Per usual, the day after each Purdue football game, we'll take a look back at things through Pro Football Focus data and analytics.
Today, Purdue's 35-31 loss to Penn State Thursday night.
PURDUE OFFENSE
Snap Counts
Quarterback
Aidan O'Connell all 88
Wide Receiver
Charlie Jones 74
TJ Sheffield 57
Broc Thompson 49
Mershawn Rice 36
Tyrone Tracy 24
Deion Burks 10
Elijah Canion 5
Note: Collin Sullivan is not listed but he played at least one snap
Tight End
Payne Durham 80
Paul Piferi 10
Ben Furtney (more like a fullback) 1
Note: Mahamane Moussa played as like a sixth offensive linemen/blocking tight end.
Running Back
King Doerue 49
Dylan Downing 24
Kobe Lewis 11
Devin Mockobee 1
Offensive Line
Gus Hartwig (C) all 88
Spencer Holstege (LG) all 88
Eric Miller (LT) 73
Marcus Mbow (G) 71
Mahamane Moussa (extra OT, basically) 54
Cam Craig (LT) 40
Sione Finau (LG) 18
Daniel Johnson (RT) 17
Grades
Charlie Jones, not surprisingly, was the offense's highest-graded player, followed by left tackle Cam Craig, reserve wide receiver Mershawn Rice over considerable snaps and running back King Doerue, though Doerue graded very poorly in pass protection (while Dylan Downing and Kobe Lewis graded very well). Game conditions could have mattered to those pass-pro grades.
The tight ends did not grade well in pass protection.
Otherwise, no real disastrous individual grades, and there have been in the past against opponents like this.
Other than Jones and Rice, though, the wide receivers did not grade particularly well, with TJ Sheffield, Broc Thompson, Elijah Canion, Deion Burks and Tyrone Tracy being five of the offense's seven lowest-graded players over varying numbers of snaps.
Passing Game
• This is not ideal. Aidan O'Connell — and thus Purdue — was only 1-for-7 for 30 yards throwing the ball 20 or more yards down the field. The one completion went to Charlie Jones.
• Aidan O'Connell's "blitz splits," as we'll call them.
Clean: 21-42, 243 yards, TD (lowest grade)
Under Pressure: 9-18, 122 (best grade)
No Blitz: 20-36, 244 yards, TD
Blitzed: 10-24, 121 yards, 2 sacks, 12 pressures
• Four dropped passes for Purdue, two by Tyrone Tracy, one apiece for Broc Thompson and TJ Sheffield. Not sure whether the play Penn State was called for targeting on would have counted for one of Tracy's drops.
• Purdue averaged 6.2 yards after the catch.
• Passing game concept ...
Playaction: 10-19, 110 yards, TD
No playaction: 20-41, 255
Screen: 3-4, 26 yards
No screen: 27-56, 339, TD
Running Game
• Purdue's long rush: Nine yards.
• Purdue averaged 3.45 yards after contact.
• The Boilermakers were credited with making 13 tacklers miss, 11 by King Doerue, a total that doesn't seem to jibe with the lack of bigger plays, but maybe some of those goal-line bumper cars runs count for multiple.
• Purdue was really well balanced in terms of the direction it tried to run it, which can also be construed as them not having a perceived strength to attack, but they did run the most off right end, which was there they typically lined up Moussa.
PURDUE DEFENSE
Snap Counts
Defensive Line
Kydran Jenkins 51
Jack Sullivan 48
Branson Deen 47
Scotty Humpich 39
Lawrence Johnson 31
Prince Boyd 30
Khordae Sydnor 28
Cole Brevard 19
Mo Omonode 11 (true freshman)
Nic Caraway 6 (true freshman)
Joe Anderson 5
Sulaiman Kpaka 1
Linebacker
Jalen Graham 78
OC Brothers 61
Kieran Douglas 54
Clyde Washington 11
Semisi Fakasiieki 6
Jacob Wahlberg 4
Secondary
Chris Jefferson 71
Cam Allen 69
Reese Taylor 60
Cory Trice 57
Jamari Brown 38
Sanoussi Kane 23
Noteworthy
• Among those who played meaningful snaps, Chris Jefferson graded the best on defense, obviously the pick-six being a huge play.
• No atrocious overall individual grades, but some bad sub-category tackling grades, obviously.
• Eleven players combined for 16 missed tackles, by PFF's count, led by Cam Allen's three.
The worst of this was Sanoussi Kane's and Cam Allen's combined miss on Brenton Strange on the 67-yard touchdown just before halftime, and then the receiver bouncing off Reese Taylor the long fourth quarter touchdown, and then getting beaten again on another catch and run down the sideline during the game-winning scoring drive.
• Purdue was credited with 17 hurries on Penn State QBs, four of them by Kydran Jenkins and three apiece by Jack Sullivan and Branson Deen.
• Penn State only completed one pass of 20 or more yards down the field and it was a playground play to Brenton Strange for the 67-yard TD.
• Purdue pass-blitzed 14 times and Penn State was 7-13 passing for 100 yards and two touchdowns on those snaps, their highest passing-category grade.
Today, Purdue's 35-31 loss to Penn State Thursday night.
PURDUE OFFENSE
Snap Counts
Quarterback
Aidan O'Connell all 88
Wide Receiver
Charlie Jones 74
TJ Sheffield 57
Broc Thompson 49
Mershawn Rice 36
Tyrone Tracy 24
Deion Burks 10
Elijah Canion 5
Note: Collin Sullivan is not listed but he played at least one snap
Tight End
Payne Durham 80
Paul Piferi 10
Ben Furtney (more like a fullback) 1
Note: Mahamane Moussa played as like a sixth offensive linemen/blocking tight end.
Running Back
King Doerue 49
Dylan Downing 24
Kobe Lewis 11
Devin Mockobee 1
Offensive Line
Gus Hartwig (C) all 88
Spencer Holstege (LG) all 88
Eric Miller (LT) 73
Marcus Mbow (G) 71
Mahamane Moussa (extra OT, basically) 54
Cam Craig (LT) 40
Sione Finau (LG) 18
Daniel Johnson (RT) 17
Grades
Charlie Jones, not surprisingly, was the offense's highest-graded player, followed by left tackle Cam Craig, reserve wide receiver Mershawn Rice over considerable snaps and running back King Doerue, though Doerue graded very poorly in pass protection (while Dylan Downing and Kobe Lewis graded very well). Game conditions could have mattered to those pass-pro grades.
The tight ends did not grade well in pass protection.
Otherwise, no real disastrous individual grades, and there have been in the past against opponents like this.
Other than Jones and Rice, though, the wide receivers did not grade particularly well, with TJ Sheffield, Broc Thompson, Elijah Canion, Deion Burks and Tyrone Tracy being five of the offense's seven lowest-graded players over varying numbers of snaps.
Passing Game
• This is not ideal. Aidan O'Connell — and thus Purdue — was only 1-for-7 for 30 yards throwing the ball 20 or more yards down the field. The one completion went to Charlie Jones.
• Aidan O'Connell's "blitz splits," as we'll call them.
Clean: 21-42, 243 yards, TD (lowest grade)
Under Pressure: 9-18, 122 (best grade)
No Blitz: 20-36, 244 yards, TD
Blitzed: 10-24, 121 yards, 2 sacks, 12 pressures
• Four dropped passes for Purdue, two by Tyrone Tracy, one apiece for Broc Thompson and TJ Sheffield. Not sure whether the play Penn State was called for targeting on would have counted for one of Tracy's drops.
• Purdue averaged 6.2 yards after the catch.
• Passing game concept ...
Playaction: 10-19, 110 yards, TD
No playaction: 20-41, 255
Screen: 3-4, 26 yards
No screen: 27-56, 339, TD
Running Game
• Purdue's long rush: Nine yards.
• Purdue averaged 3.45 yards after contact.
• The Boilermakers were credited with making 13 tacklers miss, 11 by King Doerue, a total that doesn't seem to jibe with the lack of bigger plays, but maybe some of those goal-line bumper cars runs count for multiple.
• Purdue was really well balanced in terms of the direction it tried to run it, which can also be construed as them not having a perceived strength to attack, but they did run the most off right end, which was there they typically lined up Moussa.
PURDUE DEFENSE
Snap Counts
Defensive Line
Kydran Jenkins 51
Jack Sullivan 48
Branson Deen 47
Scotty Humpich 39
Lawrence Johnson 31
Prince Boyd 30
Khordae Sydnor 28
Cole Brevard 19
Mo Omonode 11 (true freshman)
Nic Caraway 6 (true freshman)
Joe Anderson 5
Sulaiman Kpaka 1
Linebacker
Jalen Graham 78
OC Brothers 61
Kieran Douglas 54
Clyde Washington 11
Semisi Fakasiieki 6
Jacob Wahlberg 4
Secondary
Chris Jefferson 71
Cam Allen 69
Reese Taylor 60
Cory Trice 57
Jamari Brown 38
Sanoussi Kane 23
Noteworthy
• Among those who played meaningful snaps, Chris Jefferson graded the best on defense, obviously the pick-six being a huge play.
• No atrocious overall individual grades, but some bad sub-category tackling grades, obviously.
• Eleven players combined for 16 missed tackles, by PFF's count, led by Cam Allen's three.
The worst of this was Sanoussi Kane's and Cam Allen's combined miss on Brenton Strange on the 67-yard touchdown just before halftime, and then the receiver bouncing off Reese Taylor the long fourth quarter touchdown, and then getting beaten again on another catch and run down the sideline during the game-winning scoring drive.
• Purdue was credited with 17 hurries on Penn State QBs, four of them by Kydran Jenkins and three apiece by Jack Sullivan and Branson Deen.
• Penn State only completed one pass of 20 or more yards down the field and it was a playground play to Brenton Strange for the 67-yard TD.
• Purdue pass-blitzed 14 times and Penn State was 7-13 passing for 100 yards and two touchdowns on those snaps, their highest passing-category grade.
