Purdue had plenty of chances to extend its winning streak to three games on Friday night, but Washington posed too many problems for the Boilermakers. The Huskies escaped Ross-Ade Stadium with a 38-26 victory, despite ending the night with five turnovers. It was a disappointing night for Barry Odom's squad.
Instead of heading into the bye week with a 4-3 record, the Boilers dropped to 3-4. It'll be back to the drawing board, but they get a few weeks to prepare for Penn State on Oct. 31.
What did Odom have to say after the game? Here are some of the key takeaways.
Winning the turnover battle by three
Purdue has done a much better job creating takeaways this season and that continued into Friday night. Washington ended the game with five turnovers, but it wasn't enough for the Boilers to get a win on their home turf.
That's a tough pill to swallow, especially considering the field position Purdue got on each of those turnovers.
"When you're plus-three in the turnover margin, you usually win those games," Odom said. "When you end up in the that area, you give yourself a chance."
Defensive back Hudauri Hines had an interception on the first play of the game and Smiley Bradford picked off a pass on Washngton's third possession. You would have thought that would have set the tone, but Purdue walked away with just three points from the first two turnovers.
The defense struggled after Hudauri Hines exited
Speaking of Hines, the veteran defensive back suffered an injury when he made the interception and did not return to action. When he left, Purdue's pass defense showed signs of weakness.
Even though the Boilers had three interceptions, they also gave yp 302 yards and three touchdowns to Washington quarterback Elijah Brown. Odom said that Hines' absence was a major part of the Huskies' success through the air.
"I think when Hudauri went out, that changed a little bit how we were playing on the back end. We've gotta continue to find ways, if that does happen, to put ourselves in position to play better," Odom said. "I thought we were active in some cases, then I didn't think we matched up very well when Hudauri went down in a couple of situations."
Purdue's inability to run the football
Last week, Purdue piled up the yardage on the ground. Fame Ijeboi rushed for 195 yards and the Boilers ended with 305 yards. But they didn't win at the point of attack against Washington and really struggled to get any yardage on the ground.
Antonio Harris had the one breakout run of the night, sprinting 59 yards and setting up a first-half touchdown for Purdue. Outside of that, the rushing attack was almost non-existent.
"I thought their defensive line at the line of scrimmage," Odom said. "Antonio got out on the one, bounced it outside ... but overall, they made it really, really difficult in the run game. They had everybody in the box and we were not able to counter that."
As a team, Purdue totaled 98 yards on the ground. If you wipe away Harris' big run, the Boilers gained only 39 yards on 26 carries, which equates to a 1.5 yards per carry average.
Did Purdue "overlook" Washington?
Given Purdue's recent success in wins over Illinois and Minnesota, Odom was asked if he thought his team overlooked Washington, a team that entered the night without a Big Ten win. The Purdue head coach answered that question honestly and clearly.
"The thought that we would overlook anyone, I mean, think about where this program started," Odom said. "We're not in the business of overlooking anybody. That's not the case at all. Washington beat us."
The explanation on Jojo Hayden's penalty
One of the biggest turning points in the game came on a roughing the passer call against linebacker Jojo Hayden. Purdue had a third-down stop and appeared to force Washington into a field goal. But Hayden was flagged for hitting Brown, a questionable penalty at best.
Two plays later, Washington scored a touchdown to take a 24-17 lead into the locker room. It was an impactful call, and one Odom didn't like at the time.
The official provided an explanation to the head coach about the penalty.
"He said we landed on him too hard," Odom said. "So, we'll have to work on our positioning, once you leave your feet and tackle someone, how to land. It's my fault. I haven't trained our players to land correctly on the tackle."
Odom downplayed the overall significance of the play, saying it was a big call but also acknowledging Purdue had multiple opportunities to win the game.
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