UNDER REVIEW: Purdue Boilermakers vs ISU

Sep 7, 2013; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Purdue Boilermakers running back Akeem Hunt (1) looks for room to run past Indiana State Sycamores linebacker Kendall Walker (10) in the 2nd half at Ross Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sandra Dukes-USA TODAY Sports

Saturday, the Purdue Boilermaker faithful were treated to an offensive struggle that thankfully ended in a win for the home team. Indiana State was sent home with another lose to a Big Ten team after its rally fell short, 20-14.

This was supposed to be a game where Purdue (1-1) was able to figure out the offense and pound a team by double digits. That didn’t even come close to happening.

While ISU showed a lot of fight, they were still the inferior team by a mile and the fact that they hung in the game without their best player says a lot. Coach Darrell Hazell hasn’t looked all that good in his first few weeks at the helm. There have been a lot of miscues that are inexcusable, but keep happening. The coaching staff has to do a better job going forward.

Here’s what we took away from this game:

The Good

• Akeem Hunt. He opened up the game with a 98-yard kickoff return. It was a well designed trick play that Purdue won’t be able to use again now that teams have film of it. Hunt also ran for 82 yards. He is very dangerous with the ball in his hands and its clear he needs to get 25-30 touches (carries, returns, or receptions) every game. He had 22 carries, two receptions, and two kickoff returns. If he isn’t getting the ball more in the future, then the coaching staff is doing something wrong. 
• Defense. Purdue pitched a shutout until the final minutes of the third quarter. They did a great job of keeping the Boilermakers in this game and Ricardo Allen’s interception iced the win. The Sycamores also turned the ball over three times on downs. ISU managed just 39 rushing yards, with most of them coming in the fourth quarter. Right now, the defense is light years ahead of the offense. Purdue can keep games close for a little while, but that offense is going let opponents blow them out.
• A win. Never turn your nose up at a win. While it should have been a blowout, Purdue still earned one in the win column. The defense had a good game, and the Boilermakers are still figuring things out on offense. The problem is this might be the last win they have for weeks to come.

The Bad

• Game Management. The coaching staff has to get the nuts and bolts of the game figured out. Purdue used its timeouts very poorly, and it cost them three points at the end of the first half. The Boilers also had to burn timeouts to prevent a delay of game penalty. The coaches wasted a lot of time getting plays into quarterback Rob Henry, so much so that he was unable to make adjustments at the line and sometimes had to rush the snap. Near the end of the game, when Purdue was trying to use up clock, the offense snapped the ball with 12 seconds left on the clock. Why? Who knows, but Henry and coach Hazell should both know better. Clock management is not hard, neither is play calling. Both are simple things that Purdue has to get a handle on if they want to be more competitive.  
• Rob Henry. Henry has not shown the ability to be a starting QB in college football. He is innaccurate (even on his completions) and doesn’t appear to have a grasp of the playbook, something he’s had since at least January. IU’s sophomore QB hung four touchdowns on ISU. So far, Henry has zero passing touchdowns and two interceptions. It might be time for Purdue to look at one of the backups to take over the starting spot.
• 3rd down. Purdue was 4-for-16 on third down conversions. The Boilermakers were unable to convert on third and long, or third and short. It didn’t matter if it was a pass or a run, they simply could not get it done. Defensively, they were solid on third down and got ISU off the field regularly. But keeping drives going is not a strong suit for this team.
• The Offense. Overall, the offense has been a mess. This is a team that is supposed to be able to run the ball, but they’ve been unable to do even that. They averaged 2.9 yards per carry and only had 150 passing yards.  At this point, I’m fairly confident that IU could actually stop the Purdue offense.

Make no mistake about this game, if Shakir Bell had played, Indiana State would have won this game. And probably by more than a few points. ISU came into the game with a plan that would have been perfect with Bell in the lineup, but he wasn’t and so the Sycamores struggled until they made adjustments. They simply ran out of time to complete the comeback. Mike Perish wouldn’t have made such a bad pass if there had been more than 19 seconds left in the game. Purdue was lucky to win this one.

Purdue has to find a way to score points, because the schedule is about the get very difficult from here on out. They face three BCS opponents over the next three weeks, and then welcome in No. 23 Nebraska. If Purdue doesn’t figure out how to adjust, then they will lose the next six games.

This is a brutal schedule, and its becoming very apparent that the Boilermakers won’t crack .500 this season. Next week certainly isn’t going to be fun when No. 21 Notre Dame comes to West Lafayette.

Don’t forget to follow us on twitter, @InkOnIndy.