3 Takeaways From Purdue's Ugly 34-29 Loss to Maryland
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — In a matter of only three weeks, Purdue's football season turned from hopeful to nightmarish. The Boilermakers lost their third straight game on Saturday, this time to a reeling Maryland squad.
However you define complementary football, Purdue did the opposite. When the defense played well in the first half, the offense couldn't find the end zone. When the offense finally got across the goal line, the defense surrendered big plays. The end result was a 34-29 loss to Maryland, marking the third straight week in which the Boilermakers allowed a Big Ten team to get its first conference win.
What went wrong? Well, you can point to plenty of things, but I'm going to narrow it down to the two biggest ... and provide you with one bright spot.
Red zone failures
This was the biggest issue for the Boilermakers from the start of the game until the final drive. Purdue's offense moved the ball well between the 20s, but it couldn't capitalize when it got deep into Maryland territory.
Purdue had six trips into the red zone and settled for field goals four times. The Boilermakers scored one touchdown, a two-yard run from Fame Ijeboi and walked away empty-handed the the potential game-winning drive.
It was a fitting end to Saturday's game, as Purdue had the ball down to the Maryland 16-yard line with five seconds to play. Ryan Browne was sacked by Zion Elee to end the contest.
Defense fell back to bad habits in the second half
Through the first 30 minutes, Purdue's defense did its job. The Boilermakers held the Terrapins to just seven points, and that touchdown was set up by a 56-yard kickoff return by Ricardo Cooper Jr. If the Boilermakers would have converted on some of those early offensive drives, they could have built a three-score lead.
Purdue's typical problems under defensive coordinator Kevin Kane reared their head again in the second half. Maryland had one big run from DeJuan Williams, going 75 yards untouched to the end zone. On another play, Chris Durr Jr. turned a screen pass into an 87-yard score.
Maryland scored 27 of its 34 points in the second half and reached the end zone three times in the third quarter. The 34 points scored in Saturday's game was the most for the Terrapins against a Big Ten team since 2023.
Jacobo Echeverria Lozano is this team's MVP
The one player who continues to deliver weekly for Purdue this season has been the true freshman kicker. He was outstanding again in Saturday's game against Maryland, connecting on all five of his field goal attempts, which included a long of 47 yards.
With Saturday's performance, Lozano has now made 21-of-22 field goal attempts. His lone miss came against Wake Forest in the second game of the season, Purdue's first game against a Power Four opponent this team.
Lozano has been a bright spot for this team and it's too bad is contributions aren't being rewarded.
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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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