Northwestern University Athletics
The Skip Report: Purdue in Review
11/12/2017 4:33:00 PM | Football
By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
Purdue received the opening kickoff, ran three plays and netted four yards and punted. The 'Cats, starting at their 40, themselves ran three plays and netted three years and punted.
This was early Saturday evening at a blustery Ryan Field and now the beat went on. Once more the Boilers went three-and-out and then there were the 'Cats punting again after just four plays, the first of them a Clayton Thorson completion to Macan Wilson for the game's initial first down. Here, on their third possession, the Boilers went three-and-out for the third time, and now the evening's tone was clearly etched in stone(walling).
"Both teams were just slugging it out. I think it was a pretty darn good defensive battle," Pat Fitzgerald would say hours later after his 'Cats had closed out their 10-point win over the the Boilers. "I know that's not what everybody wants as a fan. Everybody wants the shootout today in Ames between Oklahoma State and Iowa State (which the Cowboys won 49-42). I could say that because I got to watch some football today. That's great. If we win, that's cool. I'll take that.
"But this is Big Ten football. It's hard to gain inches, man. It just is. Coach D (Michigan States' Mark Dantoni) says that all the time. I respect the heck out of him for that because he's right. You guys may chuckle. But as someone who's been out in the arena— these guys are all really well-coached in this league right now. I think the coaching is outstanding. I think the talent is at an all-time high. Anybody can win on a given Saturday. As a fan, that's what would be fun to me. Watching the competitive nature of our league top to bottom right now. It's hard to win, especially to win conference games."
The 'Cats, on this evening, recalled that classic commercial from the late '70s, the one where the great actor John Houseman touts Smith Barney by declaiming, "They make money the old-fashioned way. They earn it." Oh, sure. Both sides in this one went no huddle and played up tempo and spread it out, and that was all tres chic and very modern. But the affair most-certainly pivoted, as it so often does, on the dirty work done down in The Pit, where the 'Cats defensive line once again shone through the muck and mire that characterizes their job site.
The Boilers would nick the unit it anchors for some big numbers, rolling up 438 yards in total offense. But that defense pitched a shutout until only 2:26 remained in the third quarter; and it limited the Boilers to an average gain of just 1.8 yards on their 22 rushing attempts; and it very quickly transformed the Boilers into a one-dimensional offense. "They," Fitzgerald would note, "basically went two-minute offense for two-and-a-half quarters of the game. We gave them some nickels. But for the most part we were pretty solid."
His defense was especially that late in the first half when the Boilers rode a pair of big completions and a targeting call on corner Montre Hartage to a first down at the 'Cat 13. Now they got three on a shovel pass that was stuffed by safety Kyle Queiro, then one on a rush stopped D tackle Tyler Lancaster and linebacker Nate Hall, then five on a rollout defended by Hartage's replacement, Marcus McShepard. That left them with fourth-and-one at the four and they went for it But their running back Richie Worship was corralled by a posse that included Hall and middle linebacker Paddy Fisher, whom the D line kept free to roam. "The mentality is just get it done no mater what the down-and-distance is, no matter where the ball is on the field," the defensive tackle Jordan Thompson would later say when asked about this moment. "You just have to make those stops. If we don't, they score and we lose."
"I think the right call by (Boiler coach) Jeft (Rohm)," Fitzgerald said of it. "When you're in a game like that, you've got to go for it. You're going for the win, right? And our guys just really stepped up. We did a number of times today and it always starts up front, when you're able to get that kind of push. It looked like controlled the line of scrimmage on those plays."
And why has the D line been so successful this last month?
"Yeah. This really sexy thing called fundamentals," he said with a wry smile. "They're just coming off with really good pad level. It looked like we were being really solid with our hands and fit plays right, which again is not really anything that's wow. But to me it is. That's art to me. Executing what we're trying to get done. Being on the same page. Doing it fundamentally the right way is a work of art to me."
The Boiler defense, throughout this one, loaded the box in a max commitment to controlling Justin Jackson, and that they would do. He would net just 46 yards on 25 carries, an average of just 1.8 ypc. "So," Fitzgerald would say, "we needed Clayton and the receiving corps to step up and they did."
"Then we've got to get the ball out to the perimeter, make those guys outside play," said Thorson. "If they're going to load the box with eight guys, sometimes nine, we've got to make those guys on the edge play. Credit the receivers, they made some big plays. Receivers played great tonight."
His 19-yard completion to Bennett Skowronek had kick started the drive early in the second that ended with the 'Cats going up 7-0 on a four-yard scramble by Thorson. Now, 96 yards from the end zone with 1:49 remaining in the half, he opened another drive with a seven-yard completion to Flynn Nagel and then another on the boundary to Skowronek, who broke a tackle, turned and burst upfield for 27. Now, on a short cross, it was Nagel again, this time for 24 on a catch-and-run, and then it was Macan Wilson on another cross for 20.
That set the 'Cats up at the Boiler 18 with under a minute left until half, and then came this. A throw away. Then a tough seven yards by Jackson over the right side. Finally a jump ball in the right rear corner of the end zone, where the six-foot-four Skowronek out-leapt the six-foot Boiler corner Josh Okonye for the catch. That concluded an impressive seven-play, 96-yard drive that ate up 1:35 and sent the 'Cats soaring into their dressing room up 14. "It's something Clayton and I actually worked on Wednesday after practice for a couple minutes. It was something we do everyday almost," Skowronek later said of that play. "Clayton threw a great ball. Perfect spot."
"He's playing great. He's been playing well all season," Thorson said of his receiver, returning the valentine. "He's aggressive, which is nice. When the ball goes up in the air, I'm pretty confident he's going to come down with it or get a call. It's nice to have a guy like that. We haven't had someone like that in awhile. Really happy with how he's playing."
The 'Cats, in the second half, would settle for three field goals from Charlie Kuhbander and get nicked for two scores. But the latter came with just over five remaining and their defense playing prevent, and so they stretched their winning streak to five without the drama of their three consecutive overtime victories. "You're the third person to ask me that," Fitzgerald would later joke when asked if it was nice to get one in regulation. "I just want to win. Obviously we've been working hard for (TV) ratings these last few weeks. But to be done in regulation, it's only 10 o'clock. It's better than being done at 11."
And how's the five game winning streak feel?
"It's great," said Jordan Thompson, and then he chuckled and smiled softly. "Winning games is good, especially Big Ten games. You only get so many opportunities to walk on that field. To walk off with a 'W' is crucial, is huge. It's great."
