Data Driven: Northwestern

Each week after Purdue football games, we’ll take a closer look back at the game through PFF data and analytics. Today, Purdue’s 19-0 loss at Northwestern.

(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:

Bakyne Coly all 58
Bradyn Joiner all 58
Hank Purvis all 58
Joey Tanona all 58
Michael Jackson III 46
EJ Horton Jr. 41
Ethan Trent 40
Nitro Tuggle 39
Malachi Singleton 39
Devin Mockobee 31
Corey Smith 27
Malachi Thomas 25
Christian Moore 20
Ryan Browne 19
Christian Earls 19
Jalen St. John 18
Rico Walker 17
Jesse Watson 16
Arhmad Branch 9

Grades and notes:

• As you’d expect, a lot of mediocre grades on offense for Purdue
• The top two grades? The running backs. Malachi Thomas led the way with Devin Mockobee right behind him
• On the offensive line, it was a rough day. Ethan Trent left with the top grade, but no lineman emerged with a strong score
• The two tackles, Joey Tanona and Bakyne Coly, turned in very poor pass blocking grades
• He took just 19 snaps, but this was by far Ryan Browne’s worst grade of the season
• Malachi Singleton turned in an alright grade after playing the bulk of the second half
• Nothing stood out much at wide receiver. The tight ends, Moore and Earls, really struggled
• Only two penalties on the offense, a positive after six last week

Malachi Singleton’s passing chart:

• Clean: 10-10, 173 yards (elite grade)
• Under pressure: 1-10, 6 yards, INT (poor grade)
• Not blitzed: 10-17, 153 yards, INT
• Blitzed: 1-3, 26 yards (poor grade)
• Play action: 2-3, 20 yards
• No play action: 9-17, 159 yards, INT
• Screen: 3-3, 51 yards
• No screen: 8-17, 128 yards, INT

• Singleton’s average depth of target: 9.0 yards
• The splits between a clean pocket and pressure are massive and very telling
• One “big-time throw” and two “turnover-worthy passes” for Singleton
• Browne’s best grade came in the deep passing game, as he completed two of his three attempts of 20+ yards
• No drops for Purdue wide receivers, per PFF

Running game:

• Adjusting for sack yardage, Purdue ran for 4.2 yards per carry. Removing the sack losses helps there
• Just three carries of 10+ yards for Purdue
• Purdue only caused Northwestern to miss one tackle in the run game
• 56 of Purdue’s 101 yards came after contact, reflective of Purdue’s inability to force missed tackles
• Purdue flipped the script, running to the right more than the left. That hadn’t been the case for much of the season
• Only two scrambles by Purdue’s quarterbacks

DEFENSE

Defensive snap counts:

Charles Correa all 80
Hudauri Hines 78
Tahj Ra-El 78
Tony Grimes 78
Mani Powell 74
CJ Nunnally 67
Hershey McLaurin 63
Demeco Kennedy 60
Ian Jeffries 50
Breeon Ishmail 49
Alex Sanford Jr. 46
Smiley Bradford 34
CJ Madden 32
Jamarrion Harkless 28
Marcus Moore Jr. 20
Myles Slusher 17
Trey Smith 12
Sanders Ellis 6
AnDarius Coffey 6
Chalil Cummings 2

Grades and notes:

• Top honors went to Smiley Bradford in limited action for the second consecutive week, as he graded incredibly well in pass coverage
• Right behind him? Breeon Ishmail, Ian Jeffries, Marcus Moore
• Some decent grades on Purdue’s defense, which hunkered down fairly well after a few rough possessions to start the game
• 16 missed tackles by Purdue’s defense – the most of the season
• Ugly tackling numbers across the board, including Bradford, CJ Madden, Jamarrion Harkless, Sanders Ellis
• Aside from Bradford, Purdue did not grade well in pass coverage. Tough day for Hudauri Hines there, who committed a couple of pass interference penalties
• Pretty balanced approach from Northwestern, not targeting a single defender an outsized amount
• Five pass breakups by Purdue, and Bradford picked one off
• Purdue only recorded four pressures and didn’t hit the quarterback once
• By far the most action this year for Hershey McLaurin

Preston Stone’s passing chart

• Clean: 11-23, 132 yards, 2 TD, INT
• Under pressure: 0-3 (poor grade)
• Not blitzed: 7-17, 59 yards, TD, INT
• Blitzed: 4-9, 73 yards, TD
• Play action: 5-9, 69 yards, TD
• No play action: 6-17, 63 yards, TD, INT
• Screen: 1-2, 7 yards
• No screen: 10-24, 125 yards, 2 TD, INT
• Overall: mediocre grades across the board