Ten observations from Purdue's loss to Iowa

This is what has us talking after Purdue’s 24-3 loss vs. Iowa.

1 – The big storyline entering the day was Charlie Jones facing his former team. Jones had his reasons for transferring to Purdue from Iowa. And, his decision to come to West Lafayette has been justified from his production and the success of the team. But on this day, Iowa had the upper-hand, as Purdue fell to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the Big Ten.

Yes, Jones had 104 yards receiving on 19 targets and 11 catches, but he was largely held in check aside from a 41-yard catch in the first half, averaging 9.5 yards per catch with no TDs.

2 – The last time we saw Aidan O’Connell, he was tossing three interceptions in a loss at Wisconsin in what was his worst outing of the season. And the sixth-year senior was off his game again on this blustery day in Ross-Ade Stadium.

O’Connell tossed two first-half interceptions that Iowa turned into 10 points in building a 17-3 edge at intermission. He completed only 20-of-43 passes (47 percent) for 168 yards. What’s wrong with AOC?

“I don’t know the exact reason otherwise we would get it fixed,” said Jeff Brohm. “If I analyze it just by looking at today, the first interception, once again, he threw the ball way too fast. … The second one was a simple check-down and we threw it over his head. We’ve got to be more efficient there. And if we can’t be more efficient, we’ve got to be more balanced and be able to do other things.”

3 – A wind advisory was issued for this day, with south-to-north gusts expected to be upward of 50 mph. Iowa was unfazed, scoring 17 second quarter points going into the wind toward the south end zone en route to forging a 17-3 lead at halftime. At least it didn’t rain.

This was the lowest point total of the Brohm era and just the fourth time under his stewardship Purdue failed to score in double-digits. The others: 17-9 at Wisconsin in 2017; 35-7 at Penn State in 2019; 24-6 vs. Illinois in 2019.

The last time Purdue scored three or fewer points? It was in 2013, when the Boilermakers suffered back-to-back shutouts to Michigan State and Ohio State.

“We weren’t able to be efficient in the passing game,” said Brohm. “No excuses, the weather did affect it. That’s why you got to be better at running the ball and be better at other things. But, we definitely didn’t make enough plays and we turned it over in the first half twice, which was costly.”

The Final Word: Purdue’s low-scoring blowout loss to Iowa

4 – Iowa came into the day last in the Big Ten in total offense with a 248.6 per game average. But the Hawkeyes had 258 at halftime and finished with 376 to Purdue’s 255.

The much-maligned Spencer Petras looked like the best quarterback on the field on this afternoon. He completed 13-of-23 passes (57 percent) for 192 yards with two TDs and no picks.

5 – There haven’t been many times in the last 30 years that Purdue had the better rushing attack than Iowa. But that was the case entering this game.

The Boilermakers came into the day averaging 130.4 yards per game; Iowa was averaging 93.5. But Iowa won the game on the ground, grinding out 184 yards rushing to Purdue’s 87. Hawkeyes RB Kaleb Johnson had 200 yards, averaging 9.1 yards per carry with a 75-yard TD jaunt.

Purdue sensation Devin Mockobee had only 14 carries for 65 yards (4.6 ypc). Maybe he should have been used more.

The 3-2-1: Purdue’s loss to Iowa

6 – The bleeding continues in the secondary. Iowa hit pass plays of 41, 16, 22, 29 and 24 yards. This, despite the Boilermakers having a full complement of defensive backs with CBs Cory Trice and Jamari Brown back from injury. S Cam Allen didn’t start, giving way to Bryce Hampton. Didn’t really matter.

“I think they practiced hard,” said Brohm. “They want to play well. We gave up some big plays. … “

The run defense finally busted, too, allowing a season-long 75-yard TD run on the second play of the second half … a real kick in the gut. That gave the Hawkeyes a 24-3 lead, and it felt like game over.

“It’s combination,” said Brohm when assessing overall defensive breakdowns. “It falls on me, our coaches, our players as long as improvement needs to be made.”

7 – Iowa finally ended its misery vs. Purdue. The Hawkeyes had lost two in a row and four of five vs. the Boilermakers. But Iowa emphatically flipped the script on this day, taking control late in the first quarter and never looking back. This looks like a team that’s hitting its stride for the home stretch of the season. Purdue?

“Didn’t have the team ready to play and guys didn’t perform and we got our butts kicked and there’s no ifs ands or buts about it, and that’s a good football team,” said Brohm. “We knew that. We knew we were gonna have to make plays and get some points early. Let’s take them out on what they want to do. We didn’t get that done. We turned it over, weren’t optimistic in the red zone, gave up way too many big plays on defense once again. So, you combine those and were lucky the score was what it was.”

8 – Turnovers continue. Purdue lost the turnover battle, 2-0. It has become a trend. Purdue had three turnovers at Wisconsin, three at Maryland, three at Minnesota, two vs. FAU … on and on it has gone this season for the Boilermakers, who have a minus-four turnover margin on the season.

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9 – Where are the playmakers? This offense is largely bereft of difference-makers. And the rugged Iowa defense exposed that even more vs. a Boilermaker offense that struggled for chunk plays and never really got traction.

Charlie Jones can get behind defenders, but the other wideouts never have stepped up. Only two other wideouts caught passes today, and each had just one apiece: Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen and Deion Burks.

“We need more guys making plays,” said Brohm. “Not enough guys made plays when they could have today. It was not a sharp performance at all, which the wind and that does affect it. But we didn’t play complimentary football and we haven’t for a little while now. We’ve got a long ways to go.”

10 – Next up is a trip to Illinois, a matchup that once dripped with intrigue for Purdue as it chased the West Division title. Now, the Boilermakers’ odds have become very steep as they look to knock off the first-place Fighting Illini.

“I think starting with myself all the way down, we got to look in the mirror and understand we’re not near as good as we think we are,” said Brohm. “Got a lot of work to do. So, we need to commit to doing that or guys can move on and do something else, if they want.

“There’s a lot of season to play for. It’s one football game. Yes, we got beat very badly … I’m hopeful that our guys understand that we’re all going to have to do our part, and fight and scrap in order to figure out a way to win the next one.”