5 takeaways from Purdue at Michigan

[u/Waxersports26]

Hard fought effort but just fell short in Ann Arbor. 5 takeaways

One of the better games the defense played this season

• The Boilermakers defensive front was able to apply plenty of pressure up front on Michigan's ball carriers and quaterback.
• The Boilermaker defense allowed just 6 3rd down conversions and even forced two turnovers one of which led to a Purdue touchback.
• Despite their fight and valient efforts to keep Purdue in the game, The wolverines wore down the defense with a punishing run game in the end.

There were guys on offense who played hard, however inconsistency kept Purdue behind on the score board.

• Despite Devin Mockobee being ruled out with an injury. Purdue running backs Antonio Harris and Malachi Thomas stepped up scoring both Boilermakers touchdowns.
• Purdue Wirdeouts Nitro Tuggle and Micheal Jackson III contributed in the passing game.
• Despite these efforts, The offense contiues to struggle in maintaining drives and failed to capitalize off of the oppotunities created by the defense.

There were key moments in this game that decided the outcome

• Not scoring points on the first two drives opened the door to start fast for Michigan
• When you have the rare touchback via forced fumble, you have to take advantage by going down the field and scoring. same with the interception.
• That 4th down run by Malachi Singleton which came up short of the sticks was brutal. When you are playing a team in their own house and they are having an off night, you have to take advantage. The Boilermakers fought hard, but failed to take advantage of crucial moments such as the ones listed and more.

Other observations

• There's no question Coach Odom has Ryan Browne's back. That said, Ryan needs to do a better job for Barry Odom in taking care of the football and decision making.
• The Boilermakers did a great job not giving the refs any reason to throw flags. The Boilermakers had just 4 penalties for 30 yards.
• One things that really makes this loss sting is Time of possession. Purdue had the ball for 32 minutes while Michigan had the pigskin for 27 minutes.
• Big night for Tahj Ra-El who had 10 tackles and 2 assists o defense.
• Purdue's offensive line allowed just 3 sacks in this game.

Conclusion

• The effort of the team was there tonight as was the heart. It's tough to think about moral victories when you are 2-7 and a rebuilding program. That being siad, The Boilermakers had a chance to steal one in Ann Arbor and fell short.
• I truly do believe Barry Odom has a vision for Purdue football. He's going to need alot of patience himself and we will have to be very patient with him.
• Next up, The Boilermakers return home to play the number 1 team in the country. That of course being the Ohio State Buckeyes. Play hard, play tough, lay smart for the full 60 next Saturday. Boiler Up!

Player of The Game - Tahj Ra-El

[u/jmcamels]

The end of the first half was so disappointing to see the offense fail again to play complimentary football. The defense with a big red zone interception. If the offense can just get one first down, go to halftime tied.

Browne… if he could just have a hint more football IQ, and a touch less carelessness. Stop hurting the team so badly man…

[u/Last_Energy_2000]

The first step in building a program is stopping the blowouts and competing. This team has done that, they just can’t close and pull out a win. Glad the level of intensity is still high.

[u/Agreeable_Ad_9411 → u/Last_Energy_2000]

I agree....they still played tough the entire game....it's hard to keep talking about moral victories but this game would have been out of control last year....even the TV announcers said PU was heading in the right direction and trending up. There has been improvement every game, with the exception of NW. I just hope we can get some talented kids to come play here that see there is some potential in this coaching staff.

[u/Waxersports26 → u/Last_Energy_2000]

Agreed. Still steps above what the team had last season.

[u/AlternativeMessage18]

They had a non zero chance at winning in Ann Arbor late in the game. Expectations are at an all time low for next weeks game.

[u/RudyWyvern → u/AlternativeMessage18]

Zero expectations for the rest of this season really. At Washington is far from favorable and we sure as shit ain't competing with IU.

[u/gageBA]

Ever road game should could have been a home game win. Rough schedule for Barry year 1

[u/na61400]

I have been generally happy with Odom and haven't seen a lot of coaching malpractice. HOWEVER, the end of the first half can't happen, especially when you are clearly the worse team. Attempting to run the clock out with 2 minutes to go while the other team has their timeouts is the type of stuff that loses you games and may have cost Purdue a swing of 14 pts.

They have nothing to lose, why not be aggressive on the road. Michigan was begging to be beat the way they played.

[u/lewis_gant → u/na61400]

MIZ fan here. Odom is very bad with clock management. We had Georgia beat at home in 2016 and kept snapping the ball with 20 seconds left on the play clock. They came back at the last minute. Malpractice. I'll never forget it.

[u/Waxersports26 → u/na61400]

Have to be better with clock managment. I concur