. So, while Michigan was scoring TDs–six, to be exact–Purdue was kicking field goals. It didn’t add up.

“We couldn’t score touchdowns,” said Brohm. “We tried and they stopped us. … Unfortunately, it sure hurt us. Field goals are not gonna be good enough to win those type of games.”

6 – Tale of two halves

At halftime, Purdue trailed 14-13. This looked like a ball game. But Michigan took control in the final 30 minutes by opening the second half with TDs on its first two drives. And it never looked back.

The physical Wolverine ground game began to assert itself. To wit: On the first play of the second half, Wolverine RB Donovan Edwards took a simple hand-off and zipped 60 yards after Purdue’s Reese Taylor whiffed on a tackle.

“Well, they do a great job of playing smash-mouth football, running football,” said Brohm.

“They came out in the second half and ran a simple play right off the edge. We had a corner right there, he missed the tackle.”

7 – Getting his kicks

Mitchell Fineran was on the mark, nailing field goals of 33, 45, 43, 27 and 32 yards. His two first-half makes were big in keeping Purdue in this game in the first half, when the Boilermakers trailed 14-13. His five field goals set a Big Ten title game record. Still, Purdue needed less Fineran and more TDs.

8 – Where was Payne Durham?

The offense never got him involved. Durham finished with two catches for 10 yards. Typically, when he has big games, Purdue wins. Credit the Michigan defense, too.

9 – Purdue “won” just by getting to Indianapolis for the title game as Big Ten West champs

This is another milestone season for Brohm, who has accomplished some big things in his six seasons in West Lafayette. Among them:

• Epic wins vs. two No. 2-ranked teams (Ohio State, 2018 Iowa 2021) and a No. 3 (Michigan State 2021)

• First AP poll ranking since 2007 (No. 25 in Oct. 2021 after win vs. No. 2 Iowa)

• Three NFL picks in 2022 NFL draft, first time since 2008

This trip to the Big Ten title game may be Brohm’s best feat yet.

10 – Where will Purdue go bowling?

Most pundits have the Boilermakers pegged to play in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando on Jan. 2 vs. an SEC foe. The likely opponent: LSU, which won the SEC West and lost its league title game 50-30 to Georgia. Stay tuned. The bowl announcements will be made on Sunday afternoon.

“We hung in there, we had our chances I thought we played hard,” said Brohm. “We competed. Unfortunately, the other team came out and the second half and imposed their will on us.”