Quotes That Matter From Barry Odom Following Purdue's 52-38 Loss to UCLA
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Purdue came up short in Pasadena on Saturday night, dropping a 52-38 decision to UCLA to open Big Ten play 0-1 and fall to 1-2 on the season. It was a game in which the offense played extremely well, but got very little assistance from the defense.
UCLA piled up 645 yards of offense, including 369 on the ground, and converted on 11-of-14 third-down attempts to defeat Purdue on Saturday. Needless to say, Boilermakers head coach Barry Odom wasn't pleased with the performance he saw from his defense.
What did he have to say about the defensive effort and more from Saturday night?
Complete disappointment in the defense
Purdue's defense couldn't have fought itself out of a wet paper bag against UCLA, especially when it came to defending the run. Running back Wayne Knight led the way for the Bruins with 177 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. Anthony Woods had 80 yards and a touchdown on 13 touches and Jaivian Thomas and Nico Iamaleava each had more than 50 yards.
The inability to get UCLA's offense off the field was the biggest problem for Purdue.
"Very disappointed in our run defense. There's no way in the world you can give up what we did and play like we did and have a chance to win when you combine that with three turnovers on the other side," Odom said. "It's unfortunate, because I thought there were some really good performances on the offensive side. We didn't give ourselves a chance. We couldn't get them stopped."
It sounds like there are going to be some long conversations in the coming days about how to fix Purdue's defense. Odom didn't get into specifics, but it's going to be a top priority when the team gets back to West Lafayette.
"Coaching staff-wise, we've got a lot of decisions to make and a lot of areas to fix in short order," he said. "Pretty frustrated with that."
Purdue's not coming up with the right schemes defensively
Odom says he has been "alarmed" by Purdue's inability to get stops in critical situations. That was certainly the case against UCLA, as the Bruins converted seven first-downs when faced with a 3rd-and-7 or longer on Saturday night.
The Boilermakers should be winning those battles, but Purdue failed nearly every one in Pasadena.
"We haven't come up with the right call at the right time, and when we have, we haven't been able to make a play," Odom said. "I think that's certainly alarming, anyway you slice it or dice it. If we don't get that fixed, we have no chance defensively."
No comment on potentially changing defensive play-callers
After Odom mentioned having conversations about the defense and finding ways to fix Purdue's issues, he was asked if that included changing up play-calling duties on that side of the football.
Odom didn't mention any specific changes, but considering what happened on Saturday night, anything could be on the table.
"I think that would be premature for me to talk about that right now," Odom said. "We've got to sit down and talk about that. There are really good coaches on that side of the ball. We have to find answers."
Fame Ijeboi has been banged up
Purdue's offense didn't feature Fame Ijeboi quite as much as it had in the first two weeks of the season. Part of that was because of the effectiveness of Ryan Browne and the passing game, but the health of the running back also played a role.
Odom confirmed that Ijeboi was a little banged up entering Saturday night's game against UCLA. Still, he was the featured back for the Boilermakers.
"I was proud of the way he fought," Odom said. "He was a little limited throughout the week. He's a warrior in the way he practices, the way he prepares, and the way he plays ... You look at what Fame has done the first three weeks; it's a long season. You look at durability at that position. So, there was a little more rotation tonight than the first two weeks."
Ijeboi finished Saturday's game with 47 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.
Turnovers haunted Purdue
The offense did several good things, putting Purdue in a position to win its first Big Ten game since 2023. But it wasn't entirely blameless in the loss to UCLA.
Travis Terrell Jr. fumbled in the first quarter, and Asaad Waseem also fumbled in the third quarter. On Purdue's final possession, Browne threw an interception. The Bruins scored shortly after recovering those two fumbles and sealed the game after picking off Browne's pass.
"It's going to be back-and-forth, and margin of error, I've said it since I've been here, is slim to none," Odom said. "If we walk out of the game minus three in turnovers, I don't need to know any other stat. We're probably going to lose the game."
The Boilermakers did plenty right offensively on Saturday night, but it needed to play a near-perfect game in order to win because of the defense's struggles.
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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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