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After rewatching the game, here are the plays and moments that stood out.
Purdue’s promising opening drive ended with a poor decision by quarterback Aidan O’Connell. On 2nd-and-10 from the IU 23-yard line, O’Connell forced a pass to Jackson Anthrop into the end zone that was picked by Jamar Johnson. The Hoosiers subsequently scored a TD. Purdue was out scored, 7-0, in the first quarter. Poor starts plagued Purdue all season, as it was out scored 106-39 in the opening 15 minutes.
On IU’s first touchdown, star Hoosier WR Whop Philyor was wide open in the back of the end zone. Why? Purdue S Navon Mosley was lined up over Philyor, but then drifted off to the left to play zone coverage. The problem: Purdue was in man coverage. Philyor went free and uncovered for the easy 8-yard TD catch.
Purdue had just three rushes of 20 yards or more entering the day. Zander Horvath had two runs of 20 yards or more on back-to-back plays in the second quarter. One was a 48-yarder that was the team’s longest of 2019. On his 48-yard jaunt, Horvath had a massive hole to dash through.
IU wanted to play more man coverage vs. Brycen Hopkins. But on a wet field, the Hoosiers opted for more zone coverage—and they paid for it on Hopkins’ 72-yard TD catch in the second quarter in which he was untouched. The fifth-year senior and future pro showed great speed in executing Purdue’s longest scoring play of 2019.
Big George Karlaftis bolstered his Freshman All-American resume with a sack of Peyton Ramsey in the second quarter. He had 7.5 in 2019, the most by a Purdue player since Kawann Short in 2012. Karlaftis leads Big Ten freshmen in sacks and ranks second in the nation among freshmen. He paces B1G freshmen in TFLs with 17, which is third in the Big Ten overall and No. 2 in the nation among freshmen.
David Bell made a catch for the ages late in the first half. He lost his footing, regained it, adjusted, found the ball, and extended horizontally to make the catch. It was stupefying. But Purdue couldn’t cash in on the drive, as J.D. Dellinger missed a 39-yard field-goal attempt to end the half.
Peyton Ramsey did some damage with his feet. He carried 19 times for 42 yards and two touchdowns. And he was key on third downs. Ramsey picked up three first downs on a rush (one a 21-yarder) and scored a TD on a fourth-down play. This 13-yarder on third down at the end of the third quarter resulted in a first down.
In the fourth quarter and facing a third-and-8, Purdue QB Aidan O’Connell had his helmet ripped off by IU linebacker Micah McFadden, who grabbed O’Connell’s face mask. That resulted in a 15-yard penalty. Purdue went on to score to cut IU’s lead to 28-23 after a failed two-point try.
It seemed like each time you looked up on Saturday, David Bell was making an acrobatic catch.. This twisting TD reception in the fourth quarter that led to a 31-31 tie was special.
Purdue had a shot to win the game in regulation. The Boilermakers got the ball to the Indiana 43-yard line. A run by Aidan O’Connell got the ball to the IU 40 with less than 30 seconds to go. After an incomplete pass to David Bell on third down, O’Connell threw a strike to Milton Wright on fourth-and-seven. And the play was broken up. It would have been a tough catch to come up with. Had the play been made, Purdue could have set up for a game-winning field goal.
Hat’s off to Derrick Barnes, who played another good game. He had three of Purdue’s five sacks vs. IU, including this big one in the first OT that put the Hoosiers in a third-and-13. Alas, IU hit a TD pass on the next play, as Purdue brought no pressure. Still, it was a heck of a season for No. 55.
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