Grading the Boilermakers: Purdue-Syracuse

As, Bs, Cs? What grades did we hand out following Purdue’s 35-20 loss vs. Syracuse on Saturday night in Ross-Ade Stadium?

Rushing offense

Pffffttttt. Just nothing there. Purdue finished with 80 yards on 32 carries (2.5 ypc). Devin Mockobee never got on track (31 yards). Tyrone Tracy tried (38). Hudson Card had some nice dashes. The line took a step back after showing progress at Virginia Tech. Short-yardage situations continue to confound. And–good lord!–the fumbles. Purdue had a mind-boggling seven of them, losing three. Big plays? They were rare, as the attack produced just three runs of 10 or more yards.

Grade: C-

Passing offense

Card throws a pretty pass. And we saw that on occasion, as he dropped some dimes to TE Max Klare (future star) and WR Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen, who enjoyed a breakout by making 10 catches for 114 yards. He’s a solid possession receiver who continues to evolve. And it was good to see Deion Burks be involved (4-51-1) after making just one catch last week. Card hit 32-of-45 passes (71 percent) for 323 yards with a TD. But his three fumbles and interception are difficult to overlook. And Card often was under duress, getting sacked two times and hurried often.

Grade: B

Offense overall

This game will be remembered for a persistent inability to gain a tough yard and the turnovers, with Purdue committing four after having none the first two games. Despite the flubs, the Boilermakers still trailed only 21-14 as the fourth quarter dawned and cut the Syracuse lead to 28-20 in the final stanza. A quick note on penalties: Purdue had a stupefying 11 for 127 yards; it had four for 35 the first two games. Couple that with the giveaways, and it was a disastrous prescription for the Boilermakers. And can’t overlook the Boilers going 1-of-4 on fourth downs.

Grade: C

Rushing defense

See Garrett Shrader run. And run. And run. And run. The Orange signal-caller waltzed with ease all night through an accommodating Purdue defense that at times didn’t look like it had a clue. The final bill: 195 yards rushing (7.8 ypc) and four TDs by Shrader, who looked like a Heisman contender. RB LeQuint Allen added 80 yards for good measure, as Syracuse finished with a cool 271 yards on the ground (6.2 ypc) a week after the Boilermakers had rationed Virginia Tech 11 yards rushing.

Grade: F

Passing defense

Shrader hit just 50 percent of his passes (14-of-28) for 184 yards and was sacked four times with an interception. Didn’t matter with the way Syracuse ran the ball. The Orange was playing without its best pass-catcher who was out with injury: Oronde Gadsden. Didn’t matter on this sobering night.

Grade: B-

Defense overall

Syracuse is going to enjoy watching this game film, notching 455 yards (6.3 ypp) and often meeting little resistance, especially in the fourth quarter when SU had 107 yards rushing. Not too many positives to take away for a sellout Ross-Ade Stadium crowd. The Boilermakers did notch four sacks. And Cam Allen made an interception, while Dillon Thieneman led the team in tackles a third game in succession (14). Next!

Grade: D+

Special teams

Jack Ansell continues to punt well. The coverage teams are solid. Caleb Krockover delievered on kickoffs. A palm-to-the-forehead moment: Ben Freehill’s missed extra point that created an eight-point gap (28-20) that could have been costly … but ultimately wasn’t, as Syracuse pulled away. The return game? A non-factor.

Grade: B+

The post Grading the Boilermakers: Purdue-Syracuse appeared first on On3.