Welcome to the culmination of a long-awaited football season for Purdue fans. In the last edition we covered Purdue’s year 2000 tilt versus the Buckeyes in one of the best seasons in Boilermaker history. This season probably won’t hold the same weight, but it involved a lot of waiting and frustration to get there. Welcome to Jeff Brohm’s first season in West Lafayette at Purdue and the first bowl game since 2012 for this Boiler program.

The Scene: This game took place at the end of a surprising season as Jeff Brohm took the reigns of a program that had won 9 games in the previous 4 years. In his first season in West Lafayette Brohm took a team of mostly Coach-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named recruits and players and won 6 games. It was a season that provided so much hope to a program and fan base that had all but abandoned the team up to this season. I should know, I was a student at Purdue for the years 2013-2017. I was a student at Purdue during the previous regime and felt the apathy first hand. This fan base was so desperate for any glimmer of hope. Jeff Brohm provided it by not only winning 6 games but beating Indiana for the first time in 4 years to return the Old Oaken Bucket to where it belongs. This game was the gravy on top of a season no one expected. There was only one question on everyone’s minds at this point.

Leading up to the bowl game many people didn’t believe that Purdue could win this game because Khalil Tate and the Arizona Wildcats started the season with an impressive stretch before hitting a midseason slump. Purdue on the other hand struggled to 6 wins down the stretch. Purdue started the season beating Ohio, @Missouri, and Minnesota. Then lost their next 3 straight before needing to win 3 of the last four of Illinois, @Northwestern, @Iowa, and home vs IU.

They found a way, even shocking Iowa in Iowa City before returning and beating the Hoosiers in Ross-Ade. The game against Indiana is the last time I have made it back to campus for a football game. Not a bad one to have! (Even though I need to make it back soon.)

The Questions: Could Purdue win the game and have a winning record in our Lord and Saviors 2017? Could Purdue finish above .500 overall? My experience leading up to watching this game was of pure contentedness. I couldn’t have been happier with the season or more excited at the future of the program. And, I just wanted to know if this team could contain Khalil Tate and potentially keep the game close? The run defense had been great all year and they were going to need it now more than ever.

The Video:

The First Half: I remember as the first half was starting, I was super nervous. This was Purdue’s chance to show that this season wasn’t a fluke and they deserved to be there. Arizona begins with the ball and doesn’t gain much traction as the Boiler defense stops Khalil Tate and his first drive. A quick sigh of relief and it’s Purdue’s turn on offense. Unfortunately, it looks like the Purdue offense is going to fair much better with two quick very off-target throws from Elijah Sindelar. Fortunately though, WR Gregory Phillips breaks free to gain the first down on 3rd&10. Phillips sees his number called again on the next play and he makes a couple of Wildcats miss to gain another quick first down. Two plays later, Sindelar goes to the opposite side of the field to Anthony Mahoungou who makes one defender miss before taking it 30 yards to the house, and Purdue is on the board first! 7–0 Boilers with only 3:30 off the clock!

Having never watched much PAC-12 football, more specifically Arizona football. I wanted to see what this highly touted QB could do. Leading up to the game, the media was just going on about how talented this guy was on the ground and how it would give the Boilermakers fits. As Arizona got the ball back, I still wasn’t seeing it. We saw him many times roll out of the pocket towards the sideline only to step out of bounds to take a loss of a few yards. I never understood why he was so unwilling to take the hit/try and get back to the line of scrimmage and avoid the loss. Arizona once again doesn’t do much on offense and punts back to Purdue.

Purdue finally tries to establish the run a bit and gains a first down before Sindelar gets drilled on a corner blitz and the Boilers have to punt. All the while I’m still nervous about Arizona having the ball because I knew that it was only a matter of time before the gates opened up and they started to move the ball. Arizona gets their first chunk play on the ensuing play as Tate buys time before completing a 20-yard pass on the run and moving them into Purdue territory. That seems to spark their offense as they smoothly advance the ball and it culminating in a wide-open receiver and he walks in the endzone to tie the game 7-7. Then on the next Purdue drive, the Boilers get stuffed on 4th down to turn the ball over on their side of the field. I hated this play call form any reasons, the biggest being that Purdue ran the ball when we had struggled to find much success on the ground all year. Arizona capitalized on the turnover with another quick score to, in just a few minutes of both game and real-time, take a 14-7 lead. This is closer to what I was expecting from the Arizona offense.

