The 3-2-1: Purdue's loss at Penn State
MORE: Jeff Brohm postgame video | GoldandBlack.com blog | Plummer, Hermanns, Smiley postgame videos | 10 Things to Know about Purdue's 35-7 loss | Podcast: Purdue loses to Penn State | Final thoughts: Penn State loss
Decimated by injury and dominated by a Penn State defense that recorded 10 sacks, Purdue's hard times continued Saturday in State College, where the Boilermakers fell to No. 12 Penn State 35-7.
Instant analysis from the loss that dropped Purdue to 1-4.
• Starting with some positive: This game was essentially decided In the first quarter, but thereafter, Purdue played the Nittany Lions largely even, and It's not like Penn State let off the gas pedal. That's not James Franklin's M.O.
Anyway, Purdue's defense deserves credit for doing things differently after halftime, being more active at the line of scrimmage, disguising things and being more aggressive, and having some success because of it.
The offense simply could not pass-protect, and is down a bunch of weapons. It couldn't hold up its end against a great defense.
• Purdue, truth be told, had next to no chance coming into this game, because of this extraordinary run of key injuries. Without Elijah Sindelar and Rondale Moore and Markus Bailey and Lorenzo Neal, the Boilermakers are without all of the sorts of veteran players you'd need to compete In a game like this in a venue like this.
And now, injuries to freshman wide receivers T.J. Sheffield and Milton Wright, as well, so the young guys aren't Immune, either.
But, but, but ...
It does bear mentioning here that this outcome had to do with much more than Injury.
Purdue's offensive line was overwhelmed. It had allowed seven sacks before young QB Jack Plummer had completed a half dozen passes.
The offensive line came into this game with all Its No. 1 players, at full strength, or at least as far as we know. Penn State Is a great defense, though, and looked the part against a Purdue front that Is not Its strength.
Meanwhile, the pass defense, and the secondary, was again a glaring issue, and while the absence of Markus Bailey — Purdue's best cover linebacker — hurts, that is an issue only tangentially affected by Injury.
Purdue's reality is this: It has real shortcomings, and those vulnerable areas have been the least affected by injury. The Issue: The areas needed to overcome those shortcomings have been decimated.
• Jack Plummer was under siege all afternoon, but did some positive things, guiding a touchdown drive in the first half, and making some plays that should have been plays. Two early completions were erased by penalties unrelated to the completion. One pass was dropped, and a big play down the field to Amad Anderson was shaken loose at the last moment.
Plummer got no help from his protection. Obviously. But he also was playing with a badly decimated corps of skill players around him, as well.
Context taken into account, the young quarterback was the last of Purdue's problems, if a problem at all.
Purdue's offensive line was simply overwhelmed. No other way to put it.
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