Purdue’s offense had turned the ball over four times in the first three quarters, arguably keeping its game vs. Nevada closer than it should have been.
But with four minutes left, David Blough and Co., had a chance to seal the win, needing either a score to go up two possessions or to run out the clock with a three-point lead. It opted for the former, getting a 51-yard touchdown to Brycen Hopkins on a well-executed third-and-long to knock out the Wolf Pack.
“We were joking about it a little bit on the sideline, (two) weeks (ago) with the turnovers and this week in the first half,” said Blough, who tossed five interceptions in a loss to Cincinnati, then had one vs. Nevada on Purdue’s first possession, along with Purdue having three fumbles from running backs. “Coach (Gerad) Parker and I, we felt like it was one big test from the Man above. There was a lot of guys who did respond on this team and they showed a lot of grit, a lot of character, showed what we’ve done all summer and in the spring.”
It was a gutsy play call by offensive coordinator Terry Malone, as well. On a third-and-seven at the Purdue 49 with about 90 seconds left, Blough went under center — he hadn’t been there much — then rolled right at the snap. He looked like he might try to run for the first, which would have essentially ended the game, but with the hole closing, he looked up to see Hopkins running free.
It was identical to the Boilermakers’ first possession, but Blough’s throw was slightly off and Hopkins dropped it.
Not this time. The play ended the four-minute offense a minute early, but gave the Boilermakers the winning score.
“It’s all about getting first downs and trying to end the game with the ball in our hands,” Blough said, referring to the four-minute. “But we hit a big (pass), so we went ahead and popped it in (the end zone).
“If (Hopkins) wasn’t as wide open as he was, I was just going to sit on (the ball) and try to get (Nevada) to burn another timeout. But it’s part of the game. … He did a great job scoring it. You hit those and you’re right. You miss and you’re wrong. I missed him on the same exact play in the first quarter and led to my turnover in the redzone (three plays later).”
If Purdue could eliminate the giveaways, its offense might be able to start putting up more points. The Boilermakers have moved the ball, totaling nearly 1,500 yards through the first three games. On Saturday, the Boilermakers never punted, lining up in the formation only once, but trying — and failing — on a fake.
Against Nevada, the Boilermakers might feel like they escaped a bit, considering they were able to overcome the turnovers with decisive play late.
“You can find the statistics for a team that’s minus-four and wins, and it’s probably like 6 or 8 percent or something like that,” Blough said. “It just shows. … Our offense had 466 yards and (two weeks ago) we had 500, the week before we had 500. This offense has some guys. It starts up front, but throwing it, running it, we have a great balance.”
Now, with the start of Big Ten play next week, Purdue needs to clean it up.
“It’s good to have those adversities and see, like Coach (Darrell Hazell) mentioned, how we fight through that,” said Markell Jones, who had fumbles on back-to-back first-half drives, but finished with 124 yards. “I think we did pretty well offensively.”
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