Express observations: UCLA 52, Purdue 38

PASADENA, Calif. — Here is what has us talking after Purdue’s 52-38 loss at UCLA on Saturday night in the Rose Bowl.

1 – Defensive issues persist. It’s not an elephant in the room. Everyone is talking about. Last time we saw this unit, it allowed a back-breaking 4th-and-15 conversion in a devastating double OT loss. The breakdowns continued tonight and were more frequent. The tackling? Atrocious. The play in the secondary? Dubious. The pass rush? Weak. Run, pass, it didn’t matter. Just about anything dialed up worked for the Bruins. Is there enough talent on defense?

“We certainly do (have enough)” said Barry Odom. “That’s my frustration, we do. I believe in that, and we’ve got to make sure we do everything we can to get them in a position to play free, play fast, and play confident, and again, we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Would Odom consider a change in who calls the defense?

“No, I think that would be premature for me to talk about that right now,” he said. “I mean, we’ve got to sit down and collect it. There’s really good coaches on that side of the ball, we got to find answers.”

2 – Will Purdue win another game? It’s a legit question, given the state of this defense. Visits from Minnesota, Maryland and Wisconsin look like possibilities. But this team took a massive step back tonight. What’s the mental state? What’s the hope?

3 – Fame Ijeboi never really got on a track–so the ground game floundered. He had just 47 yards rushing on 17 carries. Travis Terrell got the first carry of the game (RB rotation)–and lost a fumble. It was a portend of things to come. Purdue finished with 63 yards. Was Ijeboi banged up?

“Yeah,” said Odom. “I was proud of the way he fought. You know, he was a little bit limited throughout the week, but you know he’s a warrior in the way he prepares, way he practices, and the way he plays. Really, really proud of him.”

4 – Want something positive? Check out. Ryan Browne, who hit 19-of-30 passes for 378 yards and 3 TDs. He did it all on this night, handling pressure, checking down and going down field. He did toss his first INT, but the game essentially was over by then.

“Ryan did a great job delivering the ball, made some big time catches, and then the run after catch,” said Odom. “You know, it was good to see, but we can’t just go out score people. It’s not going to work.”

5 – More positives: The receivers continue to show up. No doubt, Asaad Waseem and Xavier Townsend are the top targets. Some tell me Waseem is the best. And, I’m not gonna argue. The Florida Atlantic transfer made some nice grabs (8 for 149), while Townsend had a career night with 162 yards on 6 catches with two TDs. These guys are good.

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“So, I think we’ve got an opportunity with those guys that if we’ll continue to protect the quarterback like we did and Ryan’s making really good reads, and he’s delivering the ball,” said Odom.

6 – Turnovers were a killer. Purdue lost two fumbles, as UCLA turned them both into TDs. There also was a pick. On the other end of the spectrum, Purdue failed to get a takeaway–again. It has one in three games this season.

7 – UCLA entered the game No. 2 in rushing (245.5 ypg). Purdue had no answer. There was sloppy tackling, poor angles. Bottom line: This won’t be fun game tape to watch. The Bruins finished with 369 yards rushing on 45 carries. UCLA finished with a stupefying 645 yards.

“Very disappointed in in our run defense,” said Odom. “No way in the world you can give up what we did and play like we did and have a chance to win when you combine that with minus three turnovers on the other side. So, we got a lot of things to fix.”

8 – Purdue’s Big Ten misery continues with a 19th consecutive conference loss. The last time Purdue Pete sipped from the Big Ten victory cup? Vs. Indiana to close the 2023 season.

9 – Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Purdue started slowly, allowing UCLA to notch 21 first quarter points. The Boilers actually rallied to take a 28-24 lead in the third quarter after George Burhenn streaked in from 30 yards. But it was short lived. UCLA quickly answered with a TD, then cashed in another TD after the Boilermakers lost a fumble. Just like that, Purdue trailed 38-28. (sigh)

10 – Uh-oh. Up next: A visit from Notre Dame. It could get ugly. The last time the Irish visited, they curb-stomped the Boilermakers, 66-7–and it really wasn’t that close–as ND notched 578 yards along the way.

“Got a lot of work to do before then, for sure,” said Odom.