Lack of winning plays dooms Purdue’s chance at winning in East Lansing

It’s miraculous the Boilermakers have any feet left considering how much they’ve shot themselves in them this season. The season-long trend of self-induced miscues reared their ugly heads on Friday night, as the Boilermakers put themselves in yet another hole they couldn’t crawl out of.

A disastrous first half began to fully unravel when Devin Mockobee put the football on the turf in the second quarter, with the Boilermakers already facing a 10-3 deficit. Mockobee’s second fumble of the season gave the surging Spartans a golden scoring opportunity on the heels of a field goal just moments earlier.

Then, the defense continued the not-so-fun trend. As Michigan State looked to score off the turnover, Dillon Thieneman appeared to secure his first interception of the season, but a pass interference call on freshman cornerback Tarrion Grant nixed those plans that would have given the Boilermakers the ball in Spartan territory.

The penalty got Michigan State inside Purdue’s ten-yard line, where the defense held up for two plays and forced a third and goal from the 9-yard line. Jeffrey M’Ba was subsequently flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for shoving a Spartan offensive linemen, giving Michigan State a fresh set of downs, and a touchdown just two plays later.

Purdue’s struggling field goal unit made it a trifecta later on the following possession, as Bennett Boehnlein botched a high snap and Ben Freehill sent the attempt into the back of the head of his long snapper Nick Levy. It was the second red zone trip that went without a touchdown in the half.

The Boilermakers, as they have with regularity this season, were falling apart throughout the first 30 minutes of play. That would allow Michigan State to jump out to a 24-3 halftime advantage as the Purdue defense struggled to get off the field.

Throughout the first half, the Purdue defense was able to get Michigan State in third down and long on several occasions. That’s when Aidan Chiles was able to make his magic happen. Purdue came into Friday with the second-worst third down defense in the conference, allowing opponents to continue drives 48% of the time.

That mark increased against one of the worst third down offenses in the conference, as Michigan State was 38% coming into the game, with the Spartans going 6-7 on third down in the first half and 6-14 for the game, but made up for two shortcomings with a pair of fourth down conversions.

The Boilermakers had four instances of third and eight or longer in the first half, and the Spartans converted on each of them. The longest of which was a 3rd and 17 in which Thieneman nabbed a momentum shifting interception, had it not been for the aforementioned penalty, which Ryan Walters was visibly frustrated about following the game.

The Spartans also cashed in on all three of their red zone opportunities in the first half, holding a 21-3 margin in that category over the game’s first 30 minutes. Michigan State entered the day with a 72% mark in that area, which was lower than even the Boilermakers in the Big Ten. Purdue’s worst-ranked red zone defense opened an opportunity, however. One that the Spartans took full advantage of.

The winning plays Purdue has lacked all season were once again absent throughout the first half.

Facing a 21-point deficit at halftime, the Boilermakers came to life however, as those winning plays began to materialize. Hudson Card headlined that charge as he threw for 201 of his career-high 324 yards in the second half and began showing up in big moments.

On Purdue’s first scoring drive of the third quarter, Card danced around the pocket on fourth down to find Shamar Rigby to keep the drive alive. That provided a spark for the offense, who swiftly moved down the field for their first touchdown in a third quarter in over a month, on Devin Mockobee’s two-yard run.

The next possession followed a similar trend, as Purdue was faced with a 3rd and 21 near midfield, which saw Card heave the ball downfield to Jaron Tibbs to give the unit another scoring opportunity. Card then hit Max Klare on the next play to cut the Michigan State lead to just seven with 13:56 to play.

Throughout that charge by the offense, Kevin Kane’s defense showed up in a big way after halftime. The Boilermakers held Michigan State scoreless, while surrendering just 73 yards of offense and not giving up a third down conversion. The lockdown play of the defense allowed Purdue to claw its way back into the game and threaten a monumental comeback bid.

The script had suddenly flipped, with the Boilermakers taking a page out of Michigan State’s book in the second half. As the surge ramped up, it provided an opportunity for Purdue to come up big down the stretch, but the momentum subsided over the final 13 minutes of play.

Card’s brilliant day was marred by an interception on a tipped ball on the Michigan State side of the field, before the Boilermakers got the ball right back with an opportunity to tie things up. The Purdue signal caller dropped a dime to a wide open Jahmal Edrine on the second play of that drive, one that would have seen him waltz his way into the end zone. Instead, the picture perfect pass dropped to the Spartan Stadium turf as Edrine was unable to hang on to it.

Purdue bounced back from the missed opportunity, moving into Spartan territory again, but another drop halted the momentum. Jaron Tibbs was unable to haul in a would-be first down that put Purdue in a 4th and 6 scenario that saw Card get hit while he threw and hand the ball back to Michigan State to milk the clock.

Aidan Chiles ruined Purdue’s hopes of a thrilling come from behind victory, converting on fourth and inches with 2:00 remaining, and putting the final nail in the coffin.

Friday night was the third game in which the Boilermakers charged back from a sizable halftime deficit and had a victory in their sights. The previous two saw a failed two-point conversion against Illinois, followed by a failed fourth down attempt against Northwestern, which both led to Purdue defeats in overtime.

East Lansing served as the latest disappointment in Purdue’s disappointing 2024 campaign. Ultimately, the Boilermakers haven’t shown the ability to make the type of plays needed to win games. A game-clinching score, a stop to give the offense that opportunity, a game-shifting turnover. Nothing.

That goes down from big plays against top-flight competition to pivotal moments in close battles. It was a trend that continued in the final moments despite signs of life against the 4-6 Spartans.

Perhaps wins in all three of those aforementioned gut-wrenching games wouldn’t drastically shift the narrative about this team, its head coach and the direction of the program, but it would take a historically bad season off the table.

With Friday’s loss, Purdue dropped a tenth-straight game, the longest losing streak for the program since the 1-11 campaign of 2013. These Boilermakers are now just one game away from tying the all-time mark of 11 consecutive defeats, which is to the best of my knowledge, a record that dates back to 1908.

Now, that unsavory mark is quickly approaching with a potential top-five Indiana team waiting in the wings. A team that Purdue will need to play perfectly to compete with in Bloomington next Saturday.