Grading the Boilermakers: Purdue-Northwestern

EVANSTON, Ill. — As? Bs? Cs? What grades did we hand out following Purdue’s 23-15 loss to Northwestern?

Rushing offense

Purdue had 353 yards rushing in a victory vs. Minnesota last week and followed that with 303 vs. Northwestern. But, unlike the game vs. the Gophers, this one was a loss. Still, an impressive effort, especially considering the line has been shuffling tackles. Today, Ben Farrell was out and Mahamane Moussa was very limited. Tyrone Tracy ran for 160 yards, while Devin Mockobee added 85. This tandem has been a god-send to an attack that often flounders.

GRADE: A

Passing offense

The passing game struggled without Hudson Card, who was out with injury. And the decision to rotate Bennett Meredith and Ryan Browne was dubious. Neither seemed to get in a rhythm … going in and out … in and out. Browne was more productive and needed more snaps. Yes, he tossed two picks, but he had better rushing (21 carries, 85 yards) and passing (12-of-16 for 104 yards) stats and led both TD drives. Meredith was 5-of-7 passing for 36 yards and ran four times for seven yards. Big plays? Not many, as Purdue had four passes over 15 yards.

GRADE: C-

Offense overall

Yes, Purdue outgained Northwestern, 443-328. It helped that the Boilers ran 77 plays to NU’s 59. But Purdue couldn’t get in the end zone until the third quarter. And, those short-yard situations continue to confound and were oh-so-costly on this day. This attack got little from its wideouts. Deion Burks had four catches for 13 yards. No other wideout caught more than one pass. And there were two picks and a lost fumble. Plus, NU had three sacks and eight TFLs. A tough day.

GRADE: C

Rushing defense

A nice job, as NU had just 99 yards on the ground (2.9 ypc). Cam Porter did some damage, running for 95 yards on 17 totes with two TDs, including a 34-yarder where he was untouched.

GRADE: A

Passing defense

Northwestern QB Ben Bryant hit 13-of-24 passes (54 percent) for 230 yards with a TD and INT. He averaged 17.7 yards per completion. A 52-yard TD strike to Cam Johnson in the third-quarter was a killer. The D got after it, notching five sacks and six TFLs even with Nic Scourton out with injury. Still, NU did it share of damage through the air.

GRADE: B-

Defense overall

Not a bad overall effort, but the big plays proved costly and were a postgame lament for Ryan Walters. NU had five passes of 26 yards or longer. S Dillon Thieneman had another pick, his fourth of the season.

GRADE: B

Special teams

Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Issues persistent. In Evanston, we saw another missed field-goal attempt, this one from 44 yards. It was deflating. That played a part in the staff eschewing shorter field-goal attempts later, opting instead to for it on fourth down … and failing. This team needed a kicker from the portal and opted not to pursue one. There also was a muffed punt that was lost, along with a mishandled kickoff. We’ve seen this movie often.

GRADE: F

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