Purdue defense stiffens in second half; notebook
MADISON, Wis. — Purdue’s defense understood it’d likely give up rushing yardage to Wisconsin and freshman super back Jonathan Taylor.
But it figured it could tighten up in the red zone and try to force turnovers. And it’s those areas, along with a tightening rush defense in the second half, that gave the Boilermakers a chance on Saturday.
“We have some pride in us,” senior linebacker Garrett Hudson said following Purdue’s 17-9 loss. “We buckled down. Coach (Nick) Holt made great adjustments — all the coaches did — and we just did our job. It’s a dang good football team we played against. That’s what happens when they’re that good, they’re going to break some runs, but you make adjustments and play hard and keep playing, keep fighting.”
The Boilermaker defense certainly did so in the second half. Then, it held the Badgers scoreless on only 212 yards, limiting them to only seven first downs after they had 17 in the first half.
It was a significant turnaround since earlier in the game, when Purdue had allowed 155 yards on Wisconsin’s first two drives — Taylor had a run of 67 yards for the first score only 90 seconds into the game — in falling behind 14-0.
Purdue stiffened, getting an interception by Da’Wan Hunte on Wisconsin’s third drive, then Hudson’s block of a punt after getting a stop on the fourth.
“Coach Holt lit a fire under us and came after us, like he should,” senior Danny Ezehukwu said. “We deserved it. We weren’t playing well. I wasn’t playing well in particular. He lit a fire under us and got after us and we turned it around, but we can’t do that. We have to have some consistency and we have to start fast. We know we can be a good defense, it’s just a question of how good we can be.”
Purdue was excellent in the second, limiting the Badgers’ running game to only 109 yards after the Boilermakers had given up 186 in the first half. But bigger than that was the turnovers: Ezechukwu picked off an Alex Hornibrook pass in the third quarter, returning it 38 yards — and for a moment looking like he could have scored — to the Wisconsin 28. Early in the fourth, Lorenzo Neal forced and recovered a fumble after he popped Taylor inside the five-yard-line. It was Purdue’s fourth fumbled recovery inside the five this season.
“We’ve been fortunate to get turnovers,” Coach Jeff Brohm said, after Purdue had three of them, plus the punt block. “I think we do our best to stop the run and load the box. We’ve got some good players who play physical and finish. While they hit some plays on us, (we) continue to battle.”
Wisconsin, though, did have offensive wins, finishing with 494 yards, with Taylor getting 219 of the 295 on the ground.
“We just have to continue to get better at tackling,” Hunte said. “Some things we let out the gate, but Coach Holt did a great job with his play calling. We just have to make sure we come in (Sunday), watch the film and learn from our mistakes.” (KC)
Big block
On Saturday morning, special teams coordinator Tony Levine had a new plan for his block punt team.
So he drew up a scheme that he thought could take advantage of Wisconsin’s punt formation.
“We were going to switch the whole thing up,” Hudson said. “I was like, ‘OK, let’s do it. You’re the boss.’ We followed what he said.”
And it worked. When Wisconsin motioned a wing from inside the formation to wide, where he’d be a gunner, the Boilermakers quickly shifted their front, overloading the blocking scheme. It left Hudson a free run to the punter, and although he wasn’t supposed to be the blocker, he got his chest into Anthony Lotti, swallowing up the attempt.
Purdue nearly scored. Race Johnson picked up the ball, but soon after stumbled, obviously hurting as he tried to stay on his feet; finally, he collapsed at the Wisconsin 15. Unfortunately for the Boilermakers, they didn’t score on the ensuing offensive possession, after J.D. Dellinger missed a 42-yard field goal.
Soon after the block, Johnson told Hudson he’d pulled his hamstring.
“I was like, ‘Do I grab him and throw him in the end zone?’” Hudson said. “But it was still a pretty good play for us.” (KC)
Sindelar stays in (for the most part)
Elijah Sindelar thought the plan would be the same: Purdue’s starting quarterback would come out in the second quarter and then wait and see.
But after David Blough was sacked on two of the three plays on his first series — inside the red zone — Sindelar was back in on the next drive and played the rest of the way.
“They changed it up on us,” Sindelar said. “That’s why you’ve always got to be ready with this coaching staff because they want to win and they’ll do whatever it takes and they’ll change up the routine at any time.”
Sindelar said he thought the extended time helped him get into more of a rhythm and “chemistry” with the offense.
But, still, that didn’t produce enough points as Purdue had to settle for field goals.
On Blough not being reinserted into the game, Brohm said Purdue can’t take two sacks in that situation, though he acknowledged “it’s not all on David.”
“That was disappointing,” Brohm said. “Now, easier said than done, because they got in there fast. But we took two sacks in three plays.” (SC)
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