Data Driven: Purdue's loss to Ohio State

Each week after Purdue football games, we’ll take a closer look back at the game through PFF data and analytics. Today, Purdue’s 34-10 loss to Ohio State.

(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 47
C Bradyn Joiner all 47
RG Hank Purvis all 47
LT Joey Tanona all 47
LG Jalen St. John all 47
QB Ryan Browne 39
WR EJ Horton Jr. 39
RB Antonio Harris 34
WR Nitro Tuggle 34
WR Michael Jackson 28
TE Christian Earls 24
TE Christian Moore 20
WR Jesse Watson 14
WR Tra’Mar Harris 13
RB Malachi Thomas 11
TE Rico Walker 10
WR Corey Smith 8
QB Malachi Singleton 8

Grades and notes:

• Ohio State put this thing in cruise control early on, limiting the number of snaps. Purdue’s 47 snaps are the fewest its had in a game in 2025
• For the third straight game, no rotation on the offensive line. The same five played the entire game
• As you might expect, Purdue had subpar grades. Among regular contributors, Hank Purvis finished with the top mark
• Bakyne Coly finished towards the top of Purdue’s offense, turning in his best grade of the 2025 season
• Purdue graded much better in pass protection than you’d expect against the Ohio State defense
  • Very impressive numbers for Joey Tanona, Bradyn Joiner and the running backs
• Ryan Browne didn’t grade well, as this became his lowest grade of the season
  • The last four games rank as his four worst performances of 2025, per PFF
• Malachi Singleton did grade as Purdue’s best offensive player, but context is important. He played just eight snaps and threw a touchdown in the waning seconds against Ohio State’s second-team defense.
• Tra’Mar Harris, in his first action of 2025, graded nicely in run blocking
• A good grade for Rico Walker on very limited action

Ryan Browne’s passing chart:

• Clean: 9-15, 74 yards, INT
• Under pressure: 1-4, 2 yards
• Not blitzed: 7-14, 54 yards, INT
• Blitzed: 3-5, 22 yards
• Play action: 4-5, 25 yards
• No play action: 6-14, 25 yards, INT
• Screen: 2-2, 6 yards
• No screen: 8-17, 70 yards, INT

• Browne’s average depth of target: 7.2 yards
  • After an ultra-conservative game plan last week, Purdue opened it up downfield a little bit more this week
  • This still comes in slightly below Purdue’s season average ADOT
• The lack of snaps really reflects here, as the data is very limited in this one
• Browne attempted just six passes of 10+ yards beyond the line of scrimmage, completing just one
  • He finished 0-4 on intermediate passes, defined as between 10-19 yards past the line of scrimmage
• Browne’s best numbers came on passes behind the line of scrimmage, but he did not grade very well in any aspect of the passing game
• Zero “big-time throws” and zero “turnover-worthy passes” for Browne, whose interception came on a tipped ball
• No drops by his wide receivers and running backs, as only eight players saw a pass thrown their way
  • Nitro Tuggle led the team with six targets
• Singleton note: Purdue doesn’t ask him to throw it deep. 3.3-yard average depth of target on his three attempts.
• Purdue only allowed five pressures – one to Tanona, two to Coly and St. John

Running game:

• Adjusting for sacks, Purdue ran for a respectable 4.2 yards per carry against one of the best run defenses in the nation
  • Explosives didn’t play much of a factor, as just three of Purdue’s 22 rush attempts went for 10+ yards, none for more than 12 yards
• Purdue’s ball carriers did not force a single missed tackle by the rock solid Buckeye defense
• 49 of Purdue’s 92 yards came after contact
• Only three scrambles by Purdue’s quarterbacks
• Not a whole lot interesting here, to be blunt

DEFENSE

Defensive snap counts:

LB Mani Powell all 78
CB Tony Grimes 75
S Tahj Ra-El 67
S Myles Slusher 62
EDGE CJ Nunnally 59
LB Charles Correa 55
LB Alex Sanford 55
DT Ian Jeffries 55
CB Hudauri Hines 54
DT Chops Harkless 47
EDGE Breeon Ishmail 44
DT Demeco Kennedy 39
EDGE CJ Madden 37
DB Smiley Bradford 29
DB Vi’Naz Cobb 22
EDGE Trey Smith 19
LB Winston Berglund 17
S Chalil Cummings 16
S Hershey McLaurin 16
DT Jamarius Dinkins 12

Grades and notes:

• The difference in snaps is telling: Ohio State ran 31 more offensive plays than Purdue
• On limited action, Trey Smith and Vi’Naz Cobb led Purdue on the report card
• Among regulars, Charles Correa turned in a nice performance before leaving with injury, and the defensive backfield turned in a bunch of respectable grades
• 13 missed tackles for Purdue, its best number in nearly a month
• The pass rush turned in pedestrian grades, as nobody stood out in a positive or negative manner
• The run defense graded very mediocre, though poor numbers didn’t show up on the report cards for the most part
• Multiple missed tackles: Ra-El (3), Powell (3), Nunnally (2)
• One pass breakup for the defense, coming from Hudauri Hines
• Purdue’s defense doesn’t rotate too much, with just 20 players seeing action on the defensive side of the ball
• Tough day for the defensive line, although one might expect that given the disparity between the two programs

Julian Sayin’s passing chart

• Clean: 24-27, 275 yards, TD (elite grade)
• Under pressure: 3-6, 28 yards, INT (poor grade)
• Not blitzed: 18-23, 241 yards, TD, INT (elite grade)
• Blitzed: 9-10, 62 yards
• Play action: 14-16, 165 yards, TD (elite grade)
• No play action: 13-17, 138 yards, INT
• Screen: 5-5, 19 yards
• No screen: 22-28, 284 yards, TD, INT
• He’s a Heisman contender for a reason, and he has some of the best wide receivers in the nation to throw to