As far as raucous college football environments go, Virginia Tech\u2019s is full-tilt. And it begins when the Hokies hit the field serenaded by Metallica\u2019s fist-pumping \u201cEnter Sandman,\u201d which shakes the foundations of Lane Stadium.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, obviously an electric atmosphere,\u201d said Purdue coach Ryan Walters<\/a><\/strong>.\u201d We showed a clip of \u201cEnter Sandman\u201d in our team meeting last night, the Virginia Tech intro.\u201d<\/p>\n Purdue (0-1) is braced for the throbbing heavy metal anthem as it preps with a sense of urgency this week. Walters\u2019 debut didn\u2019t go as expected, as Purdue fell to Fresno State, 39-35<\/a><\/strong>. Next up: A trip to Blacksburg to play Virginia Tech, which opened with a 36-17 home win vs. Old Dominion last week.<\/p>\n \u201cWe lost,\u201d said Walters. \u201cYou know what I mean? Obviously, the atmosphere of Ross\u2013Ade is everything that you want it to be. Just the feelings of euphoria, you know, were all there. We\u2019ve got to come away with wins. That\u2019s why we\u2019re here. That is not the standard and not the expectation to have opportunities to win. It\u2019s to win ball games.\u201d<\/p>\n Opportunity looms for a Boilermaker program that did some positive things vs. the Bulldogs. And no player embodied that potential more than true freshman safety Dillion Thieneman<\/a><\/strong>, who led the squad with 10 tackles and had a key interception to set up a TD.<\/p>\n \u201cI was very, very pleased and excited for him, but I wasn\u2019t surprised,\u201d said Walters. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen that style of play and that consistency from him since the springtime. So, like I said before, the beautiful thing about football is that it doesn\u2019t matter how old you are. It doesn\u2019t care about what\u2019s happened prior to the game. It\u2019s all about the guys that are on the field, and he has deserved his spot on the roster and his spot on the depth chart.\u201d<\/p>\n Other positives from the opener:<\/p>\n \u2022 Deion Burks<\/a><\/strong> flashed big plays in the opener and looks the WR1. The redshirt sophomore made four grabs for 152 yards and two TDs, including a pulsating 84-yard TD catch.<\/p>\n \u2022 The offense yielded no sacks or turnovers.<\/p>\n \u2022 Special teams produced a kickoff return for a 98-yard TD by Tyrone Tracy<\/a><\/strong> and set up another score with a 29-yard punt return by T.J. Sheffield<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n Still, more could have been done.<\/p>\n \u201cDefinitely frustrated because there were opportunities all over the place to win that football game,\u201d said Walters. \u201cThere were times where we played clean and were explosive on both sides of the ball.<\/p>\n \u201cDefensively, it felt like it was feast or famine. It was either three-and-out, or they were scoring points, and a lot of that had to do with our third-down efficiency. You look at the game in its totality, and I think that kind of told the story.\u201d<\/p>\n Purdue was 2-of-11 on third downs (18 percent), while Fresno State was 11-of-17 (65 percent).<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got to come up with a better plan schematically, and then we\u2019ve got to play with confidence and pay attention to details so that we can execute,\u201d said Walters.<\/p>\n Another issue was running the ball in tight quarters.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom a players\u2019 standpoint, have to come up with a better short-yardage plan,\u201d said Walters. \u201cI think we had four opportunities to extend drives that were two yards or less and came away with no yards. Definitely have to be better on third downs on both sides of the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n Purdue\u2019s run game could be bolstered by the return of No. 2 center Josh Kaltenberger<\/a><\/strong>, who missed the opener recovering from a knee injury suffered in camp as the replacement for still-injured Gus Hartwig<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n \u201cI would anticipate him being available, yes,\u201d said Walters.<\/p>\n The offense may also get back tight end Garrett Miller<\/a><\/strong>, who missed all of last year and the opener after hurting a knee in 2022 camp. Walters knows he\u2019ll have quarterback Hudson Card<\/a><\/strong>, who hit 17-of-30 passes for 254 yards and two TDs in his Boilermaker debut on Saturday. He also ran six times for 29 yards.<\/p>\n \u201cYou saw flashes of what he\u2019s capable of doing both with his arm and his legs,\u201d said Walters. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to do a better job of protecting him and giving him an opportunity to stand in there and deliver accurate and confident throws.\u201d<\/p>\n Teams typically make their most improvement from Game One to Game Two. That\u2019s the hope for Purdue, which wants to avoid its first 0-2 start since dropping its first three games in 2018.<\/p>\n \u201cIf historical trends continue, then you do see a huge jump from Game One to Game Two,\u201d said Walters. \u201cI\u2019m fully anticipating that to happen.<\/p>\n \u201cLike I said, there were times where things looked like they are supposed to look and looked like how they\u2019ve looked in practice and throughout fall camp. So, I\u2019m fully confident that the consistency with which we need to play to win a game will start showing up more and more. This team, obviously we\u2019re all new together, and we will continue to improve as the season goes.\u201d<\/p>\n MORE:<\/strong> First Look<\/a><\/strong> | First and 10<\/a><\/strong> | Gold and Black Radio: Purdue pushes ahead after Game 1 loss<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n