Purdue vs Rutgers - Offensive Film Breakdown - 1st Quarter

I think after a game like Rutgers, it’s important to go back and rewatch the film because it’s hard to get into the details when you’re watching live. I’m going to try and break down every offensive snap, to the best of my limited ability, in order to figure out what went right, what went wrong, and to maybe shed some light on the quarterback situation.

You’ll forgive me if some of my explanations aren’t as technical as they could be, it’s been a while since I’ve done this and Brohm runs some funky stuff that’s hard to describe.

Note:

Personnel grouping numbers refers to the running backs and tight ends on the field. For example, if you have 1 running back and 2 tight end, you’re in ‘12’ personnel. That means you have 2 WRs in the game.

Drive 1:

Purdue almost flubs the opening kick, as Sparks lets the ball bounce in front of him instead of fielding it cleanly. He picks it up and is swarmed under at the 16, not a good start.

Clock: 14:58

Field Position: Purdue 16

Down: 1/10

Personnel:

21

Formation:

Shotgun, Split WR, TE R, FB/RB Stack (Shotgun I formation)

Play:

Jet Sweep to Sparks from Left to Right

Outcome:

20 yard gain - 1st down

Notes:

Worship and Knox make this play as they both get a hat on their man, with Worship holding off the OLB and Knox blasting the safety.

Clock: 14:37

Field Position: Purdue 36

Down: 1/10

Personnel:

12

Formation:

Shotgun, Split WR, TE1 L, TE2 Stacked behind TE1, RB offset R

Play:

Fake L to R Reverse to Sparks, Throwback L to Knox

Outcome:

2 yard gain

Notes:

Purdue tries to get everything flowing right, and then come back with the Knox in the flat left. Rutgers safety doesn’t bite and stays at home, forcing Knox to stop his feet right after the catch. He is taken down by the backside pursuit.

Clock: 14:08

Field Position: Purdue 38

Down: 2/8

Personnel:

11

Formation:

Shotgun, Slot R, TE Wing R, RB offset R

Play:

PA, TE slant

Outcome:

Incomplete Pass

Notes:

LB did not bite on the play fake and was in perfect position to get his hand in and knock the ball down. Sindelar put it in the right spot, but the defense was good.

Clock: 14:01

Field Position: Purdue 38

Down: 3/8

Personnel:

11

Formation:

Shotgun, Slot R, TE Flex R, RB offset L

Play:

WR/TE shallow crossing (pick) route combination to TE moving R to L

Outcome:

Complete Pass to Herdman, Gain of 6 - 4th down

Notes:

Rutgers brings a ZB from the R, and drops off L DE, Knox gets impatient in blitz pick up and doubles the inside rusher, leaving the outside rusher free to come around the edge. Sindelar moves left away from pressure and delivers a nice pass on the move to Herdman but he can’t break away from the DL that dropped into the zone. Sparks is wide open on the other L to R cross, but Sindelar doesn’t have time to hit it b/c of the Knox mistake.

4th Down:

Punt from Purdue 44

Drive 2:

Purdue gets the ball back quickly after a 74 yard Rutgers run on poor play from Robinson, Hudson, and Mosely. Purdue starts on the 14 after Knox catches the ball at the 3 and promptly runs into Derrick Barnes, who missed his block anyway, and is tackled at the 14, once again giving Purdue poor starting field position.

Clock: 12:17

Field Position: Purdue 14

Down: 1/10

Personnel:

20

Formation:

Shotgun, Slot R, TE Wing L, RB offset R behind QB

Play:

PA, Slot Quick Out

Outcome:

26 Yard Gain

Notes:

Rutgers again brings pressure off the right, but Sidelar hits a wide open Anthrop on a 4 yard out. Anthrop breaks a tackle around 8 yards, and scoots down the sideline for a big gain. Sindelar does a good job of recognizing the blitz and hitting Anthrop with a well placed pass before the pressure gets close.

Clock: 11:53

Field Position: Purdue 40

Down: 1/10

Personnel:

10

Formation:

Shotgun, Spread, RB offset L

Play:

Slot R jet sweep motion, quick pass in flat to motion man

Outcome:

9 yard gain

Notes:

Good block on the outside by Herdman who was lined up as a WR. Rutgers doesn’t go with the jet sweep motion, and Anthrop picks up an easy 9 yards. Sindelar didn’t have to do much, but he put it on the money and let Anthrop turn quickly down field.

Clock: 11:17

Field Position: Purdue 49

Down: 2/1

Personnel:

11

Formation:

Shotgun, Twins R, Slot R, TE R, RB offset R

Play:

RB off LT

Outcome:

3 Yard Run, 1st Down

Notes:

Worship picks this up on his as he blasts an unblocked DB in the hole, and pushes forward for the first down. Purdue again trying to create confusion with their formation, which is strong right, and then running back to the weak left, but Rutgers stays at home. Rutgers is essentially ignoring Purdue’s formation and motion right now.