I knew this was probably the first of a couple of crucial moments in the game for Purdue. They needed to find some rhythm on offense to answer the two quick scores from the Wildcats. Thankfully we got it as Sindelar launched a bomb to Gregory Phillips who made an impressive catch and move to drag an Arizona defender across the line for the answer! It was such an impressive feat of athleticism, especially getting to see it in replay from so many angles. Arizona fans were mad about the call of touchdown because as Phillips crossed the goal line, the ball popped out of his hands. I believe that if it wasn’t a touchdown, he would have been down short of the line. If it was a fumble, then he recovered his fumble in the endzone which would have resulted in a touchdown regardless. 14-14 as we near the end of this high scoring first half.

Moving ahead into the second quarter we see Purdue stopped deep in their side of the field before a very roughing the kicker call on Arizona gives Purdue another chance! Another 4th down conversion at midfield, this time it is successful, and Purdue is rolling! Suddenly Sindelar zings one to Phillips on a crossing route and he works his way into the endzone for another Purdue score! Suddenly Purdue finds themselves back on top 21-14 with 7:30 left in the half! Another stop for the Boiler defense on the next Arizona possession and Purdue finds an opportunity to extend their lead going into halftime! An impressive deep contested-catch by Mahoungou sets Purdue up deep in Arizona territory. Another impressive catch and run by Phillips, then, DJ Knox worms his way through the defense for another touchdown! 28-14 Purdue with just under 5 minutes to go in the half! Watching this game live, this was the point where I believed that Purdue might blow out Arizona in this game. Could you imagine that? After so many close wins to just get to this bowl game, would they be able to hold on with such an impressive win?

After the Purdue score, both teams get possessions but don’t do much with it and I believe we are on the way to halftime. Then Arizona seems to find some offense and begins moving the ball before a very surprising turnover where Purdue CB Navon Mosley rips the ball from Tate’s hands as he is laying on the back of a WR to turn them away again!

We then see Purdue appear to line up in a kneel before this happens:

Jeff Brohm you’ve done it again!

Purdue wasn’t able to get into the endzone but the fumble, the trick play, and the final field goal had to be very demoralizing for the Arizona football team! They were marching down the field to try and score before halftime to keep the game close when suddenly, Purdue is kicking a field goal to go up 31-14!

Halftime Thoughts: I believe that I let the end of the first half get the better of my emotions as I went into halftime 100% believing that Purdue was about to hang 60 on a Power-5 team! My goodness, could you imagine that? After four of the worst years of Purdue football history? Some Purdue fans were worried that Jeff Brohm was going to be poached by a bigger school after this season ended because it was so impressive to take THIS Purdue team and win 6 games. I think the interest was justified because I was a student from 2013-2017 and got to watch the Hazel teams in person. This team was not that, this team had a genius at the helm and was about to pound a PAC-12 team into the dirt! As we saw, this wasn’t the case. But this halftime was probably the most optimistic I had been about Purdue’s program in years and I’ll never forget the feeling!

The Second Half: Starting the second half, I was still beaming from how the Boilermakers finished the first half and was ready to see them bury the Wildcats and walk out with a convincing win. Purdue started with the ball and continued to find success in the midrange passing game, but at the same time, really struggling on the ground. Purdue managed to get to Arizona’s 32-yard line before missing a 45-yard field goal and the drive comes away empty.

As Purdue’s defense takes the field, they continue to get pressure on Khalil Tate forcing the QB to scramble and try and make something happen. Unfortunately, Purdue’s struggles in pass defense still exist and Arizona scores a walk-in touchdown from 40 yards out. I remember this whole 2017 season, Purdue struggled heavily against the pass on occasions that hurt them badly a lot. Purdue gets the ball back and moves the ball to mid-field before a tipped pass and Sindelar is picked off and all the momentum switches to Arizona. With 6:30 remaining in the 3rd quarter Tate finds another receiver on top of the safeties and Arizona scores again. Purdue’s 31-14 halftime lead is erased almost immediately as it now sites 31-28 Purdue.

