Crossing the Tracks | Reviewing The Important Matchups from Purdue vs. Indiana

The Purdue Boilermakers was able to defeat the Indiana Hoosiers with a big second half that led to a 30-16 victory to retain the Old Oaken Bucket and make their first appearance in the B1G Championship Game in Indianapolis. Let’s take a look back at the important matchups and how Purdue faired against the Hoosiers.

1 | Indiana QB Dexter Williams vs. Purdue LB/S Jalen Graham

Well, it wasn’t good until Williams went down with what appeared to be a serious lower leg injury. Williams was able to complete his only pass and the threat to run kept Purdue off balance but while rolling to his left he went down without contact and immediately it became clear he was seriously injured.

Jalen Graham had a great game with 8 tackles (4 solo), 1 tackle for loss, and 1 pass defended. He was able to shut down passing lanes for Connor Bazelak and was great in run support. Although Graham was flagged for a pass interference, he did a good job of turning his head to challenge the reception and shouldn’t have been called for the penalty with the receiver making the contact against Graham himself.

Result | ADVANTAGE PURDUE

2 | Purdue Offense vs. Indiana Defense on 3rd Down

Against arguably the worst defense Purdue faced all season, they struggled to convert on 3rd down going only 2-9. They frequently found themselves behind the chains with the exception of their two touchdown drives to start the second half and their initial drive of the game. In that first half it seemed as though Brohm was trying to challenge IU’s pass defense but they just couldn’t get much traction and IU kept the ball away from AOC and the offense.

Result | Advantage Indiana

3 | Purdue WR’s vs. Indiana Defensive Backs

I think this one is pretty easy considering the absolute monster day that Charlie Jones had. The Iowa transfer had 4 receptions for 143 yards and 1 touchdown while TJ Sheffield also had two good receptions for 19 yards. Jones was able to beat coverage and frequently make plays after the catch against a very poor IU secondary.

The main reason I hesitate to not give this result toward Purdue is that there just weren’t other guys making plays. Tyrone Tracy and Andrew Sowinski were the only other wide receivers to make a catch and that has been the story most of the season. I think there may be something else going on with the ineffectiveness of the other wide receivers but that may be something that comes up after the season is over.

Results | Advantage Purdue