Sindelar makes first Purdue start; QB situation, though, unclear
INDIANAPOLIS — Elijah Sindelar knew he was starting.
David Blough knew he was going to get two series in the second quarter.
Other than that, Jeff Brohm had no more detailed plans heading into Saturday of how Purdue’s quarterback snaps would shake out.
Ultimately, it was first-time starter Sindelar, a sophomore, in at the end with a chance to lead the Boilermakers to an upset of No. 16 Louisville. But he threw an interception and couldn’t help the offense convert a first down in the final minute, as Purdue lost 35-28.
Sindelar completed 15-of-31 passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns. Blough was 18-of-26 for 175 yards and two touchdowns but also threw two interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown.
And much like Saturday played out, it sounds like the next week will, too: With neither player knowing what’s coming next.
“I think, hopefully, David will tell you the same thing, we’re both trying to win the job,” Sindelar said. “Just being able to prepare and be supportive for one another, I think it’s going to help us. Personally, I’d like to take the job. But I know David would like to do the same thing. You’re going to see competition the whole year.”
Here’s how the rotation went against Louisville: Sindelar start, played for three series; Blough entered, played for seven series, spanning the second into the third quarter; Sindelar re-enter to start the fourth — after Blough’s second INT — and played the final four series.
“I think going through fall camp, it was a close competition and unfortunately David missed over two weeks of practice, and we felt Elijah deserved the opportunity to start,” Coach Jeff Brohm said. “He did some good things. The plan was to bring in David for two series in the second quarter and then go from there. I thought David did some good things. So we kind of kept the hot hand a little bit and let him do his thing. Unfortunately, the first turnover, I wouldn’t like to see him do that. Definitely forced that, got jumpy in the pocket. The second one was a trick play (a flea flicker) that wasn’t open, throw it away, come back on third down, especially when we’re in scoring territory. Those are the things we worked hard to improve upon, obviously we still need to work hard to improve upon them. Elijah came back in and made a heck of a throw, he’s got a big arm and then we have an unfortunate turnover there that hurt us.
“We’re going to let those guys compete and win it on the game field. … The plan is to keep playing them and let it play out. I think both guys will compete and get better. Hopefully, it makes our team better.”
Jones sidelined again
By midway through the third quarter, Markell Jones was on the sideline in street clothes.
Not at all what Purdue had hoped for the junior running back, who had suffered through injuries during his 2016 season. But Jones injured a knee during an early second-quarter kick return that ended with his fumble and he didn’t play another snap afterward.
“Hoping (it’s) not too bad,” Brohm said.
Purdue wanted to get Jones involved for the Boilermakers early, using him not only as a ball-carrier but perhaps more critically as a receiver. But it never developed. Jones only touched the ball twice, with two returns for 29 yards.
“We had a good game plan getting him the ball multiple ways in the passing game,” Brohm said, “but didn’t really get a chance to get to it. I’m not sure how long he’ll be out.”
Not so special
Not only did Jones fumble, but he did so on a ball that he likely shouldn’t have even attempted to return.
Had he let the ball go, it might have gone out of bounds, at best, or into the endzone, at worse. Freshman KeyRon Catlett, who replaced Jones as the primary return man, did something similar later, when the ball bounced off him and out of bounds at the 4, hampering Purdue's field position when it trailed by seven late in the game.
“Special teams are important,” Brohm said. “That’s the side of the game where if you can find a way to win it — I’m not sure we did this game — you can have a chance to win football games when it’s even offense and defense. We need to get better.”
Purdue’s J.D. Dellinger, who split extra point duties with Spencer Evans, also had a 53-yard field goal blocked.
Punter Joe Schopper might have been the bright spot, with five punts averaging 48.6 yards. He also had three tackles.
Getting too personal
Purdue was called for four personal foul-like penalties Saturday.
Defensive tackle Eddy Wilson had two, with a late hit on Lamar Jackson and illegal hands to the face. Safety T.J. Jallow was flagged for a late hit out of bounds. And tackle Lorenzo Neal was called for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Jackson, which was upgraded to targeting on review. He was ejected.
“The officials said he targeted,” Brohm said. “From where I saw it, I didn’t see that, but I’m not the referee, so we’ve got to move on. I thought our guys played hard. Was it close? Yeah, it probably was close, but you’ve got to go with what they called.”
Linebacker T.J. McCollum likes the aggression but not the penalties.
"You don’t want to hold those guys back," he said. "You hold them back too much, they’ll stop making plays. I want them to keep making plays."
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