On the next Purdue series you can feel how amped up the Arizona defense is as they fly all over the field. The teams trade 3-and-outs for the next few possessions as it seems the offenses have cooled off. Neither side does much of consequence through the rest of the quarter and as the fourth starts, Purdue has the ball near mid-field. They reach the Arizona 36 before going for it on fourth down and the refs come in with a VERY questionable spot of the ball on the result of the play. They mark Markel Jones short of the first and Purdue fans, both at the game and those at home, were not happy.

Arizona does nothing with the possession and goes 3-and-out immediately. Both offenses have cooled off and the defenses have stepped up and made plays when necessary. They are consistently getting pressure on both QB’s forcing some quick inaccurate throws. We know that Sindelar was playing on a torn ACL to finish the season so he was having a hard time adjusting to the quick pass rush.

We go under 10 minutes remaining in the game with Purdue still holding a 3 point lead at 31-28. The offenses continue to stagnate on both sides as neither can get past mid-field. Purdue seems content to try and run the ball to burn clock, but at the cost of never being in position to score. With 5:45 remaining Arizona receives the ball and this is where the lack of a run game from the Boilers comes back to haunt them. Without being able to get first downs and run down the clock, Arizona has plenty of time and opportunities to put a drive together. That is exactly what happens as they quickly march into Purdue territory, and as we saw too many times, a receiver winds up with no defensive player within 10 yards standing in the back of the end zone. Touchdown Arizona and they take the lead 35-31. Purdue will have just over 3 minutes to finally figure out the offense and respond.

The Boilers have yet to score in the second half, and the prospect of having to go 75 yards for a score seemed slim based on their second-half drive chart of:

• Missed FG

• Interception

• Punt

• Punt

• Turnover on Downs

• Punt

• Punt

Not the drive chart you want to see in this situation. I believe at this time I had silently accepted that the offense just didn’t have enough skill to get the job done. The first half may have just been a case of Arizona taking Purdue lightly and with that, being unfocused on the job at hand.

Purdue starts the drive with 3:05 left on their own 25. Here is the play summary for this drive as we watch it unfold:

• Sindelar Pass to Phillips fro 8yds to the Purdue 41.

• Sindelar Pass incomplete to Mahoungou

• Sindelar Pass incomplete to Brycen Hopkins

• Sindelar pass to DJ Knox for 21 yards to the Arizona 38

  • This might have been the play that got Purdue this win. DJ caught this ball well short of the first and worms his way to a gain of 21. Without this first down, I’m not sure Purdue converts the 4th down with the game on the line.

• Sindelar Pass incomplete to Brycen Hopkins (Almost intercepted)

• Sindelar Pass to Mahoungou for no gain (bad snap and lucky for this result)

  Then:

• Sindelar Pass to Mahoungou for 38 yds and a TD

Purdue leads 38-35 just like that. It was one of those situations where I was never more happy to be wrong about the outcome of a game. Anthony Mahoungou made an amazing catch over a defender while breaking his collarbone on the play. Impressive. Since this game was taking place in San Francisco and I was watching this game at home in Indiana, it was pretty late into the evening when this play happened and I’m pretty sure I woke up the neighborhood celebrating this TD.

After doing many laps of the room and I managed to settle down and get anxious at the fact that Arizona now had 1:44 to try and get at least a FG, and with the way the defense was allowing yards through the air, it was more than possible. After two quick incomplete passes by Tate, the dagger. He rolls to his right on 3rd down and overthrows a pass right into the hands of Jacob Thieneman to seal the deal. Purdue had done it. After a scoreless 38 minutes in the second half, Purdue managed to do enough to come back, score, and hold on to the final margin of 38-35 in one of the more exciting bowl games of that season.

