Data Driven: Michigan

Each week after Purdue football games, we’ll take a closer look back at the game through PFF data and analytics. Today, Purdue’s 21-16 loss at Michigan.

(Editor’s note: PFF data is just one organization’s interpretation of the happenings from Saturday’s game. It is not to be taken as gospel).

OFFENSE

Offensive snap counts:

RT Bakyne Coly all 71
C Bradyn Joiner all 71
RG Hank Purvis all 71
LT Joey Tanona all 71
LG Jalen St. John all 71
WR Nitro Tuggle 68
WR EJ Horton Jr. 62
QB Ryan Browne 60
WR Michael Jackson III 48
RB Malachi Thomas 38
TE Christian Earls 36
RB Antonio Harris 34
WR Jesse Watson 23
TE Christian Moore 20
TE Rico Walker 18
QB Malachi Singleton 11
WR Corey Smith 6
LT Jude McCoskey 2

Grades and notes:

• Look at the offensive line! For the second straight week, Purdue did not rotate on the offensive line at all, sticking with the same group since Hank Purvis supplanted Ethan Trent on the depth chart
  • Hank Purvis finished with the top grade on the offense
  • Jalen St. John and Bradyn Joiner also ranked among Purdue’s best offensive players
• No Mockobee? No problem. Malachi Thomas and Antonio Harris finished with nice grades and inside the top five of Purdue’s best offensive players in this one
  • Credit to Thomas, who graded very well in pass protection. Harris, on the other hand, struggled in that department
• As a whole, Purdue graded well in pass protection, as Purvis and St. John generated excellent grades from the guard spots
  • On the flip side, it was another rough day for Bakyne Coly, who finished as Purdue’s lowest-graded offensive player
• Although Purdue ran the ball well, fairly mediocre grades in run blocking, aside from an excellent mark by EJ Horton Jr. on the outside
• Ryan Browne didn’t grade particularly well. It was slightly better than the last two weeks, but his three most recent games are his three lowest grades of the season
• Malachi Singleton did grade a bit better than Browne, but only three of his 11 snaps asked him to throw the football
• Purdue’s tight end room continues to miss George Burhenn, as another week goes by with middling scores from that crew

Ryan Browne’s passing chart:

• Clean: 15-18, 89 yards, TD
• Under pressure: 4-7, 44 yards
• Not blitzed: 11-13, 86 yards, TD
• Blitzed: 8-12, 47 yards
• Play action: 8-9, 64 yards
• No play action: 11-16, 69 yards, TD
• Screen: 7-7, 26 yards
• No screen: 12-18. 107 yards

• Browne’s average depth of target: 3.7 yards
  • A week after slinging it more like he did in early season contests, this comes as by far his smallest mark of the season
• Last week, Browne attempted five passes of 20+ yards downfield
  • This week? Zero.
• What does this reflect? Likely a multitude of things. Michigan likes to blitz, and its edge rushers can get to the quarterback. How much did Purdue look to keep the ball out of harm’s way?
• Zero “big-time throws” and one “turnover-worthy passes” for Browne
• Browne’s best grade came in the medium passing game, defined as 10-19 yards past the line of scrimmage
  • He completed four of his five attempts here
• No drops by his wide receivers and running backs, as only six players saw a pass thrown their way
• Singleton note: two short passes with an average depth of target of four yards
• Purdue’s tackles each allowed three pressures, but both sacks were attributed to Coly

Running game:

• Adjusting for sacks, Purdue ran for a respectable 4.5 yards per carry against one of the better run defenses in the nation
  • Explosives didn’t play much of a factor, as just four of Purdue’s 36 rush attempts went for 10+ yards
• Purdue forced just three missed tackles. Michigan’s defense did a nice job bottling things up there
• 97 of Purdue’s 161 yards came after contact
• Purdue looked to run the ball to the right side of the field, but it ran to the middle more than it has in recent weeks
• Only three scrambles by Purdue’s quarterbacks

DEFENSE

Defensive snap counts:

LB Charles Correa all 61
CB Tony Grimes all 61
CB Hudauri Hines 53
EDGE CJ Nunnally IV 53
LB Mani Powell 53
S Tahj Ra-El 53
DT Ian Jeffries 42
DT Chops Harkless 39
EDGE Breeon Ishmail 37
S Myles Slusher 37
DT Demeco Kennedy 34
S Hershey McLaurin 27
S Smiley Bradford 25
EDGE CJ Madden 23
LB Winston Berglund 23
DT Jamarius Dinkins 12
LB Alex Sanford 10
CB Vi’Naz Cobb 8
LB Sanders Ellis 8
EDGE Trey Smith 8
DT Marcus Moore Jr. 3

Grades and notes:

• After a few rough weeks, Hudauri Hines led Purdue’s main contributors with a nice grade in Ann Arbor
• Right behind him? Ian Jeffries, with his third straight nice grade
  • He’s been impressive in the second half of the season
  • Nice day for the interior of the defensive line, as Harkless graded well, too
• Some ugly tackling grades, particularly by Purdue’s linebackers, as the Boilermakers missed 16 tackles, tying a season-worst
  • Three straight weeks with 15+ missed tackles by Purdue’s defense
  • Multiples: Mani Powell (4), Demeco Kennedy (2)
• As you’d expect with 16 missed tackles, poor run defense grades for Purdue
  • Rough day, especially for the linebackers – Powell, Correa, Berglund
• The pass rush graded pretty well, however, as Purdue’s linebackers turned in nice grades when asked to bring extra pressure
• The pass coverage, on the other hand, featured lots of middling grades aside from Hines
• Purdue generated plenty of pressure on Michigan QB Bryce Underwood, as it finished with three sacks, all by the linebackers
• No pass breakups for the defense, but Hines did record an interception in the second quarter
• A little more rotation this week, especially in the defensive backfield. Only 18 players saw the field on defense last week. 21 this go around.

Bryce Underwood’s passing chart

• Clean: 10-14, 113 yards (nice grade)
• Under pressure: 3-8, 32 yards, INT (mediocre grade)
• Not blitzed: 8-13, 106 yards
• Blitzed: 5-9, 39 yards, INT
• Play action: 6-7, 93 yards
• No play action: 7-15, 52 yards, INT
• Screen: 4-4, 30 yards
• No screen: 9-18, 115 yards, INT
• Mostly middling grades for the true freshman. The arm talent is there, but the consistency remains a work in progress.
  

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