Clock: 10:57

Field Position: Rutgers 48

Down: 1/10

Personnel:

21

Formation:

Shotgun, TE1 L, TE2, Wing L, Slot R, WR R, RB Offset R

Play:

TE Wing Motion L to R, PA, TE Seam

Outcome:

Incomplete Pass (drop)

Notes:

Hopkins goes in motion, Purdue goes play action and looks for Hopkins in the seam. The line holds up well, and Sindelar delivers a perfect strike to Hopkins, considering there is no separation, placing the ball in the only possible location for a catch. It hits Hopkins in the hands and fall to the turf. It was a tough catch, but a catch he should make. Purdue should have a 1st and 10 inside the 20, instead it is 2/10 at the 48. First big mistake of the day.

Clock: 10:48

Field Position: Rutgers 48

Down: 2/10

Personnel:

11

Formation:

Shotgun, Slot R, TE R, Running back offset R

Play:

Roll out Right, 4 Yard Out to TE to Herdman

Outcome:

Incomplete Pass

Notes:

Purdue does a bunch of pre snap shifting, going from a tight formation to a spread formation, but Rutgers has no trouble getting aligned. Purdue has Hopkins lined up in the slot this time, and he and Herdman both run out cuts. Sindelar delivers the ball high into a tight window and the ball goes over Herdman’s head. First bad pass by Eli, but the window is so tight, the ball has to be high...just not that high.

Clock: 10:43

Field Position: Rutgers 49

Down: 3/10

Personnel:

11

Formation:

Shotgun, Slot R, TE Wing R, RB offset L

Play:

12 Yard Out, R (boundary) WR

Outcome:

Incomplete Pass (drop)

Notes:

Purdue’s line provides Sindelar with plenty of time and Sindelar delivers a strike to Mahoungou who probably has a ball sized bruise on his sternum. This was a perfect pass, and one that Sindelar had to deliver with some heat because the corner was squatting to break on the route. Mahoungou let the ball get into his pads instead of catching it with his hands, and instead of a 1st down, Purdue is punting.

4th down:

Punt

A promising drive stopped by Purdue as 2 perfect passes are dropped on 1st and 3rd down.

Drive 3:

Purdue’s defense holds, but allows Rutgers to get out of their own end. Anthrop calls a fair catch on the 21 on a bouncing punt that looks returnable. Purdue again starts with poor field position.

Clock: 6:36

Field Position: Purdue 21

Down: 1/10

Personnel:

10

Formation:

Shotgun, Trips R, RB offset L

Play:

Slot Jet Motion R to L, A Gap L Run

Outcome:

14 Yard Jones run- 1st down

Notes:

This was a great run as Purdue ran between Barron and Evans with Swingler pulling from LT to deliver a mashing block on the MLB that sprung the play. Jones had one man to beat in the secondary, and gets chopped down after 15. Can’t complain about a 15 yard run, but would love to see Jones make a man miss when he’s 1 on 1 in the secondary instead of looking for contact.

Clock: 6:18

Field Position: Purdue 35

Down: 1/10

Personnel:

10

Formation:

Shotgun, Spread, RB offset L

Play:

A Gap L Run

Outcome:

6 Yard Jones Run

Notes:

Jones starts right and then cuts back to the A gap. Swingler pulls again and makes another great block to create the crease. Jones looks like he might squirt through but gets taken down by an ankle tackle.

Clock: 6:01

Field Position: Purdue 41

Down: 2/4

Personnel:

10

Formation:

Shotgun, Spread, RB offset L

Play:

A Gap L Run

Outcome:

6 Yard Jones Run - 1st down

Notes:

Purdue goes with pace and runs the exact same play. The line pushes Rutgers off the line, Swingler pulls around and opens the A gap hole, and Jones pounds it for a 6 yard run. Swingler is earning his scholarship on this drive, showing the athleticism that makes him such an important utility player on the line.

Clock: 5:41

Field Position: Purdue 47

Down: 1/10

Personnel:

11

Formation:

Shotgun, Slot R, TE R, RB offset R

Play:

PA, Single WR (Boundary), 30 yard Go

Outcome:

Incomplete Pass (Drop)

Notes:

After a couple runs, Brohm tries to hit Rutgers with play action, but Rutgers doesn’t bite. Sindelar’s pass is slightly high, again, it probably needs to be high, but not quite that high, but Mahoungou has every opportunity to make the play, but instead of running through the route, he makes a needless turn to the outside, and sort of flails at the ball as it goes bye. If he just keeps running he would be in much better position to catch the ball. It still hits him in the hands, but he can’t pull it in. If the QB has to make a perfect pass every time, it’s going to be a long season.

