Recap: Purdue outlasted by Michigan in 21-16 defeat

Purdue football suffered its seventh consecutive defeat on Saturday night, falling to No. 21 Michigan 21-16 in Ann Arbor. The Boilermakers have dropped three of their last four games by one score during the now two-month long skid.

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It was a defensive affair for much of the first quarter, with both offenses combining for a quartet of punts and a fumble to start the game.

The Michigan ground game, which was missing star tailback Justice Haynes, got the scoring party started at the end of the first quarter. Freshman backup Jordan Marshall slithered through the Purdue defense for a 54-yard touchdown run to break a 0-0 tie and hand the Wolverines a 7-0 advantage.

While the Wolverines were missing their top offensive weapon, their backfield remained productive. Marshall paced the group, especially in the first half, to the tune of 91 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries. Michigan amassed 132 yards on the ground in the first half.

PDF: Purdue-Michigan statistics

Purdue would respond with a slow and methodical drive, going 16 plays, the longest such scoring drive of the season. Malachi Singleton and Antonio Harris were focal points during the possession, with Singleton having a pair of rushes for 18 yards and Harris punching it in from two yards out to settle the score at 7-7, with 6:55 left until halftime.

Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood struggled in the first half through the air, going 6-13 for 64 yards and an interception. The star freshman missed several open Wolverine receivers and handed Purdue its third interception of the season, as Hudauri Hines wiped a potential scoring opportunity off the board.

After going three-and-out, Purdue punted it back to Michigan, who had a short field with less than a minute remaining in the second quarter and took advantage of the opportunity. The Wolverines leaned on Marshall once again, who scored his second touchdown of the first half to cement a 14-7 lead at the break.

Purdue forced a punt out of halftime and looked poised to even the score once again. Ryan Browne led the Boilermakers down the field, and reached as far as the Michigan 24-yard line before the drive stalled out. Spencer Porath continued his stellar kicking this season in the third quarter, connecting on a career-long 50-yard field goal to cut the deficit to four for the Boilermakers. The sophomore specialist is now 11-12 on the season, after an inconsistent true freshman campaign a year ago.

The Boilermakers and Wolverines then took turns putting together touchdown drives. Jordan Marshall and the Wolverines took over at the 50-yard line after Purdue turned it over on downs on a failed run by Malachi Singleton. Marshall was the bell cow back, and capped off the drive with a nine-yard run to the end zone, for his third of the day.

Purdue look to its featured back on the night, Malachi Thomas, who had 31 total yards on the drive and caught a five-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Browne to make it a 21-16 Michigan lead. Purdue would fail to convert on the subsequent two-point conversion.

Sherrone Moore put the game in the hands of his run game down the stretch, using the potent attack to drain the remaining six minutes of the game and keeping the ball out of Purdue’s hands until it was too late.

Purdue surrendered 398 to the Michigan offense, most of which came on the ground. Jordan Marshall made Justice Haynes’ absence an afterthought and accounted for 185 of the team’s 253 rushing yards on the night. It was the second time Purdue has allowed 250 yards or more in a game this season.

Mike Scherer’s unit did keep Bryce Underwood in check, however, limiting the talented rookie signal caller to 13-22 passing for 145 yards and forced a pair of turnovers.

Ryan Browne had his most efficient passing game this season, completing 79% of his passes (19-24) for 133 yards and a touchdown. Purdue’s signal caller was limited to settling for short and intermediate throws for the majority of the night, taking what the stingy Michigan defense gave him. Michael Jackson III, EJ Horton, and Nitro Tuggle were the go-to targets of Browne, combining for 16 catches for 133 yards.

The ground game was effective at times, but struggled to break off big gains against Michigan’s defensive front, mustering 138 yards on a 3.5 yards per carry average. Malachi Thomas led the backfield with 15 touches for 68 yards. Antonio Harris accounted for 54 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.

Purdue now sits at 2-7 on the year and will host No. 1 Ohio State next Saturday afternoon in Ross-Ade Stadium.

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