Report Card: Purdue grades out strong in loss to Iowa

Purdue played well in most areas during Saturday's 26-20 loss to Iowa, and most of the grades reflect that kind of play.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue showed that it can hang with the Big Ten’s best on Saturday in a 26-20 loss at No. 23 Iowa.

With the loss, Purdue dropped to 2-5 on the season and 1-3 in the Big Ten. They return home next weekend to take on the Illinois Fighting Illini, who are coming off the biggest upset in the NCAA this season — a 24-23 victory over No. 6 Wisconsin. Kickoff is at Noon ET and will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

Here’s how the Boilermakers graded out on Saturday:

Rushing Offense: F

As has been the case all season long, the Purdue rushing game was nonexistent. The running game disappearing really hurt Purdue, because it put too much on the shoulders of freshman quarterback Jack Plummer.

The Boilermakers rushed for a total of 33 yards on 18 attempts. The 1.8 yards per carry was below their already dismal season average of 2.2 yards per carry. Purdue is by far the worst rushing team in the Big Ten, and now sits at 129th in the country, one spot off of dead last. It’s been an area that has struggled all season long, but really reared its head during Saturday’s loss.

Passing Offense: B

The Purdue passing attack was up-and-down on Saturday. At times they were able to break off a big play or put together a good drive, but would then disappear for drives. Plummer put together a solid day, but tried to do too much at times. He finished the day completing 30 of 50 passes for 327 yards and two touchdowns. His big mistake came at the beginning of the second half. With Purdue driving, he forced a pass to David Bell, which led to an Iowa interception.

Bell had another standout day, something that has become commonplace for the true freshman. As the team’s go-to threat on offense, he finished with 13 catches for 197 yards and one touchdown.

Rush Defense: B-plus

This was one of the more surprising performances by the Purdue defense. Iowa, a team that likes to run the ball and planned on dominating on the ground, was stymied by the Purdue front. 

The undersized group held their own, limiting Iowa to just 102 yards on 33 attempts. Both the yards and yards per carry (3.1) were below the Hawkeyes' season averages. After getting fooled for big plays in the previous game against Maryland, it was good to see the Purdue defense respond and halt Iowa’s run game.

Pass Defense: B

The statistics look very good for Purdue’s secondary on Saturday. They held Iowa to just 260 yards, zero touchdowns, and Dedrick Mackey intercepted Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley late in the game to give Purdue a chance for a comeback. 

However, their grade is lower than the rushing defense because at the beginning of the game, Iowa was throwing the ball all over the field. Luckily, Purdue held and was able to limit Iowa to field goals or the game could have been over early. The pass defense for Purdue has been improving throughout the course of the season, so it was good to see them have another solid performance against a good team.

Special Teams: B-plus

After a shaky performance last week, the Purdue special teams bounced back and had no glaring mistakes. J.D Dellinger connected on both field goal attempts, a 27-yarder and a 36-yarder. In the return game, Jackson Anthrop was productive, including a long 38-yard kick return to set up Purdue with a short field. 

The punting game still has questions for Purdue, but they were good enough. They used three different punters, Brooks Cormier, Danny Corollo, and Zac Collins.

Coaching: B-minus

Overall, I think that Jeff Brohm and the rest of the Purdue coaching staff did a great job in a game where they were outmatched in certain spots. My problem comes with the decision to not kick the ball away late in the fourth quarter. Brohm elected to instead onside kick, even with three timeouts still remaining. After a 15-yard penalty and a recovery by Iowa, the Hawkeyes were set up to put the game away with a quick score. Brohm’s defense had been playing well all day. He should’ve kicked away and trusted his team to get the offense the ball back.

Intangibles: A

Purdue has been facing adversity all season, and just like last week they responded. On the road against a ranked team, the young Boilermakers showed that they can compete in the Big Ten. This group has come a long way since a blowout loss to Penn State.