Ten observations: Purdue-Syracuse

Here’s what has us talking after Purdue’s35-20 loss vs. Syracuse.

1 – Turnover City

After not making any turnovers the first two games, Purdue made up for it on this night by committing four. It could have been worse, as Purdue had seven fumbles (losing three). Two of the turnovers occurred in the red zone in the first half.

In the first quarter, QB Hudson Card lost a fumble at the SU 5-yard line on a 4th-and-one after Purdue eschewed a field-goal attempt. In the second quarter, Card lost another fumble, this time at the SU 19-yard line in a 14-7 game.

“You’re talking about penalties and mental errors and turnovers will lose you games and we did that in abundance tonight,” said Ryan Walters. “Gotta go look at why. We’ve been really good in terms of ball security through those first two games and it’s been clean in that aspect in practice. So, you really got to do a self-evaluation as to why that happened and then ultimately just play cleaner. The penalties came at inopportune moments. Turnovers came at inopportune moments … “

2 – Garrett Shrader, All-American

The Syracuse QB looked like one on this night, beating the Boilermakers a second season in a row–this time in convincing fashion. Time and again, he sliced and diced the Boilermaker defense, running for 195 yards (7.8 ypc) and passing for 184. He added four rushing TDs.

Bottom line: Purdue had no answer for Shrader, who led the Orange to 455 yards. SU finished with 271 yards rushing a week after Purdue yielded 11 at Virginia Tech, the fewest it ever had allowed in a road game.

3 – Where was Devin?

History has shown Purdue typically does well if RB Devin Mockobee is a featured part of the offense. And, on this night, he wasn’t. Mockobee ran 12 times for 31 yards, struggling with protecting the ball on a few occasions.

4 – Short-yardage woes

An inability to get a consistent push in third- and fourth-and-short continues to haunt Purdue. As mentioned above, the staff balked at attempting a short field goal on a first-half possession, going for it on 4th-and-one and losing a fumble. Late in the game, Purdue went for it on 4th-and-1, opting to pass. The ball was incomplete, essentially ending the Boilermakers’ hopes before a sellout Ross-Ade Stadium crowd.

“As soon as the ball is snapped, we are playing in our own backfield,” said Walters. “And, that’s an issue. So, we’re gonna get creative. We’ve got to understand who we are and how we can go get a yard.”

5 – Sending out an S.O.S. to Hudson Card

Not a memorable night for the Boilermaker QB, who lost three fumbles and tossed a pick. It didn’t help that he was harassed often by Syracuse. Card hit 32-of-46 passes for 323 yards with a TD and interception.

“I thought he handled it well,” said Walters. “If you know him, nothing really ever rattles him. Obviously, he gets frustrated. I didn’t think he was pressing. I think he was trying to take what the defense was giving. They run a complicated scheme. I thought he did a good job of deciphering where to go with the ball.”

6 – No groove on offense

Purdue never found a rhythm on offense. It all started on the Boilermakers’ first drive of the game, a nice march to the SU 5-yard line that ended with a lost Card fumble on 4th-and-one. It was a portent of things to come on a turnover-filled night.

“Offensively, I felt like we were moving the ball all night,” said Walters, who’s team had 403 yards vs. SU’s 3-3-5 defense. “We just turned the ball over at inopportune times. You can’t do that against a quality opponent. The fact that we were still in the game in the fourth quarter, I was shocked. We didn’t play clean enough. Didn’t play with enough detail. So, it’s hard to win a game when don’t do that against a team like Syracuse.”

7 – Losing Kydran

Purdue played the second half without a key OLB: Kydran Jenkins, who sustained an injury in the first half. He’s one of the Boilermakers’ most relentless defenders. No update on his injury. Purdue needs No. 4, who is having a special season.

“Kydran’s a tough kid and if he can play next week, he’ll play,” said Walters. “If he can’t, then next man up.”

8 – Flags, flags, flags

They were everywhere on this night–and some were very dubious. The PIs on Purdue? The roughing the passers? Woof. Purdue had 11 penalties, while Syracuse incurred nine. Add it up, and there were 20 penalties for 232 yards.

“We turned the ball over and had penalties and at the worst times possible when you’re trying to crawl yourself out of that hole and so we got to do a better job from a coaching standpoint and making sure that we’re harping on the details,” said Walters.

9 – Let’s hear if for Yaseen

It looks like Purdue has another viable option at wideout in Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen, who has developed into a nice possession target. He made a team-high 10 catches tonight on 14 targets for 114 yards, as his career finally appears to be on track after being derailed by injury.

10 – What’s next?

Purdue has no time to wallow, welcoming Wisconsin to Ross-Ade Stadium on Friday night. The Badgers have won 16 in a row over Purdue. Three head coaches came and went without beat Wisconsin: Danny Hope, Darrell Hazell, Jeff Brohm. The last time Purdue beat the Badgers in West Lafayette? It was in 1997, Joe Tiller’s first season as head coach.

Walters’ message to the team Saturday night?
“It’s disappointing,” he said. “I felt like I failed them this week. The bottom line is we got a game Friday night that’s against Wisconsin, and we haven’t beaten in Wisconsin in a long time. So, we got to do a self-evaluation to make sure that we’re not making the same mistakes that we made tonight moving forward. But, ultimately, I’ll put this game away and get ready for a gauntlet Big Ten slate that’s coming up here soon.”