WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Northwestern showed familiar flashes of brilliance Saturday in its 32-27 loss to Purdue, but once again it couldn’t piece together enough of those bright spots to form a complete 60-minute effort.
Although the Wildcats (4-3, 2-3 Big Ten) outscored the Boilermakers 20-10 in the last 30 minutes, NU’s three second-half touchdowns were not enough to overcome Purdue’s 22-7 halftime lead.
“We needed to be decisive and learn from our mistakes, but we’ve lost three games,” said NU running back Damien Anderson, who had a season-low 72 rushing yards on 17 attempts. “I’m tired of learning from our mistakes. I want to go out there and win.”
Even Purdue (5-1, 3-1) was unsure about the Cats’ performance.
“We felt like we would draw their best game,” Purdue coach Joe Tiller said. “I don’t know if we did or we didn’t.”
The game started on a bad note for NU. On the second play from scrimmage, wide receiver Sam Simmons caught a 6-yard rollout from quarterback Zak Kustok at NU’s 25. As Simmons took a jab step and cut inside, Boilermakers safety Stuart Schweigert put a hit on him that sent Simmons to the ground — and the ball into the air. Purdue cornerback Jacques Reeves scooped up the fumbled football and hurried downfield for a touchdown, giving the Boilermakers a 6-0 lead just 23 seconds into the game.
After the game, NU coach Randy Walker and Simmons conflicted over whether Simmons was down before the pigskin popped loose.
Walker hesitated, bit his lip and said, “I guess he was down.”
Simmons declined to comment on the game but said, “I’m pretty sure I fumbled.”
NU took its only lead of the game on the next kickoff, capping a 14-play, 80-yard drive with a trick play at Purdue’s 11. After Kustok took the snap from center Austin King, he immediately placed it on the ground beneath wideout Kunle Patrick, who was in stance to his left. Kustok spun, motioning the option left, and Patrick streaked untouched to the opposite corner of the end zone to give the Cats a 7-6 lead, silencing 67,181 fans in attendance
“We’d been carrying it around and today seemed like as good a day as any to run it,” Walker said.
A 49-yard strike into double coverage from Purdue quarterback Brandon Hance put the Boilermakers back ahead 12-7. Purdue wideout Seth Morales weaved in between NU cornerback Raheem Covington and safety Mark Roush to make the grab.
After missing two extra points, Purdue’s Travis Dorsch boosted the lead to 15-7 with a 43-yard field goal at the end of the first quarter.
Late in the second quarter, Hance rolled right under pressure and threw an out to Morales at NU’s 46. Covington stepped forward for the wobbling pass — with nothing but 55 yards of open space between him and the end zone — but the ball bounced off his shoulder pad.
Purdue was forced to punt and NU went six yards backward on its next possession. NU punter J.J. Standring shanked the ensuing boot for a measly 26 yards., leaving Purdue a deep pass and a 1-yard lunge from taking the momentum and a two-touchdown lead.
Walker knew just how much his team lost in the final minutes of the first half.
“In the Ohio State game, they just took it to us from the beginning and we never got it back,” Walker said. “Against Penn State, we led the whole way, but we let them off the hook and they made some plays to win it. And then today, we had a couple things just …”
Walker trailed off.
“You can’t give up a turnover for a score,” he said. “Then there’s a little time before half and you go backwards on offense and shank a punt and now they’ve got the ball in good position — and they score to go up 22-7. You go from being tied at half to now they’re up two scores. That really put us behind the 8-ball.”
But after a first half marred by mistakes, the Cats started the second with a pair of quick touchdowns, leaving them just two points behind.
The Cats’ defense also outshined Purdue’s in the second half, thanks to a freshman backfield that helped hold the Boilermakers to a meager 55 passing yards — after notching 135 in the first half.
“They ran a lot of stuff at us strong side, but they then cut it back,” linebacker Billy Silva said. “For the most part, we played pretty good defense. We had a bunch of people in the box — we just weren’t getting it done.”
NU freshman safety Dominique Price forced a fumble on a Purdue punt return that brought the Cats down to the Boilers 38. On a 3rd-and-1 at Purdue’s 29, the Cats lined up with five wideouts. But with the Purdue secondary creeping forward to shut down a draw, Kustok took the snap, leaned back and tossed a 29-yard lob to Jon Schweighardt in an empty end zone, bringing the score to 22-14.
“They’re an assertive and aggressive defense, and they’re going to come and jump some of their routes,” Walker said. “That’s why we were able to throw it over the top of them.”
A sack by NU defensive tackle Colby Clark on 3rd-and-1 forced Purdue’s second punt of the quarter.
Kustok led a quick drive downfield —
although it nearly ended when he fumbled a snap on Purdue’s 20.
An option to the left side on 3rd-and-goal let Anderson trot into the end zone, bringing the score to 22-20. But on the conversion attempt, Boilermakers defensive tackle Matt Mitrione found a crack in NU’s offensive line and buried Kustok into the turf to keep the lead.
“Purdue has one of the best defenses in the Big Ten and probably one of the better defenses in the country,” Kustok said.
But after forcing two three-and-outs, the Cats couldn’t stop Purdue’s next drive. The Boilermakers went 84 yards on 15 plays — converting on three third downs, including a Marvin Brown pass interference penalty on 3rd-and-6 from NU’s 12.
Six minutes later, another Dorsch field goal made it 32-20.
A blocked punt by NU’s Eric Worley with 4:16 left put the Cats on Purdue’s 34. A 14-yard slant to Patrick in the end zone made the score 32-27.
NU attempted an onside kick, but Purdue recovered and the Cats’ defense couldn’t force a punt — a problem they faced all afternoon.
“I thought we had to come in and stop their running game to have a good chance,” Walker said. “We needed to get them off the field to keep our offense going — but we couldn’t stop their running game.”
