Ten observations: Indiana-Purdue

Here is what has us talking after Purdue’s 35-31 win vs. Indiana in the battle for the Old Oaken Bucket.

1 – Let’s call this the “Hudson Card Game,” as he enjoyed arguably his best effort of the season. And he did so while nursing an injury.

“He’s got a rib injury on his left side,” said Ryan Walters. So, any kind of twisting motion or any kind of pressure to it, it’s painful. But he knows this is the last game. As long as he can throw the ball, he wanted to play.

“I think it was on Monday or Tuesday, and he still wasn’t looking right, wasn’t feeling right, but he’s like: ‘Coach, I’m playing.’ So, we planned accordingly.”

Card was often under duress, having little time to throw. He ripped off some nice runs en route to gaining a team-high 85 yards rushing, including a game-winning 10-yard TD run that was set up by a pretty Card-to-Deion Burks 44-yard pass. And Card hit 21-of-34 passes 275 yards and three TDs, as Purdue outscored IU 17-3 in the fourth quarter.

2 – Was this Purdue’s “best game of the year?” No doubt. It wasn’t always pretty, but Purdue got the job done in overcoming a 10-point second-half deficit.

“To be able to overcome a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter against a team that was chomping at the bit to put us away, I was really proud of them and hopefully we carry that momentum into next year,” said Walters.

A big key: Winning the turnover battle, 3-0, and making plays in crunch time. None was bigger than OLB Nic Scourton’s stop of IU QB Brendan Sorsby on 4th-and-one to snuff out Indiana’s final drive.

“He’s just so agile, so athletic to be 280 pounds,” said Walters. “So, he made a great play.

“There was a similar play earlier this year … the quarterback pulls it because he thinks he’s free and Nic’s right there.”

3 – The receiving up was ultra thin with T.J. Sheffield in the portal and Andrew Sowinski and Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen ruled out with injury. The unit already was missing injured Mershawn Rice. Purdue leaned on true freshman Jaron Tibbbs, JC Jayden Dixon-Veal and vet Deion Burks, who led Purdue with seven catches for 87 yards.

4 – Purdue entered the game having rushed for 300 yards in each of the last two games. The Boilers were trying to make it three in a row for the first time since 1968 but came up short and finished with 178. Devin Mockobee finished with 42 yards; Tyrone Tracy had 48.

5 – Dillon Thieneman capped one of the best freshman seasons in Purdue annals, making two interceptions. He finished the season with six picks, the most ever for a Boilermaker freshman. He also had a team-high eight tackles. No doubt, he will be a consensus Freshman All-American.

6 – Tough to see TE Garrett Miller carted off the field in the second quarter with an apparent leg injury. He missed 2022 with a knee injury suffered in camp.

7 – Purdue got a glimpse of its future in TE George Burheen, who enjoyed a breakout. On a day he made his first catch as a Boiler, Burheen finished with five receptions for 74 yards and a TD.

“He was really playing tight end and wide out today,” said Walters. “And so I think some of his targets were when he was split out like a receiver. And the ball found him and you see just how long, how athletic he is, how fast he is, to be a tight end. I’m really excited about his role in his career here.”

Fellow TE Drew Biber got in on the action, too, with his first career TD grab.

8 – The place kicking continued to confound. Today, Ben Freehill missed a chippy 30-yard field in the first quarter. Purdue followed that by mishandling a snap on a PAT. But Freehill redeemed himself later by hitting kicks from 33, 44 and 35 yards.

“To still have faith in your kicker to go make field goals when we needed them,” said Walters. “And he makes them. That shows signs of growth. To me, that is the definition of toughness. It’s overcoming adverse moments with great attitude and effort.”

Kicking wasn’t the lone special teams issue on this day: In the third quarter, IU’s Jaylin Lucas jetted 100 yards with kickoff for a TD to give the Hoosiers a 21-15 edge. It was the first time Purdue yielded a kickoff for a TD since 2020. And Purdue jumped offsides on an IU punt, which resulted in a Hoosier first down. Indiana proceeded to score on the drive to take a 28-18 lead.

9 – Card’s 38-yard TD pass to Mockobee in the fourth quarter cut IU’s lead to 28-25 and energized the squad. It was a play Purdue had been sitting on all season. And, it worked to perfection.

10 – The season is finished. No bowl. Now what? All eyes are on the transfer portal. Purdue already has seen WR T.J. Sheffield enter the portal. What is next?

“We got a lot of work to do,” said Walters. “We got a lot of decisions to make roster-wise. We got a lot of evaluation to do from a recruiting standpoint. And I got a lot of fundraising to do. This is just the beginning. I’m gonna put my head down, go to work. We’ll take a little break after signing day, but hopefully this is the last time I sit home at the holidays while I’m here as the head coach at Purdue.”