Recap: Purdue falls to Rutgers in final minute, 27-24

Purdue football has found another way to lose. The Boilermakers had a double-digit lead in the first half and a last lead in the fourth quarter before falling in the final moments to Rutgers on Saturday afternoon.

Barry Odom and company have now dropped six-straight games since starting the season 2-0. Two of the last three losses have come after Purdue held a lead in the fourth quarter and resulted in heartbreaking defeats.

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Purdue jumped out to an early 10-0 lead, behind a breakout showing by senior running back Malachi Thomas, who provided a spark for the Boilermaker offense. Thomas, who had 120 yards from scrimmage coming into Saturday, accounted for 111 yards across Purdue’s first two drives.

A pair of explosive plays by Thomas led to points for Josh Henson’s unit. The first was a 57-yard run, which was followed by an eight-yard connection through the air between Thomas and backup quarterback Malachi Singleton. Thomas then hauled in a 44-yard catch via Ryan Browne’s arm that put Purdue inside the Rutgers 10-yard line. That drive would stall out in the red zone and result in a Spencer Porath field goal.

Outside of Thomas, Purdue’s pass catchers has three receptions for just 13 yards in the first half.

The Purdue defense came up big in the opening 30 minutes, holding the Scarlet Knights to just seven points. The Boilermakers forced a turnover on downs in the first quarter and were the beneficiary of a missed 46-yard field goal by Rutgers early in the second quarter.

After an explosive opening frame, Ryan Browne and the Purdue offense was held to just four yards in the second quarter. The back-to-back scoring drives to start the game were preceded by a pair of three-and-outs.

Rutgers would put together a 17-play, 85-yard drive at the end of the first half to cut the Boilermaker lead to just three heading into the break. Running back Antwan Raymond punched it into the end zone from a yard out to give the Scarlet Knights their first score of the afternoon.

Both teams would have explosive drives coming out of halftime to keep the Purdue lead the same. Purdue used 30+ yard gains by Devin Mockobee and Antonio Harris to move down the field in just four plays, capping it off with Malachi Singleton’s second touchdown pass of the day, to Mockobee. The Scarlet Knights then went 90 yards in five plays, the last of which was a 72-yard deep ball from Athan Kaliakmanis to KJ Duff.

Kaliakmanis and Duff were firing on all cylinders today, as the standout receiver accounted for six catches and 241 yards of his quarterback’s tally. The veteran signal caller finished the day with a line of 19-27 passing for 359 yards and a touchdown.

The Scarlet Knights put Purdue’s defense on notice, surpassing 543 total yards on the day. That is the most surrendered by Mike Scherer’s unit this year, besting the Notre Dame game, when they allowed 535 yards to the Fighting Irish.

Rutgers would add another score halfway through the fourth quarter via Athan Kaliakmanis’ one-yard touchdown run after a seven-play, 90-yard drive. That touchdown handed the Scarlet Knights a 21-17 lead with 7:45 to play.

Ryan Browne and the Boilermakers then created some magic with their response. Michael Jackson III took the subsequent kickoff 56 yards to the Rutgers 41-yard line. Browne found a wide open Nitro Tuggle in the end zone to regain the lead with less than five minutes remaining in the game, making it a 24-21 Purdue advantage. The Scarlet Knights then tied the game once again with 66 seconds remaining, on a 20-yard field goal.

Ryan Browne was posed with an opportunity to lead Purdue on a game-winning drive, but instead disaster struck for the Boilermakers. Browne’s pass was swatted back into his own arms and then was jarred loose and fallen on by the Rutgers defense.

Jai Patel bounced back from his missed field goal earlier in the contest to sink the game-winner from 30 yards out as time expired.

It was a ground centric offensive approach on Saturday, as the Boilermakers amassed 215 rushing yards. Purdue has now eclipsed that mark three times this season, with the two previous games coming against Minnesota and Southern Illinois. All three tailbacks to play found success out of the backfield, with Devin Mockobee pacing the trio with 91 yards, Malachi Thomas with 62 yards on three carries and Antonio Harris finishing with two carries for 42 yards.

The Purdue aerial attack was inconsistent for a third straight week, mustering only 128 yards on 13-23 passing between Ryan Browne and Malachi Singleton, but did combine for three touchdowns. Browne narrowly missed 40+ yard touchdown throws to Arhmad Branch and Nitro Tuggle and was forced to settle for short to intermediate throws for the majority of the game.

Purdue will be back on the road next weekend, traveling to Ann Arbor to take on Michigan.

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