Iowa 26, Purdue 20: Grading the Boilermakers

MORE: Gold & Black Radio Express: Purdue loses at Iowa | Ten things you need to know about Purdue's loss at Iowa | David Bell takes another step in his development | Final thoughts: Purdue's loss to Iowa | Twin City Superstore video: Brohm after Iowa loss | Data Driven | Upon further review

Time to hand out grades following Purdue's 26-20 loss at Iowa.

The final numbers look good. Jack Plummer passed for 327 yards and two touchdowns, but he hit just 30-of-50 passes (60 percent) and had crucial pick. Plummer could have been intercepted in the third and fourth quarters, too, as he hit a bit of a lull in the second half. It was a tale of two halves for Plummer: He was 16-of-22 for 162 yards with a TD in the first half. In the second half, he hit just 14-of-28 passes for 165 yards with a TD and pick. Officially, Plummer was sacked just one time, but he was harassed on numerous occasions. When the redshirt freshman was on the mark, he was hooking up with freshman David Bell. What a day the Indianapolis native enjoyed, hauling in 13 passes for 197 yards (school-record for a freshman) and a touchdown. But after making three catches on Purdue's first drive of the second half, Bell went five series without making a catch until less than four minutes were remaining in the game. Nice to see Jared Sparks play for the first time since the Vandy game. He had three catches for 17 yards.

Grade: B

After rushing for a season-high 127 yards last week vs. Maryland, Purdue fell back to its norm vs. Iowa. The Boilermakers never got on track, running just 18 times for 33 yards. The long run? Nine yards. The offense had the ball in the red zone five times but came away with just two touchdowns. Getting physical on short fields is an issue. It was good to see fifth-year senior Richie Worship play for the first time in almost two years. He ran once for three yards.

Grade: D-

The Boilermakers finished with 360 yards but were wildly imbalanced (33 rush; 327 pass). It took a while for the attack to get on track. When it did—like in the second quarter, when Purdue hit 11-of-13 passes for 102 yards—things clicked. The offense got the ball two times in the fourth quarter with a chance to chip into Iowa's 19-10 lead ... and all Purdue could muster was a field goal. The fumble after a catch by WR Amad Anderson, Jr., killed a golden opportunity on the third drive of the game. Purdue lost the turnover battle, 2-1, after winning it each of the last two games.

Grade: C+

Iowa senior quarterback Nate Stanley enjoyed a banner day, hitting 23-of-33 passes for 260 yards with a touchdown and pick. Stanley enjoyed so much success because he typically had all day to throw. The Purdue pass rush was tepid … at best. The Boilermakers generated just one sack, and that came late by George Karlaftis. The Purdue secondary had a lot of pressure on it because of the lack of a rush. Nice pick by corner Dedrick Mackey, who almost took it to the house. It was his second interception of the season. Purdue had the ball at Iowa's 9-yard line after the pick but had to settle for a field goal to make it 19-10, Iowa, with just over 11 minutes to play in the game.

Grade: C-

End Derrick Barnes said after the game that the plan was to mute the Iowa ground attack. Mission accomplished. He led the way with a team-high eight tackles. The Hawkeyes had just 102 yards on 33 carries with a long run of 21 yards. Tackle Lawrence Johnson was very active. Kudos to tackle Anthony Watts, who played 37 snaps despite a bad right elbow. Tough guy. Team guy.

Grade: B+

The unit did a lot of bending … but little breaking. Bottom line: Coordinator Nick Holt’s defense kept Purdue in this game, time and again making the Hawkeyes settle for field goals. (Iowa had four of them.) That continues a trend by the defense, which has yielded just five touchdowns in the last 10 quarters. The Boilermakers limited big plays (long pass 32 yards), but they needed to generate more than one turnover.

Grade: B

Weird factoid: Purdue used three different punters. Has to be a school record, right? Jackson Anthrop had the longest kickoff return of the season, taking one back 38 yards in the first half. J.D. Dellinger continued to be money, hitting both of his field-goal attempts: 27 yards and 36 yards. Iowa did nothing in the return game. However, Brohm’s decision to call for an onside kick after Purdue had cut Iowa’s lead to 19-13 with 2:59 left in the game (and all three of his timeouts in his pocket) was viewed by some as dubious. Iowa easily covered the kick. And Purdue exasperated the situation with a 15-yard personal foul penalty on the play on Anthrop. The Hawkeyes subsequently scored a touchdown, covering 35 yards on two plays to take a 26-13 edge. Game over. That knocks the grade down.

Grade: B+

Membership Info: Sign up for GoldandBlack.com now | Why join? | Questions?

Follow GoldandBlack.com: Twitter | Facebook

More: Gold and Black Illustrated/Gold and Black Express | Subscribe to our podcast

Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2019. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.