I cannot believe what I just saw.
Drew:
That was a coin flip game, and Purdue lost… literally and figuratively.
To avoid redundancy, I’ll say some positive stuff:
Hudson Card looked like the QB we expected this season.
C.J. Smith, not at 100%, was not a portal miss in terms of talent.
Max Klare has All-Big 10 talent.
The team played their guts out, this would be an easy season to quit and I haven’t seen it.
The outcome didn’t have end the way I’d like, but that looked more like the team I expected to see this season.
Ledman:
Look, I’ve tried my best to defend Ryan Walters throughout this season. It’s a brutal schedule and Purdue was always going to struggle. But not like this. The decision making in this Northwestern game was baffling. Yeah, it stinks getting the ball first in OT, but you can’t come away with NO POINTS! Sure, maybe the FG wouldn’t have done anything if Northwestern still scores the FG but getting 0 points? What in the world was Walters thinking? Going for it on 4th down in OT? It wasn’t even 4th and 1. Just unbelievably poor decision making. It’s hard to fathom the justification here. If you can’t be trusted to make these decisions, why are you here?
Jed:
I think this game and the decisions that were made as a coaching staff sealed the fate for Ryan Walters and his staff. I said weeks ago that a decision likely wouldn’t come until after the Northwestern game given it was after the bye week and a game against Oregon. Given they had come into this game as healthy as they have been all season, this loss is inexcusable. Purdue looked overmatched from a preparation, scheme, and coaching standpoint but clearly looked like a team with better overall talent. This, like the Oregon State loss, falls squarely on the shoulders of the head coach and his staff to make adjustments, scheme properly to the talent on the roster, and get them prepared.
Purdue continues to be the only team in the B1G without a conference win this season and I’m not sure you can provide a third season to a head coach that hasn’t shown improvement as the season has progressed. The Boilers were more healthy than they had been most of the season and still couldn’t come out with a victory against a bad Northwestern team at home.
This is a team that COULD be 3-5 right now and a much different discussion being had about Ryan Walters. Instead, Purdue has been outscored 113-295 against FBS opponents. That tells me the program isn’t competitive and isn’t moving in the right direction.