UPDATE (Saturday 5:06 p.m.): Boilers have horrifying day on Halloween
>>Print ViewPublication Date: 10/30/2009
Michael Carney | Photo Editor
Junior receiver Keith Smith misses a pass thrown behind him against Wisconsin on Saturday.
sponsored by
MADISON, Wis. – The Purdue football team returned home on Halloween after a horrifying 37-0 loss at Wisconsin.
The pace of the game was set during the first drive when Wisconsin (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) drove 80 yards down the field in a drive that did not include a single pass. Purdue (3-6, 2-3 Big Ten) was not able to respond to the powerful Wisconsin offensive line that pushed Purdue’s defense around for a good portion of the day.
Junior defensive end Ryan Kerrigan believes that the first drive was the key point of the game.
“I don’t know if I’d say they set the tone but they definitely threw the first punch and we clearly never recovered from that,” Kerrigan said.
Senior linebacker Jason Werner believes that the problem on defense was one of tactics, not talent.
“I’m confident that we were able to stop it. I know that we just didn’t execute the plays that we had,” Werner said. “I’m more that confident that we have the talent to stop it, they just executed and we didn’t.”
On offense, Purdue was unable to effectively mount drives down the field. Their running game was thwarted by Wisconsin’s defense and their passing game was plagued by dropped and errant passes all day. Purdue’s total offense amounted to 141 yards, compared to Wisconsin’s 266 from rushing and 381 yards total.
Senior quarterback Joey Elliott was as surprised as anybody when the offense did not start ticking.
“I'm real surprised, just like anybody else is,” Elliott said. “We've thrown and caught real well all year and I’m 110% confident in every one of my receivers and they’re 110% confident in me trying to get them the ball as much as possible.
“Whenever things are struggling and one drop happens, they keep multiplying. I had some bad reads and I made some mistakes today also, it’s not all on them trying to get open.”
Elliott was eventually benched in the third quarter and went 5-for-23 on the day, including one interception. His replacement, redshirt freshman Caleb TerBush, faired a little better than Elliott and went 4-for-10 for 22 yards.
Though the team is disappointed about the Wisconsin game, it believes that it can finish strong and win the last three games of the season to make it to a bowl appearance.
“The only thing you can do in a situation like that is just put it behind you and come out ready to work tomorrow because time doesn’t stop,” Werner said. “We’ve got another game on Saturday and it’s a must win.”
Perhaps Kerrigan summed up the game the best.
“We just flat got beat in every facet of the game: offense, defense and special teams.”
The Boilermakers will next play Michigan at noon Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich.