Purdue & Elliott bomb away on Hoosiers

Purdue Boilermakers 2009 ... Head Coach: Danny Hope

2009 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 3-9
2009 Record: 4-7

9/5 Toledo W 52-31
9/12 at Oregon L 38-36
9/19 No Illinois L 28-21
9/26 Notre Dame L 24-21
10/3 Northwestern L 27-21
10/10 at Minnesota L 35-20
10/17 Ohio State W 26-18
10/24 Illinois W 24-14
10/31 at Wisconsin L 37-0
11/7 at Michigan W 38-36
11/14 Michigan St L 40-37
11/21 at Indiana W 38-21
11/28 OPEN DATE

2008 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 6-6
2008 Record: 4-8

Aug. 30 OPEN DATE
Sept. 6 No. Colorado W 42-10
Sept. 13 Oregon L 32-26 2OT
Sept. 20 Central Mich W 32-25
Sept. 27 at Notre Dame L 38-21
Oct. 4 Penn State L 20-6
Oct. 11 at Ohio State L 16-3
Oct. 18 at Northwestern L 46-28
Oct. 25 Minnesota L 17-6
Nov. 1 Michigan W 48-42
Nov. 8 at Michigan State L 21-7
Nov. 15 at Iowa L 22-17
Nov. 22 Indiana W 62-10

Purdue Boilermakers

Nov. 21
Purdue 38 … at Indiana 21
Joey Elliott threw four touchdown passes including three in the first half on the way to a 21-0 Purdue lead, and it was a hole too big for IU to climb out from. The Hoosiers made it interesting with Ben Chappell running for a score and throwing two second half touchdown passes, but Purdue always had an answer. Chappell closed out the first half with a one-yard rushing score in the final seconds, but Purdue’s Al-Terek McBurse took the second half kickoff for a touchdown. IU pulled within tem in the fourth quarter, but Keith Smith put the game away on a 31-yard touchdown catch. The Hoosiers outgained Purdue 462 yards to 329, but they committed four turnovers.
Player of the Game: Purdue QB Joey Elliott completed 21-of-29 passes for 205 yards and four touchdowns
Indiana: Passing: Ben Chappell, 23-39, 266 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Darius Willis, 19-142, Receiving: Mitchell Evans, 10-112, 1 TD
Purdue: Passing: Joey Elliott, 21-29, 205 yds, 4 TD
Rushing: Jaycen Taylor, 20-110, Receiving: Jaycen Taylor, 7-59, 1 TD
What It All Means: Purdue got the passing game going early, was +4 in turnover margin, and came away with the Old Oaken Bucket as it showed what it could do when it played up to its capabilities and didn’t make a slew of mistakes. While this wasn’t a bowl season, closing out with four wins in the final six showed how much progress was made under Danny Hope, and it showed how close the team came to having a special year. Purdue lost five games by seven points or fewer. Against IU, Joey Elliott was nearly perfect, and closed out his career on a high note after throwing a key late interception in the loss to Michigan State. 

Nov. 14
Michigan State 40 … at Purdue 37
Kirk Cousins threw three touchdown passes including a 73-yarder to B.J. Cunningham and a nine-yarder to Blair White in the fourth quarter, but it took a 21-yard Brett Swenson field goal and a hold on defense to get the win. Purdue dominated the stat sheet, outgaining MSU 524 yards to 362, and held on to the ball for close to 41 minute. Keith Smith caught 15 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown for the Boilermakers and Ralph Bolden came up with two short scores on the way to a 34-23 lead before MSU went on a 17-3 run over the final 12 minutes.
Player of the Game: Michigan State LB Trenton Robinson made 14 tackles
Purdue: Passing: Joey Elliott, 39-55, 373 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Ralph Bolden, 20-76, 2 TD, Receiving: Keith Smith, 15-152, 1 TD
Michigan State: Passing: Kirk Cousins, 11-25, 208 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Keshawn Martin, 3-70, Receiving: B.J. Cunningham, 3-92, 1 TD
What It All Means: Purdue might not be bowl eligible and it might have to beat Indiana to avoid an ugly-looking 4-8 record, but this team sure is fun. Joey Elliott and the offense were fantastic at keeping the chains moving and coming up with the big scores needed to have control of the game. And then Michigan State went nuts and pulled out the win in the fourth. As disappointing as the year has been, there were positive strides made under Danny Hope. But now the secondary has to come up with a big performance against Ben Chappell and IU or the offseason isn’t going to be fun with three losses in the final four games. 
Nov. 7
Purdue 38 … at Michigan 36
Purdue won in Ann Arbor for the first time since 1966 with 494 yards of total offense helped by three Ralph Bolden touchdowns, including two in the third quarter, and a 54-yard Cortez Smith touchdown catch, coming nine seconds after a ten-yard Bolden touchdown run and a successful onside kick, to take the lead for good. Joey Elliott threw two touchdown passes and ran for an eight-yard score to give the Boilermakers an eight-point lead, but Michigan closed the game with just over two minutes to play on Brandon Minor’s third touchdown run of the game. The two point conversion attempt was stuffed on a sack, and Purdue had the win. Michigan held a 14-point lead in the first half on a 55-yard Minor touchdown dash and a 43-yard catch from Roy Roundtree.
Player of the Game: Purdue QB Joey Elliott completed 28-of-39 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions, and he ran for 20 yards and a score.
Michigan: Passing: Tate Forcier, 15-24, 212 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Brandon Minor, 19-154, 3 TD, Receiving: Roy Roundtree, 10-126, 1 TD
Purdue: Passing: Joey Elliott, 28-39, 367 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Ralph Bolden, 16-98, 2 TD, Receiving: Keith Smith, 11-84 
What It All Means: Just when it seemed like Purdue was dead after an awful performance at Wisconsin and with a rough first half in Ann Arbor, the offense turned it up a few notches with big play after big play to overcome the big home runs hit by Brandon Minor and the Wolverine attack in the first half. The turnovers continue to be a problem and the run defense is getting ripped apart, but the win keeps bowl hopes alive with winnable games against Michigan State and Indiana to close. If nothing else, Danny Hope has made Purdue football relevant with wins over Michigan and Ohio State in the same year.

Oct. 31
at Wisconsin 37 … Purdue 0
Wisconsin dominated the game from the start thanks to John Clay and a running game that barreled for 266 yards. Clay scored on three short runs, Aaron Henry returned a blocked punt for a score, and Philip Welch connected on field goals from 32, 42 and 22 in the easy Badger win. Purdue quarterbacks combined to complete just 9-of-33 passes for 81 yards, but were plagued by dropped passes all game long.
Player of the Game: Wisconsin RB John Clay ran 23 times for 124 yards and three touchdowns.
Purdue : Passing: Joey Elliott, 5-23, 59 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Ralph Bolden, 10-37, Receiving: Aaron Valentin, 2-32
Wisconsin: Passing: Scott Tolzien, 6-13, 87 yds
Rushing: John Clay, 24-123, 3 TD, Receiving: Nick Toon, 3-55 
What It All Means: Dropped passes, dropped passes, dropped passes. Purdue wasn’t going to be a Wisconsin team that was running well, but the offense didn’t have a chance with the way the receivers kept blowing every chance to make a play. The running game didn’t help out the cause, and it couldn’t after Wisconsin got up big. A bowl game is still a possibility with winnable games against Michigan, Michigan State, and Indiana to close out, but there can’t be so many missed plays and the turnovers, giving away three against UW, have to stop.

Oct. 24
at Purdue 24 … Illinois 14
Purdue went on a 21-point run in the first half with Jaycen Taylor ripping off a 44-yard touchdown run and Ralph Bolden and Joey Elliott each running for short scores. Illinois fought back, with a six-yard Juice Williams touchdown run in the third, but head coach Ron Zook soon after changed quarterbacks with true freshman Jacob Charest coming in. He appeared to lead the offense on a touchdown drive, but an Arrelious Benn end-around for a score was called back by a penalty. The Boilermakers got some breathing room in the third with a 25-yard Carson Wiggs field goal.
Player of the Game: Purdue QB Joey Elliott completed 15-of-24 passes for 166 yards, and ran nine times for 62 yards and a score.
Illinois: Passing: Juice Williams, 9-18, 77 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Mikel LeShoure, 15-122, Receiving: Jack Ramsey, 3-44
Purdue: Passing: Joey Elliott, 15-24, 166 yds
Rushing: Ralph Bolden, 21-78, 1 TD, Receiving: Keith Smith, 5-61 
What It All Means: Coming off the win over Ohio State, Purdue looked a bit vulnerable early on against Illinois, and while the passing game didn’t click on third downs and there wasn’t a lot of explosion to the offense, a nice run of first half points all but put the game away. It’ll be hard to keep the momentum going against a rested Wisconsin in Madison, and with three road games in the final four, a bowl game will be tough to get, but the team is starting to get wins for all its offensive production.

Oct. 17
at Purdue 26 … Ohio State 18
Purdue shocked Ohio State with five takeaways, two Joey Elliott to Aaron Valentin touchdown passes, and four Carson Wiggs field goals. Ohio State struggled and sputtered all day long, but the offense mounted a late comeback with Terrelle Pryor connecting with DeVier Posey for a 25-yard touchdown, and ran for the two-point conversion, to get within eight with 7:14 to play. The Purdue defense held tough, forced a Pryor misfire, and was able to run out the clock. Purdue came up with five sacks and held on to the ball for 36:08.
Player of the Game: Purdue DE Ryan Kerrigan led the team with nine tackles with three sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and four tackles for loss.
Ohio State : Passing: Terrelle Pryor, 21-34, 221 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Terrelle Pryor, 21-34, 1 TD , Receiving: DeVier Posey, 9-87, 1 TD
Purdue: Passing: Joey Elliott, 31-50, 281 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Ralph Bolden, 17-43, Receiving: Keith Smith, 12-125 
What It All Means: It seemed like yet another Purdue gaffe. The Boilermakers had the game in hand early on, even with too many drives resulting in field goals instead of touchdowns, but Ohio State started marching back in the second half. Purdue had found ways to give away games all season long, but finally, it held tough, forced the mistakes instead of making them, and came away with the tremendous win. Forget about anything else that happens over the rest of the season; this was a win that will put the Danny Hope era on the map, and it could be the moment that the program shows it can actually beat someone with a pulse. It couldn’t do that late in the Joe Tiller era. However, as good as this win was, that’s how bad the loss would be next week at home against Illinois.

Oct. 10
at Minnesota 35 .. Purdue 20
DeLeon Eskridge started off the scoring for the Gophers with two one-yard touchdown runs to give the Gophers an early lead, and then the Purdue mistakes started coming. Minnesota took advantage of three turnovers with Lee Campbell blocking a field goal and picking off a pass to set up scores. Purdue collapsed in the third quarter and the Gophers took advantage with Traye Simmons returning the blocked field goal for a score and with Adam Weber and Kevin Whaley each running for short scores. Purdue outgained Minnesota 402 yards to 281, with Kevin Smith catching a 61-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, but the errors were too much to overcome.
Player of the Game: Minnesota LB Lee Campbell made 11 tackles, a tackle for loss, and an interception. He also blocked a field goal.
Purdue: Passing: Joey Elliott, 25-47, 299 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Ralph Bolden, 18-58, Receiving: Aaron Valentin, 8-89
Minnesota: Passing: Adam Weber, 5-9, 74 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Kevin Whaley, 8-79, 1 TD, Receiving: Eric Decker, 3-50
What It All Means: Purdue simply isn’t good enough to keep making the mistakes it’s making. The turnovers continue to be a major problem, while the bigger issue going forward is the lack of run defense. Minnesota can’t run on anyone yet was able to control the game for stretches by abandoning the pass and getting the ground game working. On the plus side, the O line continues to be solid, and it’ll need to play at a whole other level with Ohio State up next. The Buckeyes capitalize on mistakes, and Purdue has to make ball security the main goal.

Oct. 3
Northwestern 27 … at Purdue 21
Mike Kafka ran for a two-yard score, and he hit Drake Dunsmore for a two-point conversion, to give Northwestern a six-point lead with just over two minutes to play, but Purdue had one last chance. Deep in Wildcat territory, Joey Elliott misfired on a pass through the end zone and NU hung on after a big rally. Purdue got up to a 21-3 lead in the second quarter as Aaron Valentin caught touchdown passes from 67 and five yards away, and Keith Smith caught a five-yarder, but NU, helped by six turnovers, scored 24 unanswered points helped by three of Stefan Demos’s four field goals and a five-yard Arby Fields run.
Player of the Game: Northwestern LB Quentin Davie made nine tackles, a sack, a broken up pass, and forced a fumble.
Purdue: Passing: Joey Elliott, 20-28, 313 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Ralph Bolden, 18-53, Receiving: Keith Smith, 7-101, 1 TD
Northwestern: Passing: Mike Kafka, 28-44, 224 yds
Rushing: Arby Fields, 18-43, Receiving: Zeke Markshausen, 10-56
What It All Means: Purdue has to be pulling its hair out. Sitting at 1-4 with four straight losses, the Boilermakers are roughly four plays away from being 5-0 after misfiring on yet another late rally attempt. The six turnovers against Northwestern were a killer, and the inability to come up with points in the second half were because of all the problems. The fumbles killed the momentum time and again, and they might force the offense to go more with Joey Elliott and the passing game. After this crushing home loss, next week’s game at Minnesota is a must for bowl hopes. 

Sept. 26
Notre Dame 24 … at Purdue 21
Hobbled by a bad toe that kept him on the sidelines for a long stretch, Jimmy Clausen came off the bench to lead a 12-play, 72-yard drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Rudolph with 25 seconds to play. Purdue roared back in the fourth quarter to take the lead on a three-yard touchdown catch from Keith Smith, who caught 11 passes on the night, and a 38-yard scoring play from Jaycen Taylor, but the defense couldn’t hang on. The Irish got the lead in the first half on a two-yard Robert Hughes run and a 14-yard play from Golden Tate, but the offense sputtered with Clausen out. Purdue got tagged with 13 penalties, while Notre Dame was hit with six.
Player of the Game: Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen completed 15-of-26 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown with an interception.
Purdue: Passing: Joey Elliott, 22-38, 289 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Ralph Bolden, 17-67, Receiving: Keith Smith, 11-136, 1 TD
Notre Dame: Passing: Jimmy Clausen, 15-26, 171 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Robert Hughes, 15-68, 1 TD, Receiving: Golden Tate, 5-57 
What It All Means: Purdue has been just this close to two huge wins, coming up short late against Oregon and failing just short of stopping Notre Dame. Remember, this was a team that wasn’t supposed to do anything this year, and was considered by almost everyone as the No. 10, and possibly the 11th best team in the Big Ten. But Danny Hope has done a terrific job with the offensive talent he has, and for the first time in a long time, Purdue actually plays a little defense (not much, but a little). This will be a team that makes a little noise throughout the Big Ten season.

Sept. 19
Northern Illinois 28 … at Purdue 21
Northern Illinois beat a Big Ten team for the first time in 21 yards as Meco Brown ran for a 67 yard touchdown and Chad Spann ran for scores from one and 11 yards out for a 28-7 lead. Purdue started off the scoring on a 62-yard punt return for a touchdown from Aaron Valentin, but sputtered until late in the third when QB Joey Elliott ran for a 58-yard touchdown and added a six-yard score with 5:42 to play to pull within seven. The defense held, but the offense didn’t get the ball back as NIU successfully converted a fake punt to put the game away.
Player of the Game: Northern Illinois RB Meco Brown ran 26 times for 150 yards and a touchdown, and he caught two passes for 22 yards
Northern Illinois: Passing: Chandler Harnish, 15-26, 174 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Meco Brown, 26-150, 1 TD, Receiving: Marcus Lewis, 4-49
Purdue: Passing: Joey Elliott, 20-31, 188 yds
Rushing: Ralph Bolden, 12-64, Receiving: Kyle Adams, 5-42
What It All Means: Call it an off-game, call it a sandwich, but Purdue didn’t play with the same effectiveness it showed against Oregon and it seemed to go through a lull and a mental lapse like a team looking ahead to Notre Dame. Northern Illinois whipped the Purdue lines and controlled the ball and the game hanging on to the ball for 41:40. Against Notre Dame, the time of possession has to be reversed or the Irish offense will rip apart the Boilermakers. To hold on to the ball, the running game needs to get Ralph Bolden going again after he was held to just 64 yards.

Sept. 12
at Oregon 38 ... Purdue 36
Oregon survived a thriller as Purdue's Kyle Adams caught a two-point conversion attempt, that would've tied the game with just over a minute to play, out of bounds following a 15-yard Aaron Valentin touchdown grab. The Boilermakers outgained the Ducks 451 yards to 356, but they couldn't keep up the pace in the second half as Bryson Littlejohn returned a fumble 28 yards for a score and Jeremiah Masoli ran for a 15-yard touchdown for a 31-24 Oregon lead going into the fourth. Purdue got a 22-yard Ralph Bolden touchdown dash, his second score of the game, but the extra point was blocked, the Ducks answered with a 21-yard Kenjon Barner touchdown grab to go up eight, and they had all the points they'd need. The Oregon D also got in the act in the second quarter with an 18-yard Walter Thurmond interception for a score.
Player of the Game: Oregon LB Casey Matthews made 12 tackles with an interception and a tackle for loss.
Purdue: Passing: Joey Elliott, 24-41, 266 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Ralph Bolden, 29-123, 2 TD, Receiving: Aaron Valentin, 8-82, 1 TD
Oregon: Passing: Jeremiah Masoli, 11-21, 163 yds
Rushing: Jeremiah Masoli, 14-84, 1 TD, Receiving: Jeffrey Maehl, 5-49
What It All Means: Purdue might not have gotten the win over Oregon, but it certainly played well enough to deserve a better fate. Allowing two defensive scores was a huge issue, and Joey Elliott wasn't always sharp in key spots, but the offense outgained the Ducks and showed that it's going to be a part of several interesting games all season long. Ralph Bolden is the real deal; he's a rushing weapon to revolve the offense around.

Sept. 5
at Purdue 52 … Toledo 31
The two teams combined for 1,028 yards of total offense with Purdue’s Ralph Bolden coming up with 234 of them on the ground. The Boilermakers scored the first 21 points of the game with Bolden tearing off a 78-yard scoring dash and Jaycen Taylor running for a 43-yard score, but Toledo kept fighting back. Aaron Opelt threw two second quarter touchdown passes to pull the Rockets within three, but the Boilermakers cranked out 24 straight points to get comfortably ahead. Toledo kept coming with a 17-point run highlighted by a Stephen Williams 42-yard touchdown grab, his second score of the day, but Bolden put the game away with a 14-yard scoring run.
Player of the Game: Purdue RB Ralph Bolden ran 21 times for 234 yards and two touchdowns, and Toledo WR Stephen Williams caught 15 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns.
Toledo: Passing: Aaron Opelt, 41-67, 423 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: DaJuane Collins, 9-27, 1 TD, Receiving: Stephen Williams, 15-185, 2 TD
Purdue: Passing: Joey Elliott, 17-28, 220 yds, 3 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Ralph Bolden, 21-234, 2 TD, Receiving: Keith Smith, 8-117, 1 TD
What It All Means: The Purdue offense was more explosive and more impressive than it was ay any time last year. Toledo’s porous defense had a lot to do with that, but the O line had a great game and Ralph Bolden was a flash of lightning when he got into the open field. Joey Elliott wasn’t bad throwing the ball, coming up with three touchdown passes, but he made too many mistakes with three picks that helped keep Toledo in the game. The defense has to do a better job getting to the quarterback or the secondary will continue to get torched. Purdue gave up 423 passing yards.