Purdue falls in overtime to Illinois – 50-49

Ledman:

I basically had no expectations for this game. My expectations were blown away. The QB change due to Hudson Card's injury led to Ryan Browne getting his first real minutes of the year and although he only had 9 passing yards in the first half, he not only showed in the second half that the game remained presentable, but also to put Purdue back in the lead with less than a minute left. Losing in OT is a killer, but I think it was the right decision to play with two and try to win the game.

It should be noted that Ryan Walters led both offense and defense in this game, which must give him some leeway with a number of fans. It wasn't certain, but maybe Purdue uncovered something here. You can build on that. I've said over the last few games that I want to see this team fight. Tonight I saw that and more. That's what we need.

Jed:

Well, given the last four weeks and the way the fire started in the second half, the second half was a surprise. I'm not sure I can properly put into context how different the Purdue team looked, especially after being down 24 points early in the second half.

A few things stand out:

Ryan Browne needs to be the starter going forward and it really shouldn't be a competition. Card has struggled to get anything done offensively outside of Indiana State all year, and Browne posted 33 in the second half alone.

The defense looks much better when Jenkins is allowed to tackle the QB. If that means Purdue needs to go smaller at ILB and get faster at OLB with smaller guys, then so be it.

I'm not sure if this saves Ryan Walters, but it certainly keeps the dogs at bay for a week. This could definitely be some kind of “fight for life” and if it is an occurrence, the entire season so far will have to be used to make a decision…

Ryan:

First and foremost, choosing 2 was the right decision.
Second, Ryan Browne is Purdue's QB next week no matter what.
Third, Ryan Walters really looks like he's taking his career into his own hands by calling the offense. For now, this type of game is keeping him busy. He needs to show fight and make progress every week, but considering three of the next four games are Oregon, Ohio State and Penn State, progress could be hard to measure. Whatever the case, this second half explosion exceeded all of our collective expectations. I like this feeling.

Drew:

What a strange game.

At halftime I said, “Purdue played well, but they keep shooting themselves down on offense.”

It looked like this all season long. A held call, a dropped pass or a missed block punctuated by a solid running game that is continually interrupted by negative plays.

You saw that in the first half.

I'm not sure what clicked in the second half, but they finally stopped making drive-killing mistakes. Ryan Browne's legs allowed him to get out of the trash and actually make plays. He wasn't perfect, Illinois left a few picks on the field, but he was lively and looked like he enjoyed playing football. This is a big step in the right direction.

Unfortunately, the defense had problems. They couldn't get the stops they needed when the offense was red hot. I will say that when Purdue presents shots to the Big 10, they will highlight the Illinois receivers who latch on to Purdue defenders, make contact and still draw a flag.

Still, the defense wasn't good enough.

In the end, this was a sign of life from the Walters coaching staff. At least they stopped digging. I'm not sure they can see the top of the hole. They've been digging so vigorously for the first five weeks that it may be too late, but if nothing else, this game hasn't made me want to clean the garage.

Garrett:

It's almost one of those things that makes you feel romantic about college football, but in a “Rocky actually lost the fight, remember?” way.

The team was promising and fought incredibly hard.

Stater is out, new quarterback, rumor has it that Ryan Walters has taken over the offensive duties against his former employer and at one point dropped 24 points. Purdue's previously missing offensive player scored 40 points in 25 minutes of play.

As idyllic as this scene may be, the defense still looked lost. I know it happens a few times a year, but scoring 49 points and losing a football game shouldn't happen.

I don't have any immediate reaction to whether or not this effort buys Walters more time, but if it does, it's probably just a few clicks on the watch. However, the team showed courage and commitment when I expected them to lie down and stand up on their stomachs, and Walters certainly deserves some of the credit for that.

The decision to go for two in extra time is understandable, but the execution was terrible. This was especially frustrating considering the play call at the end that made the game 49-50 is…like…the perfect play call when you're going for two. They could have gone a little more vanilla on the start and goal from the two-yard line (running through the middle) and saved a swing for later, but I'm not a college coach for good reason.

I'll resort to my everyday vernacular: That was just a slap in the face, my people. But it does point to a brighter future, and damn it, the team has shown it has the wherewithal. I was looking for some of this. Good Lord.

Kettle up. It was fun and hectic and the result was terrible when we needed a win like we needed this win, but games like these are why I love college football.