Clock: 5:37

Field Position: Purdue 47

Down: 2/10

Personnel:

21

Formation:

Shotgun, Split WR, TE R, FB/RB Stack R (Shotgun I formation)

Play:

Jet Sweep Fake L to R, RB Counter Off Tackle

Outcome:

1 Yard Jones Run

Notes:

This play looks like it has a chance, but Barron can’t maintain his block on the Rutgers MLB. Worship leads Jones through the hole, but the MLB closes it and stones Jones. Everything was great with the exception of the the Barron block, which ruined the play.

Clock: 4:59

Field Position: Purdue 48

Down: 3/9

Personnel:

11

Formation:

Shotgun, WR Slot R, TE R, RB offset L

Play:

9 yard Skinny Post to Single (Boundary) WR

Outcome:

Incomplete Pass (drop)

Notes:

Mahoungou with his 2nd bad drop on 3rd down, as Sindelar delivers a strike, but Mahoungou has it bounce off both his hands. Sindlear stands in the pocket and delivers with pressure in the face, as Swingler gets totally lost on a stunt and gives up the inside to the DE, and the outside to the DT. Another promising drive cut short because of fundamental errors.

4th Down:

Punt

Drive 4:

Purdue’s defense holds, but continues to allow Rutgers out of their own end. Purdue once again starts at their 19 yard line after an Anthrop fair catch. Purdue has been pinned back all game, with all 4 drives starting at or inside the 20.

Clock: 1:17

Field Position: Purdue 19

Down: 1/10

Personnel:

11

Formation:

Shotgun, Slot L, TE L, RB offset R

Play:

RB off LT

Outcome:

4 yard gain

Notes:

This is a basic running play, where the line blocks right, and the TE seals off the left end. This is another running play that is blocked well by 5 out of the 6 blockers, but Herdman gets mauled by the defensive end and pushed into the otherwise open hole, causing Jones to just squirt forward for 4 instead of picking up a larger chunk of yardage on the play. It’s a tough ask for Herdman to block the DE, but all he really need to do is avoid getting pushed back, which he is unable to accomplish.

Clock: 58

Field Position: Purdue 22

Down: 2/6

Personnel:

11

Formation:

Shotgun, WR Slot L, TE R, RB offset L

Play:

RB off RT

Outcome:

No Gain

Notes:

I think this play was designed to hit the A gap between C and RG, with the LG pulling to lead the way, but the RT (Swingler) fails to block down on the DT, and he gets into the backfield and blows up the play, forcing it to the outside where Rutgers is waiting for Knox. The offensive line has been really hit and miss so far.

Clock: 19 sec

Field Position: Purdue 22

Down: 3/6

Personnel:

11

Formation:

Shotgun, WR Slot L, TE R, RB offset R

Play:

Sindelar motions Knox out of the backfield, into an empty set, but RG McCann moves, causing a false start penalty.

Outcome:

False Start, 5 Yard penalty.

Clock: 11

Field Position: Purdue 22

Down: 3/11

Personnel:

10

Formation:

Shotgun, 4 WR, Trips L, RB Offset R

Play:

Outside (Field) WR Post

Outcome:

22 Yard gain to Sparks 1st down

Notes:

The line holds up and Sindelar delivers a perfect strike to Sparks, who hauls in the catch for the big 1st down. Sindelar has delivered 3 perfect passes on 3rd down, and this is the first one that has actually been caught. Sparks ran a nice route and made a nice catch. He looks like the most natural outside receiver for Purdue, which is odd, because he was a QB last year.

1st Quarter Summary:

Plays: 19

Passes: 11 / 65 yards

Runs: 8 / 54

Drops: 4

Penalties: 1

Starting Field Position: Purdue 17

Overall:

Purdue started in 4 drives in poor field position, moved the ball to midfield and then had 2 drives (note one drive is still ongoing at the end of the 1st) ended by drops on perfect passes.

Purdue faced 4 3rd downs, Sindelar delivered 4 good passes, one was well defended, 2 were flat out dropped, and the 4th was complete. By my count, Sindelar delivered 10 good passes on 11 attempts. I’m not sure what more you can ask from your quarterback.

The running game was effective, but not explosive with the exception of the Sparks jet sweep to start the game. The Boilermakers looked to be one block away, or one move away from breaking a big run, but it just didn’t happen.

Rutgers is also playing super soft on the back end of things and not reacting much to Purdue’s pre snap shifts. It looks like their game plan was to keep Purdue in front of them and make them execute to win the game. If I were playing Purdue, that’s exactly how I would gameplan. The first safety or corner I caught looking into the backfield would be sitting on the bench for the entire game. The Rutgers defense isn’t playing great, but they’re not making big mistakes and are allowing Purdue to stop themselves.