An interception on the first play from scrimmage looked as though it’d be the beginning of another long night for Washington, this time on the road at Purdue. But Jedd Fisch got creative with the run game early, which helped the offense to its best yardage performance in Big Ten play this season. In Ryan Walters’ return to West Lafayette, his defense responded after being put in a handful of difficult spots to ultimately leave Ross-Ade Stadium with a 38-26 win over the Boilermakers.
Washington Finds Consistency At Purdue
Run Game Creativity
Washington rushed for -3 yards on 25 attempts last week against Iowa. But on Friday night in West Lafayette, the Husky offense used its receivers as an extension of the run game, implemented some creativity, and had its best rushing outing of conference play.
On the second drive of the game, four different Husky players carried the football as running backs. That list included Brian Bonner, Dezmen Roebuck, Chris Lawson, and Kade Eldridge. Roebuck even lined up at running back on a handful of occasions. Six different offensive players outside of the quarterback touched the football on that 61-yard touchdown drive, which ended with a two-yard touchdown pass to Decker DeGraaf.
The Husky offense was down five running backs at Purdue. Yet, they had their best rushing performance of Big Ten play this season. Using its receivers as an extension of the run game, Washington got its skill position players the football in space. It allowed the offense to generate explosive plays that it hadn’t done with much consistency early in the season. Washington had 12 passes of 15-plus yards and three runs of 10-plus in the win.
Trey Cooley had a 43-yard rush en route to a 113-yard performance on eight carries. He became the first Washington running back to pass the 100-yard mark in a game this season. Cooley averaged 14.1 yards per attempt in the win over Purdue. Bonner had 13 carries for 64 yards and two total touchdowns as the run game totaled 186 yards on 34 attempts.
Quarterback Confidence
Elijah Brown’s three interceptions proved largely inconsequential in Washington’s 38-26 win over Purdue. The bigger story is what the offense looks like with a confident pocket-passing quarterback paired with talented receivers on the outside.
Brown threw two interceptions on his first five attempts of the game. But he responded at a high level, completing 10 of his next 12 to finish the first half. That included two touchdown drives in the final six minutes of the first half spanning 79 and 91 yards, respectively. The 91-yard scoring drive was a clean, two-minute operation that began with just over 2:34 remaining in the second quarter.
The Stanford transfer finished with a full stat line including 302 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions with a 78% completion percentage. If you look past the interceptions, Brown’s drive sustainability has changed the course of the Washington offense over the last game-and-a-half. Since taking over for Demond Williams in the Iowa game, Brown has led eight touchdown drives. Seven of those eight drives have spanned 75-plus yards. The lone outlier was the aforementioned 61-yard touchdown drive early in this game.
Defensive Response
In his return to West Lafayette, Walters’ defense was put in tough situations as a result of Brown’s three interceptions. But each time, it responded by keeping the Boilermakers out of the end zone. On the first play of the game, Brown’s interception put the Husky defense on the field earlier than expected, and it held Purdue to just 20 yards and a turnover on downs.
Later in the first quarter, Brown threw his second interception of the game. This one gave the Boilermakers the football in the red zone at the plus-19 yard line. Purdue moved the football close to the goal line before being forced to settle for a field goal.
Then in the third quarter, Brown’s third pick gave Purdue the football at the plus-40. It gained just 11 yards and had to settle for a field goal. Washington turned the football over five times in the game. But the Husky defense only surrendered two field goals a touchdown for 13 points off of those turnovers. That lone touchdown came after a muffed punt that gave Purdue the football at the 10-yard line.
On top of that, the group shored up its struggles against the run from a week ago. Washington held Feme Ijeboi to just 19 yards on Friday night. Ijeboi, a week ago, nearly eclipsed the 200 rushing yard mark against Minnesota, and he was held in check by the Husky defense. The Boilermakers’ long run of the day was a 59-yard rush by Antonio Harris. But if you remove that play, the Purdue offense averaged just 1.5 yards per attempt in the game.
The Last Word
Washington enters its bye week after beating Purdue on Friday night. And if it wants to remain competitive in the second half of the season, it needs to continue with Brown at quarterback. The three interceptions against the Boilermakers aren’t ideal, and five total turnovers in the game have to be cleaned up. But Brown’s ability to stand in the pocket with confidence and make accurate throws changes the potential of the offense.
Main Image: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images