Purdue returned to a bowl game for the first time since 2012. Won it, and announced to the Big Ten that Purdue wasn’t going to be a doormat any longer. (Just ask OSU in 2018 about how true that was)

Final Stats (ESPN)

Individual Stats

• Elijah Sindelar:

  • 33/53 for 396 Yds with 4 TD and 1 INT

• Receiving:

  • Gregory Phillips: 14 Rec / 149 Yds and 2 TD

  • Anthony Mahoungou: 6 Rec / 118 Yds and 2 TD

  • DJ Knox: 3 Rec / 36 Yds

  • Jackson Anthrop: 3 Rec / 32 Yds

  • Brycen Hopkins: 2 Rec / 25 Yds

• Rushing:

  • DJ Knox: 11 Car / 101 Yds and 1 TD

  • Markell Jones: 21 Car / 86 Yds

• Defense:

  • Markus Bailey: 11 Tackles

  • TJ McCollum: 6 Tackles / 1 Sack

  • Ja’Whaun Bentley: 8 Tackles / 1 Sack

  • Navon Mosley: 8 Tackles / 1 FF / 1 FR

  • Lorenzo Neal: 3 Tackles / 1 Sack

  • Ray Ellis: 1 Tackle / 1 Sack

  • Jacob Thieneman: 6 Tackles / 1 INT

• Kicking:

  • Spencer Evans: 1-1 FG / 2-2 XP

  • JD Dellinger: 0-1 FG / 3-3 XP

Team Stats:

Purdue Boilermakers:

• Rushing (Atmps/Yds/TD’s): 40/159/1

• Passing (Completions/Att/Yds/TD/INT): 33/53/396/4/1

• First Downs: 27

• Penalties/Yds: 5/50

• Turnovers: 1

Arizona Wildcats:

• Rushing (Atmps/Yds/TD’s): 43/128/0

• Passing (Completions/Att/Yds/TD/INT): 17/26/302/5/1

• First Downs: 19

• Penalties/Yds: 6/47

• Turnovers: 2 (1 Fumble, 1 INT)

The Result: In the long run, the result of this game will likely only matter to Purdue fans. Looking back on it now I remember it as the reward for the program to finally move on from the previous coach and showing promise that things can always get better. At the time, little did we know that a man by the name Rondale Moore would deliver a season by a single player for the ages. But, in the moment, it meant that Purdue went 7-6, finished above .500, and excitingly beat a Power 5 team to do so. Even if Purdue had lost this game (it would have been really disappointing to do so after taking a 31-14 lead into the half), the season would have still been a success and any true fan would take that season 10-out-of-10 times. The program was back, or at least was respectable, and that was all we fans wanted. Since this game was played, Purdue has struggled with consistency (2018) and injuries (2019). But, this 2017 season showed that there was light at the end of the tunnel and brighter days were ahead.

Why this Game? I love to re-watch this game for multiple reasons. Not only was it a great game in the end (at least from a neutral fan perspective), but it was a miraculous catch in Purdue’s favor that put the good guys over the top! It was the perfect end to a season many fans thought would never come. Purdue had won 7 games in football and been exciting while doing it. When the game ended you could finally feel and see the excitement on the players’ faces. These were some of the same players that only tasted victory against the lowest of competition, and for the first time in their career they finished a season winning more games than they lost. Personally this is why this season will stand out to me, for those players to finally get what they had worked so hard and waited so long for, will always bring a smile to my face and bring me back again and again.

How do you feel? Leave a comment below or tweet at me your thoughts @BoilerInTexas on how you felt watching this game! As well as if you enjoy re-watching old games to re-live them!

What’s Next? Let’s go back to basketball and look at a game against Michigan St. It, I think, was my favorite game to be at in person. If not number 1, one of my definitive top 3 without question. It was a game that helped put Purdue back on the map behind a performance from a program favorite player.

Let’s go back and Re-Live February 9th, 2016 when Raphael Davis reminded MSU what it was like to play in Mackey Arena.

As always, Boiler Up, Hammer Down, Hail Purdue!