Purdue Football Resets for Final Stretch
"I thought we were able to run the ball. We scored 13 points, and nobody had done that up to this point, as crazy as that sounds," Ryan Walters said at his Monday press conference fresh off Purdue's loss to Michigan Saturday night. "I did think defensively, after those first two drives, we settled in and played an attacking style of football and you saw guys that looked like and played like they belonged on that stage."
Purdue won't be winning the Big Ten West. Purdue won't be returning to a bowl game. Purdue has missed out on most of its result based goals for the season in Ryan Walters first season as a head coach.
Ravaged by injury, punished by one of the toughest schedules in the country, and losers of four straight, the Purdue football team will be forced to reset those goals with three games remaining and a 2-7 record.
Purdue has flashed, in Ann Arbor, at Nebraska, home against Illinois, and at times in every game this season, and Walters is finding the silver linings in his team's performance under the lights at the Big House.
It's not the goal, he tells us. He would much rather be talking about these games being must-wins. Instead, I ask him about silver lining and positive takeaways from the game at Michigan. A blow out, but one that's closer than most games with Michigan have been.
"Nic Scourton, he was dominate out there. KJ[Kydran Jenkins] was again, he was dominate out there. So that is encouraging especially when those two guys have years left. I just think from a confidence standpoint and knowing now and having proof that what we are doing in the weight room and how we are practicing and what we're doing schematically helps those guys," Ryan Walters went on to say.
With three games left in the season, Walters had a message for his team.
"The message to the team on Sunday was, really, this is like a new season within a season, right," Walters started.
"For the guys that are coming back, this is a start of a new season. How do you want practice to be ran? How do you want these games to be played? How do you want next season to look? And that's gotta show up in these next three games," Walters said.
The message isn't as easy to stomach for the seniors on the roster who will finish their career without another bowl game experience. That fact doesn't allude the first year coach.
"The message obviously - everyone can count to six right? So the path to post season play is not there," Walters said. "It breaks my heart for the seniors."
After Purdue's loss at Nebraska, this fate seemed inevitable. Purdue was going to have to go into Ann Arbor and win just its third game of the season then beat Minnesota, Northwestern, and Indiana in its final three games. Purdue's bowl eligibility slipped through its fingers in the non-conference when it lost to Syracuse and Fresno State. Those winnable games turned to losses and a Big ten slate that featured a heavy-hitting slate of Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Michigan made Purdue's hope for bowl eligibility a thin one at the start of the season.
After the departure of Jeff Brohm to Louisville, Walters did well to keep the 2023 recruiting class together and bring in quality transfers to field a Big Ten caliber team. Thin already, injuries made that task even harder as Purdue has progressed through the season. At one point during the game Saturday, Purdue was forced to move Gus Hartwig, its starting center, to tackle for a few plays as more offensive line injuries hit the Boilermakers.
Walters announced that another receiver, Mershawn Rice, who was just starting to make an impact on the field after a 40+ yard catch at Michigan, will also now miss the rest of the season.
"Did the outcome turn out like we wanted it to? Absolutely not," Walters said. "We had every intention of going out there and trying to win a ball game, right? But there were times when you turn on the tape, and you're like, man, that's the way it's supposed to look. And that's what we're capable of."
Purdue will try to capture more of those moments against Minnesota on Saturday. The 2-7 Boilers will play host to the 5-4 Minnesota Golden Gophers.
For all the unknown Purdue's team has been forced to endure, Walters sees a consistent Big Ten team coming into Ross-Ade.
"I've got a lot of respect for Coach Fleck," Walters said. "His teams they play smart. They play tough. They play physical. You kinda know what you're gonna get on both sides of the ball. They just do what they do well."
For Purdue, it will try and find some consistency in its final three games as it builds for Walters first full off-season. Purdue's young players will have a chance to prove themselves to the staff and start building the steps for next season.
On the way, they hope to pick up three wins.