Boilermaker Head Coach Ryan Walters and select players spoke to the media following their overtime loss to the Wildcats
Following the Boilers 27-20 loss to the Northwestern Wildcats, Head Coach Ryan Walters along with players Hudson Card, Jaron Tibbs, and Antonio Stevens spoke to the media. The Boilers fell to 1-7 and will be unable to attain bowl eligibility and are staring down a 1-11 season with Ohio State, Michigan State, Penn State, and Indiana.
Ryan Walters seemed very subdued and frustrated following the loss which likely places Purdue squarely as the worst team in the B1G this season. Questionable decisions from the coach along with poor play at key points doomed the Boilers to another conference loss and remain the only B1G without a conference win.
Purdue Head Coach Ryan Walters:
Purdue Players Hudson Card, Jaron Tibbs, and Antonio Stevens
The feeling around the program has not been this negative since just prior to the Hazel firing midseason of 2016. Fans were heard booing at different times of the game and following the failed 4th down conversion in overtime, portions of the Boiler Brigade student section could audibly be heard yelling ‘Fire Walters.’ There seem to be less answers and more questions as the season has progressed and Walters’ post game presser seem to indicate that.
Not trusting your kicker to convert a field goal from the right hash on the 21 yard line is an inexcusably bad decision as a head coach. That field goal, which would be a 37 yard attempt, is one that Purdue should not have to worry about its’ kickers making. Instead, it was another decision in a long line of questionable ones through his first two seasons, that cost Purdue games.
You can tell that the struggles are impacting him and I doubt, no matter what many outside the program think, Walters isn’t trying to make adjustments and changes to help Purdue win football games. The issue is that he likely doesn’t have the personal experience, along with not having the experience within his staff, to know what to do to fix the issues. Those issues, however, came to a point today where Purdue showed that it is the worst team in the B1G this season. The schemes don’t match the talent, the changes that are made don’t make a big enough impact, and the talent isn’t good enough to overcome those issues. This was a game where Purdue had more talent on the field that than their opponent, much like it did against Oregon State and may have had against Nebraska, but lost due to poor preparation, poor scheme, and poor adjustments.