*Starters in Bold
Ryan Browne: Snaps– 46 – Comp– 10/29 – Yds– 142 – Td– 1 – Int– 2 – Rushes– 3 – Yds– 7
Grade: F
Gross.
That was Ryan Browne's worst game of the season by a wide margin. That looked more like the quarterback predicted to be the Big 10's worst, not the one who looked like one of the biggest roster values in the nation earlier in the season.
Purdue needs him to be a playmaker for this offense to work. When teams blitz, he needs to punish them, not encourage them. Browne may as well have worn a "please don't blitz me" sign around his neck in this one because when Penn State brought the heat, he melted. According to PFF, Penn State blitzed him on 14 of his 29 passing attempts. Those 14 attempts yielded Purdue 2 completions for 9 yards and an interception. On the 15 attempts he wasn't blitzed, he completed 8 passes for 133 yards, a touchdown, and a late game "throw it up and see what happens" interception.
Part of the problem is that the running game is completely busted. Browne has played his best when the opposing defense had to worry about getting gashed by Purdue run game. When teams don't have to worry about the run game, they can get more creative in their coverages and blitz schemes. That's given Browne fits. He's not seeing the blitzes, and he's not identifying his hot routes. He's trying to process everything after the snap and keeps running out of time.
In theory, Purdue should have a couple of quality blitz-beating receivers in Townsend and Waseem who can beat press coverage early and turn short passes into long gains in man coverage. That can't happen if Browne is surprised by the blitz on half his dropbacks. Part of playing quarterback is identifying the blitz and adjusting both the protection and receiver routes accordingly, before the snap. Quarterbacks need to do most of their thinking before the snap and react to what they see in the scant seconds before the pressure gets home. On Saturday, I saw a quarterback who was thinking with the ball in his hand instead of reacting. That's the sign of a bad quarterback, or at least a quarterback who doesn't have a solid understanding of what the defense is trying to do and the most efficient way to beat it.
Defensive coordinators have plenty of tape on the offense now. If you can stop Purdue's run game and make the offense one-dimensional, Ryan Browne will struggle to win the game with his arm. It's up to Browne and offensive coordinator Josh Henson to adjust to the defensive adjustments. I haven't seen that in the last two games.
Fame Ijeboi: Snaps– 38 – Rushes– 11 – Yds– 20 (1.8 YPA) – Rec– 1 – Yds– 18
Antonio Harris: Snaps– 8 – Rushes– 1 – Yds– 6 – Rec– 1 – Yds– 8
Grade:F
After forcing 15 missed tackles against Minnesota and looking like one of the premier running backs in the nation for one night, Ijeboi has broken a total of 4 tackles combined against Washington and Penn State. I get it, the offensive line isn't good, but Fame looks like he's moving in slow motion in the last couple of games. Even when Purdue gets him out on the perimeter, he's losing one-on-one battles against safeties where one broken tackle could turn into a huge gain.
Purdue's offense was barely on the field because they struggled to get off the field on defense, but like last week, I saw more juice from Harris. He showed more energy and conviction on his only carry of the game than Ijeboi showed on any of his 11 carries.
It may be time to give Harris the first series against Maryland to see if he can help establish the running game because Fame has averaged less than 2 yards per carry in the last two games.
That's not good enough.
Chauncey Magwood: Snaps– 41 – Targets– 3 – Rec– 0
Assad Waseem: Snaps– 34 – Targets– 7 – Rec– 3 – Yds– 64
Xavier Townsend: Snaps– 38 – Targets– 9 – Rec– 4 – Yds– 46 – Td– 1
Tra'Mar Harris: Snaps– 28 – No Stats
Jaylan Hornsby: Snaps– 9 – Targets– 1 – No Stats
Brandon Kinsey: Snaps– 4 – No Stats
Bisi Owens: Snaps– 1 – Targets– 1- No Stats
Grade:D
Purdue played 7 receivers on Saturday, and only 2 caught passes. Townsend got loose and caught a 33-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, then disappeared for the next 3 quarters. Waseem started the drive that ended in Townsend's touchdown with a 38-yard reception, then contributed only 26 yards the rest of the game.
Think about this: Purdue had 71 passing yards on a 4-play touchdown drive in the first quarter and could muster only 71 more yards the rest of the game. Purdue needs one of its big outside receivers to step up and win some one-on-one matchups, but Penn State dominated those matchups with their physical corners.
If you're looking for a position that needs a massive talent influx in the offseason, it's the outside receivers. The fact that Magwood and Morrissette (whose absence was notable in this one, after being Purdue's best contested-catch receiver in the previous two games) are entrenched starters and not complementary veteran pieces in a wide receiver rotation speaks to that.
George Burhenn: Snaps– 28 – Targets– 2 – Rec– 1 – Yds– 6
Grade:F
Burhenn was targeted twice in this game. One ended in a 6-yard reception; the other ended in a Ryan Browne interception. For George to be effective, he needs the ball because he doesn't bring much to the table in terms of run blocking. PFF graded him as Purdue's worst run blocker by a significant margin, and after watching the replay, I concur.
Nuku Mafi: Snaps– 46
Jude McCoskey: Snaps– 25
Marques Easley : Snaps– 21
Boaz Stanley: Snaps– 46
Micah Banuelos: Snaps– 46
Rico Schrieber: Snaps– 46
Grade:D –
Offensive line coach Zach Crabtree continues to search for a left guard. Against Penn State, former starting right tackle Jude McCoskey started at left guard. It didn't go well, and he was eventually replaced by former starting left guard Marques Easley. Keep in mind, Purdue started the season with true freshman Brock Brownfield at left guard; that didn't go well either, and he was eventually replaced by Marques Easley. It's pretty clear that, for whatever reason, they don't think Easley is the guy, but they can't find anyone to replace him.
It's pretty clear they're all-in on true freshman Rico Schrieber at right tackle because he stepped in for McCoskey after Jude went down earlier in the season, and his return hasn't displaced Rico from the starting lineup. Schrieber and left guard Micah Banuelos were solid in pass protection, giving up only 2 of Purdue's 7 total pressures, but Purdue's run blocking has taken a step back with Schrieber on the field, mainly because McCoskey might be the team's best run blocker. Unfortunately, he didn't look good at left guard. If the coaching staff wants to get McCoskey back on the field, it'll have to be at right tackle or tight end. I prefer him as a tight end in a 6-man line because Schrieber needs to be a key cog in the 2027 offensive line.
Boaz Stanley remains, in baseball parlance, a replacement-level center. He's functional, and having a center capable of consistently snapping the ball is an underappreciated skill set that tends to be more appreciated when you don't have a center who can reliably get the ball back to the quarterback, but he's not moving anyone in the run game and struggles to pick up twists and stunts in pass protection. Purdue can't run the ball inside, and it doesn't get more inside than the center. They keep trying to fix it by changing the left guard, but something tells me he's not the only issue.
At the end of the day, they only gave up 1 sack, which saved them from a failing grade, but that's about the only good thing I can say about this group right now.
