Purdue looks to get on winning track by finishing games
Getting back on the winning track.
That's the goal for Purdue (1-2 overall; 0-1 Big Ten) when it takes on Florida Atlantic (2-2; 1-0 C-USA) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET for Homecoming.
"We know quite a bit about Florida Atlantic football and really football in Florida in general," said Jeff Brohm. "They all have skill, they all have talent.
"When I coached there, you didn't have to leave the state of Florida to recruit. We never did, because you got enough players down there. That's what you know you're gonna go up against, is skill players that can run, catch, throw, tackle and have speed. We're gonna have to be up to the challenge."
The Boilermakers are coming off a disappointing 32-29 loss at Syracuse that saw Purdue allow the game-winning TD pass with seven seconds left in the game. This came after the Boilermakers permitted Penn State to score the winning TD with 57 seconds to go in a season-opening 35-31 defeat in Ross-Ade Stadium.
"Well, we got to learn how to finish games, we gotta learn how to do a lot of small things correctly," said Brohm. "We made a lot of mistakes in the last game that were costly. And it's unfortunate because when your team fights back and they show fight, they find a way to take a lead in the fourth quarter of two games that we lost and then kind of just let it get away from us."
Penalties were an issue in both losses. Purdue was flagged nine times for 92 yards vs. Penn State and 13 times for 110 yards vs. Syracuse, when the Boilermakers melted down late by committing six penalties in the final 51 seconds of the game after Purdue had taken a 29-25 lead.
"It's disappointing," said Brohm. "It hurts, it stings, it's like an uppercut to your gut. But that's football. You got to learn from it. I think we've addressed it as much as you possibly can. Now, you don't what to overkill it, just gotta get back to playing football because we still got to play football better. "
The status of several key players who missed last week's game remains murky. Receiver Broc Thompson (knee) and running back King Doerue (calf), among others, will be game-time decisions when the Boilermakers face a Florida Atlantic team that has athletic ability. Also of note: Charlie Jones will return punts after being relieved of those duties after getting dinged-up last week at Syracuse. Brohm hopes his squad is ready for FAU.
"This a good football team," said Brohm. "It has skill, it has talent. They play a lot of good football teams and we're gonna have to play really good football and do those things and make those corrections from the last game in order to win."
Membership Info: Sign up for GoldandBlack.com now | Why join? | Questions?
Follow GoldandBlack.com: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
More: Gold and Black Illustrated/Gold and Black Express | Subscribe to our podcast
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2022. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.