Upon Further Review: Purdue v. Ohio
Friday evening was fun...we knew that before watching tape of the game...but sometimes, especially when I'm having a really good time watching, I'll miss key points...after a second look, here are some things that stood out to me during my second viewing of Purdue's first victory of the 2017 season.
It ain't luck
In the past seven seasons, Purdue fans have gotten used to poor clock management, and horrendous situational awareness by players and coaches alike. In the closing minutes of the first half, when Ohio had the ball, Purdue called a timeout in an effort to get the ball one more time, while the iron was hot. Two plays later, Ohio fumbled and Purdue got the ball back...and turned it into a touchdown moments later.
A few things make this possible: A coaching staff that doesn't seem happy with well-enough, a defense that causes fumbles, and finally an offense that can execute its offense quickly.
Heads *not* on a swivel
Ohio's read-option punt sneak in the first quarter specifically was an example of horrendous STs situational awareness. Sure, there wasn't a ton of tape on Ohio's punt team since they really didn't punt in their previous game...BUT, whenever a team has a rugby style punter, this play is a possibility. No one stayed home...everyone turned around and ran to block.
Conversely, Purdue's punters/kickers were killing it. Schopper's ability to blast the ball high and far gave Ohio a long field time and again...Oh yeah, Purdue already has exponentially more touchbacks than all of last season.
Yards after contact for Fuller were massive
Tario Fuller played great; his vision was nearly perfect, but more than that, he powered through the first tackle time and again.
-Starting the second half off made the deficit mountainous.
Tario Fuller carried our Boilers down the field before Blough connected to Anthrop. the 41-14 score made a comeback nearly impossible. Oh yeah, that drive was nearly ten minutes long due to it being so run heavy.
Les is Less
Les Miles new job as an on-air personality on FS1 and the Fox Sports family might be short-lived. He stammered his way through an interview and did it time and again from the sidelines.
You wouldn't like him when he's angry...
Coach Brohm is almost all positive about his players and coaching staff with the media. BUT, Coach Brohm has no time for stupid mistakes on gameday. On multiple occasions, FS1 cameras caught the coach chewing on players and coaches alike following mistakes.
Stay on the Sideline!
My wife and daughter were done watching football with 6:00 left in the game...so I missed Purdue's 15 yard sideline penalty at around the 4:00 mark in the fourth quarter. Keep in mind, Frank Solich also had an unsportsmanlike football equivalent of a bench technical foul. I'm not sure if we'll see this a lot this season, or this officiating crew really wanted to clamp down on bench involvement in the game.
Still not perfect
One of the best things that the coaching staff can take away from this game is that, in spite of a dominating victory, these Boilermakers could have played even better. The receivers dropping gimme passes, the defensive front getting sloppy with tackling in the second half and a few drives in which Purdue's defensive scheme just looked out of place. There's plenty of room for improvement.
Are we having fun yet?
