Small mistakes pile up in Purdue football against Oregon

WEST LAFAYETTE — Purdue's offense continued to falter as it struggled for cohesion in a 35-0 loss to second-ranked Oregon.

With redshirt freshman Ryan Browne under center and head coach Ryan Walters calling the plays, the Boilermakers fell 35-0, the first time since a loss to Ohio State in 2013.

It's been a mix of growing pains and an improving learning curve for Purdue, which has lost six straight games.

“Especially early on, we had some self-inflicted wounds,” head coach Ryan Walters said.

The Boilermakers had five penalties, including four false starts, two of which came in the first three minutes of the third quarter as Purdue tried to muster some momentum and force Oregon on their heels.

Other “self-inflicted wounds” included a 5-yard reception to tight end Max Klare that was fumbled and recovered by Oregon with 56 seconds left in the second quarter.

A missed 36-yard field goal by kicker Spencer Horath in the second quarter cemented a disappointment that has become a theme for Purdue during its six-game losing streak.

Browne, who completed 18 of 26 passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns in a thrilling near-comeback win over Illinois, fumbled in an offense called by Walters in his second start.

“I thought he played hard and ran the offense well, but did he play perfect? No,” Walters said. “Some of the plays he made a week ago, he didn’t make. But he will grow, this is his second start as a redshirt freshman. Our fans came and came and it was a beautiful evening and a beautiful stage to do something special. And I’m disappointed that we didn’t do that.”

Browne completed 9 of 19 passes for 93 yards before throwing an interception on his final throw trying to find Arhmad Branch and avoid the first shutout in 13 years.

More: Recap of Oregon Football vs. Purdue: Ducks beat Boilermakers 35-0 in Big Ten matchup

“I didn’t play when I needed to,” Browne said.

And even though Browne did his best to move the ball, it was a reminder that he's still a work in progress, learning to both deal with the highs of a good performance and learn from the way Purdue sputters brought.

“I think what really messed us up was the self-inflicted wounds,” running back Reggie Love said after accumulating a team-high 95 yards on Friday. “If we get rid of those, we’ll make a lot of plays and score a lot of points.”

Five penalties and a fumble were compounded by Purdue's inability to handle the speed, quickness and versatility of Oregon's offense.

Quarterback Dillon Gabriel completed 21 of 25 passes for 290 yards, two touchdowns and was intercepted by defensive back Kyndrich Breedlove.

Gabriel was sacked twice, but those hits had little consequence for Oregon (7-0).

“They came in and prepared very well for us,” Breedlove said. “I feel like their offensive line is good, they’re the second-best team in the country. With this offensive line, it's always going to be a little difficult to get to the quarterback. But as defensive backs, we have to deny them.”

Purdue now heads into its bye week and has two weeks to prepare for Northwestern.

Linebacker Hudson Miller and his team continue to find confidence with six games remaining in the regular season.

If Purdue has the answers regarding bowl eligibility, it will be announced within the next 13 days.

“The motivation lies in the opportunities we still have,” said Miller. “One of the big messages was: 'Put your head down and work!' I think as a team we take the opportunities calmly and work for them. There are great opportunities ahead of us with six games to go if we just keep our heads down and just work.”

After being credited with the offensive explosion against Illinois, Browne took responsibility on another night, Purdue's offense was wiped out.

Browne was sacked three times but was constantly pursued and ran for small, positive gains – gains that resulted in Purdue rushing for a total of 208 yards.

“We moved the ball pretty well for the most part, but negative plays and penalties killed us,” Browne said. “We kind of shot ourselves in the foot.”

Ethan Hanson is a sports reporter for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette. He can be reached at [email protected]on Twitter at Ethan A Hanson and Instagram at ethan_a_hanson.

Small mistakes pile up in Purdue football against Oregon

ByVanessa

By Vanessa

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