Turnovers, penalties must be reduced if Purdue wants to end 16-game skid vs. Wisconsin

Ryan Walters doesn’t need to be reminded about the seven fumbles and four turnovers that occurred Saturday night in a loss to Syracuse in Ross-Ade Stadium. He’s aware.

“Yeah, that’s the thing, we emphasize it every week,” said Walters. “We have a designated day where we actually work ball security drills and turnover circuits on defense, which is why we’ve been really clean up until the other night.

“So, definitely will put an emphasis on it, and guys got to take ownership over protecting the football and carrying it the right way.”

Walters’ to-do list also includes improvement on converting short-yardage situations into first downs and cutting down on penalties, of which Purdue had 11 for 127 yards vs. Syracuse in a 35-20 loss.

“Some of them (penalties) are bang-bang plays, some of them could go either way,” said Walters. “So, I don’t want to overreact, but the post-snap penalties will kill you, the pre-snap penalties. But the ones in competition when you’re competing for a ball or like a holding call on the offensive line that could or could not be thrown, you don’t want to overreact to those.”

Notching victories is difficult enough without committing myriad turnovers and penalties. Things are about to get real.

The non-conference season is in the rear-view mirror. There’s a sense of urgency as Purdue glances over its shoulder and sees a 1-2 mark that includes home defeats to Fresno State and Syracuse and a win at Virginia Tech.

Next up: Big Ten play, as Purdue takes the wraps off conference action this week when Wisconsin (2-1) visits for a Friday night game. The last time Purdue played at home on a Friday was in 2017, when the Boilermakers knocked off Ohio, 44-21, in Jeff Brohm’s first season as Boilermaker boss.

The Boilermakers committed their first turnovers of the season last week, coughing up four. It could have been worse, as Purdue had seven fumbles–losing three. QB Hudson Card tossed his first interception of 2023, which came on a tipped pass.

The Boilermakers have no time to feel sorry for themselves as they look to correct mistakes and move forward in search of their first victory vs. Wisconsin since 2003 and their first vs. the Badgers in Ross-Ade Stadium since 1997.

Add it all up, and Purdue will be riding a 16-game losing skid vs. Wisconsin–who has won nine in a row in West Lafayette–when the ball is kicked off at 7 p.m. ET on FS1.

Like Purdue, Wisconsin is operating in 2023 under a first-year head coach from the defensive side of the ball: Luke Fickell, an Ohio State grad who previously was head coach at Cincinnati. Also like the Boilermakers, the Badgers are led by a transfer signal-caller from the Lone Star State: SMU’s Tanner Mordecai, a Waco, Texas, native who began his career at Oklahoma.

Also like Purdue, Wisconsin has installed an Air Raid-based offense under coordinator Phil Longo, who was OC at North Carolina. But the ground game is still a big weapon for a Badger program that has been built on a stout rushing attack dating to Barry Alvarez’s arrival as head coach in 1990.

Wisconsin is No. 4 in the Big Ten in rushing (203.7 ypg) led by RBs Braelon Allen and Chez Mellusi. Purdue must try to mute the rushing game a week after Syracuse shredded Purdue for 271 yards rushing.

“Just schematically (Wisconsin is) way different,” said Walters. “Wisconsin as you think of them over the last however many years has been super run-heavy, use of multiple tight ends, controlling the clock, and playing with a measured pace.”

That task will be complicated if Purdue is without OLB Kydran Jenkins, who missed the second half of the Syracuse game with an injury.

“Still going through the rehab process,” said Walters. “If he’s ready to go, he’ll go. If he’s not, he won’t, and it’ll be next man up. Obviously, he’s a great player and definitely hurt not having him in the second half.”

Jenkins or no Jenkins, Walters knows his squad faces a big task. And, he’s eager for the challenge.

“Quick turnaround and playing against a team that this university hasn’t beat in 20 years, so a lot of things to look forward to, and just another opportunity to go compete,” said Walters. “That’s what I love about this team, is that they are not shy about the competition and are eager to go prove themselves, as is the staff.

“So, we’re looking forward to a great night on Friday.”

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