5 Thoughts From Purdue's Heartbreaking 38-36 Loss to Wake Forest
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — For a few minutes, Purdue ended its 20-game losing streak against Power Four opponents. A late review on a 4th-and-15 play that awarded Wake Forest a first down in double overtime gave the Demon Deacons one last chance, and they took advantage.
The Boilermakers led 36-30 and appeared to get a stop on 4th-and-15, ending the game in double overtime. Initially, Carlos Hernandez was ruled short of the marker. Upon further review, the call was overturned and Wake Forest returned to the field for a fresh set of downs.
Quarterback Gio Lopez scored a tying touchdown and a two-point conversion, lifting the Deacons to a 38-36 victory in West Lafayette. It was a heartbreaking loss for Barry Odom's team, which temporarily thought it had a big victory.
Here are a few thoughts from Saturday's loss.
Costly mistakes
Everyone can point to Wake Forest's 4th-and-15 conversion in double overtime as the most crucial play in the game, and that's true. But it wasn't the only mistake that prevented Purdue from getting its first Power Four victory since 2023.
Purdue was flagged for a penalty on three first-down plays throughout the game. On another drive, a bad snap resulted in an eight-yard loss for quarterback Ryan Browne. After last week's game against Indiana State, Odom said the Boilers weren't good enough to overcome a large penalty number. He was right.
The Boilermakers were penalized eight times for 50 yards in the loss. That yardage isn't a huge total, but the timeliness of those flags were critical. It's something that must be cleaned up moving forward.
The pass rush struggled
Late in the game, the combination of Trey Smith and Jeremy Lewis did a nice job pressuring Lopez. They forced him to rush passes and even got home twice, once in the fourth quarter and once in double overtime.
For the first three quarters, though, Purdue's pass rush was essentially non-existent. Lopez had too much time to throw, and when receivers weren't open, he scrambled to pick up chunk yardage and keep drives alive. Wake Forest finished the game converting 5-of-11 third-down attempts.
Lopez ended Saturday's game completing 16-of-27 passes for 225 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed 13 times for 59 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner.
Chauncey Magwood stepped up
One of the positives for the Boilermakers was the play of Magwood, who was a reliable option in the passing attack. He made a ridiculous catch with a defender pulling him down to the ground in the first quarter, showing everyone that Purdue has some big-time pass-catchers on the roster.
Magwood hauled in five passes for 77 yards and also had one carry for 18 yards. It seemed like his impact was even bigger than that.
We're only through two games, but Purdue's passing attack looks much crisper than it did last fall. That's at least one positive to walk away with from Saturday's loss.
Too many field goals
Once again, Purdue was perfect when it got into the red zone, scoring points on all five trips. That's the good news. The bad news? Once again, the Boilermakers had to settle for too many field goals.
Three times, Purdue drove the ball inside Wake Forest's 15-yard line. The offense actually got inside the 5-yard line on two of those drives. All three resulted in field goals. If the Boilers could have just scored one more touchdown, it wouldn't have needed overtime to get the win.
Purdue is 11-of-11 in red zone territory, but it has to find ways to end those drives with touchdowns instead of field goals. That's how games are won in the Big Ten.
No answer for Fame Ijeboi
There was no stopping Fame Ijeboi on Saturday, who nearly willed Purdue to a win because of his play, especially late. The transfer running back racked up 114 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries for the Boilermakers.
On Purdue's final drive of regulation to tie the game and force overtime, Ijeboi had a massive 25-yard pickup to put the Boilermakers in field goal range. Fifteen of his carries came in the fourth quarter and the two overtime periods.
Much like Magwood's effort, Ijeboi's performance against Wake Forest is a positive for Purdue's offense.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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