Blough frustrated by picks; more late Monday Purdue notes

David Blough said his shoulder soreness following Saturday’s game was low.

But his frustration was high.

The junior quarterback threw two costly third-quarter interceptions, the first a pick-six that allowed No. 16 Louisville to take a lead, and the second an ill-advised heave into coverage on a flea flicker.

Purdue lost 35-28.

“I felt like I was piecing together one of the best games of my career, until I turned the ball over,” said Blough, who had started 9 of 10 in the first half, then threw his second touchdown of the game early in the third quarter. “I can’t do it. I’ve got to trust myself, trust the play. I owe it to my teammates to protect the football, literally, with my life, and I didn’t do it. It turned into points and it turned out to be the difference in the game.”

Although Elijah Sindelar started — a quarterback rotation is likely to continue Friday vs. Ohio, per Jeff Brohm — Blough sparked a sputtering offense in the second quarter. And it looked like he would continue that in the third.

But after crossing the 50 on the fourth possession after halftime, he got jumpy in the pocket, feeling a bit of pressure from his left. And his throw toward the short right for Richie Worship was well off the mark. Blough called it a good decision but a bad throw.

“It was because my feet were bad,” said Blough, who threw a second pick on the next possession, when he targeted a double-covered Jackson Anthrop in the endzone. “It’s frustrating because I feel like I let the guys down at a time we were hot. … Gave them seven points.

“And then the second one, I can’t just throw it up for grabs. It’s bad football. Frustrating. Can’t do it. I owe it to my teammates not to do that.”

It led to Blough’s benching, as Sindelar took the remaining snaps.

Blough had some good — 175 yards passing, with a couple of touchdowns — but the two bad interceptions.

“We did a lot of good things,” he said, “but it’s frustrating when two or three bad plays ruin it for the whole day.”

Blough’s full interview after a late Monday practice below:

As Purdue’s practiced ended Monday night, an eruption came from its team huddle.

A new gold chrome helmet had been unveiled; Purdue will wear it for the first time on Friday night, under the lights in Ross-Ade Stadium.

“It’s incredible. Wow,” Blough said. “The things are lining up. Coach Brohm said it, with a new locker room, a new facility. We’re trying to build this new culture and then they pull out these helmets for the Friday night game. It’ll be an incredible atmosphere and the fans will be ready to see a team that’s flying around with some passion now.”

Western Kentucky, Brohm’s previous stop, had similar helmets. And Louisville wore chrome on Saturday.

“I like (them),” D.J. Knox said. “Especially we're going to be playing on a Friday night, so I'm going to like how the lights hit off the helmet. I'm going to definitely be a little turned up, trying to get me a picture with the nice helmet.”

A thunderstorm through West Lafayette Monday night ruined the Boilermakers’ outdoor plans.

Purdue had hoped to get used to their new LED lights with a night practice in Ross-Ade. But lightning — and heavy rain at times — kept the Boilermakers inside Mollenkopf.

They might hold a night practice Tuesday, rather than their usual 4-to-6 p.m. slot, to get a chance to get a feel for the lights before Friday. But as of late Monday, that decision had not yet been made.

The Boilermakers heard from Drew Brees on Saturday before kickoff, with the future pro football Hall of Famer telling them about his days at Purdue.

Then, from 1997-2000, the Boilermakers had a miraculous turnaround under the direction of Joe Tiller, ending in a Big Ten championship and Rose Bowl appearance during Brees' senior year.

“He’s the best advocate this University has, when it comes to Purdue football,” Blough said. “He supports us. He would do anything for us to be successful. You can see it in his generosity in money. You see it in his time and his care for us. He is the best face of an alumni group of football players you could ask for. Man, I was ready to run through a wall for him. I know people have experienced it in San Diego and New Orleans. His pregame speeches are pretty fun and you get chills when you think about it.

“For me as a junior, a little bit older guy, I made sure KeyRon Catlett and (Darius) Pittman and those guys know that he’s talking to them as much as anybody. That they’re the class that has the opportunity to turn this thing all the way around. Yeah, we’re going to help big time. But the recruiting class, if they come in and say, ‘Hey, we’re putting our mind to it and we’re leaving here as Big Ten champs.’ Shoot, that’s how his class did it, as freshmen. He made that decision as a freshman.”

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