More: 'It's not over yet' | Mahoungou, Miles come up big; notebook | Video: Brohm, players react
Analysis ($): Extra points | Four downs
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Elijah Sindelar was not told to talk about “it.”
Whatever prevented him from practicing on Tuesday, whatever had Jeff Brohm “very concerned” about Purdue’s starting QB’s status entering the must-win against Iowa, whatever meant Sindelar had to wear a brace on his left knee.
Whatever “it” was, Sindelar didn’t just manage Saturday.
He delivered.
The sophomore — who’s in this starting position because Purdue had a QB suffering a season-ending injury — completed 22-of-37 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns. He didn’t have a turnover.
“If people only knew how tough he is, to stand in there and make plays when he’s not 100 percent and he had great poise,” Brohm said. “He made some big-time throws. He took some one-on-one matchups. We were able to isolate a few things with some one-on-one matchups. He dropped some perfect throws in there for big plays. It’s hard for our offense to have sustained drives, so when we can get some big plays, it definitely helps.
“As far as Elijah, just extremely tough. It’s not easy to play quarterback in general, but when you have competition, when you’re playing one week and maybe not the other, you’ve got to have great fortitude and you’ve got to believe in yourself. I think he’s a very confident young man who is very poised, very balanced in what he believes in, has strong beliefs in the right things. I’m more than proud of his effort.”
Even with Sindelar’s status apparently in question — he looked OK in warmups about two hours before the game Saturday — Brohm still employed an aggressive offensive game plan against Iowa. Brohm said he didn’t think Purdue could run against the stout Hawkeyes’ defense, so he was determined to throw.
And throw Sindelar did.
On Purdue’s first drive, Sindelar dropped back to pass on five of the first six plays. He was forced out of the pocket once and scrambled for a first down and sacked on another. After a roughing the punter penalty gave the offense an automatic first down, Sindelar passed on seven of Purdue’s next 10 plays.
Including on a third-and-goal from the 5 when he had his eye on tight end Cole Herdman initially — but Herdman got held off the line — and he strung out the play to find D.J. Knox, who’d started the play in the backfield, in the back of the end zone for the TD.
“I think once I went through practice Wednesday and Thursday, I gained a lot more confidence in myself,” Sindelar said. “At the beginning of the game, I was a little hesitant (but), again, gained confidence throughout the rest of the game knowing I was alright and everything was fine.
“I took some shots (at Northwestern). At the end of the day, I was still able to recover and be ready for the next game. Even if I make it to the next level — I’m not saying I am — but if I have that chance, sometimes there’s going to be a four-day rest. You’re going to have to learn to be beat up and still come back and play the next game.”
It was an early third-quarter stretch that really showcased Sindelar’s poise and precision.
Senior Anthony Mahoungou was getting manned up on the left side. Sindelar and Brohm saw it, targeted it and completed five passes there — and had another that drew a pass interference on Iowa’s cornerback. Those five passes netted 118 yards and two TDs.
Sindelar delivered every ball perfectly, especially a 42-yard touchdown in which Mahoungou got just enough separation, and Sindelar dropped the ball out of the sky right into Mahoungou’s hands.
And had enough in him to meet the receiver in the end zone to celebrate.
Sindelar insists that’s all he was trying to do — help teammates make plays — and not try to prove anything about his toughness or to increase his stock as a leader by playing when he wasn’t healthy.
“Just that they respect me is an honor in itself,” he said. “I’m just trying to do my part for this team. I’m not trying to do anything above it. I’m not looking for sympathy or to make sure the guys respect me or think that I’m a tough dude, I just want to do what I’m supposed to do.”
Teammates noticed that, though, too.
“Just to see the way he’s grown and the way he’s carried himself and helped this team move forward,” said senior Antoine Miles, whose locker is next to Sindelar’s, “it’s impressive and I’m proud of him.”
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