What a football game; the Purdue Boilermakers blew out the Indiana State Sycamores a whopping 49-0! Purdue would bench the majority of the veteran starters after the second drive of the second half. The stadium started to empty out shortly before the end of the third quarter. It was that kind of game. Just remember, they are now only five wins away from a Bowl game.
This game was a great game for many Purdue players. Quarterback Hudson Card tied a FBS record for highest completion percentage (96.0 percent on 24/25) with a minimum of 20 completions. Meanwhile, tight end Max Klare went caught all five of his targets for 71 yards and a touchdown. He’s now reached 22.7 percent of last season’s receptions and 36.2 percent of his yardage last year.
All four running backs on the roster got to play multiple snaps with Jaheim Merriweather having the “worst” day of the group, rushing four times for 12 yards and a touchdown.
Twelve different players caught passes with eight of them going for 20+ yards. Freshman kicker Spencer Porath was a perfect on extra points, hitting seven out of seven.
On the defensive side of the ball, DE Will Heldt continued his dominance from last season with his 6.5 tackles and two sacks before being benched with the starters. Linebacker Kydran Jenkins also showed out, with four tackles and a sack for himself.
The secondary showed the biggest improvement with the amount of pressure and pass breakups they had. True freshman, five-star cornerback Tarrion Grant not only got to start the game, but also had a blocked punt.
Purdue Football Starts Strong
Purdue won the toss and deferred to receive in the second half. The Sycamores started the game with a short pass and a short run before being forced to punt on fourth down. Going three-and-out is not what the Sycamores wanted – and it was a common occurrence in this game.
From there, the Boilers decisively drove the ball 55 yards in eight plays. During that first drive, the only bad play by the Boilers was a sack where Card tried to rush the ball to the left of the center, and was enveloped quickly when the backup left tackle Joshua Sales Jr. was rushed by two players and could not stop them both. However, very next play was a beautiful pass to Klare for a 9-yard Touchdown.
The next two possessions went pretty similarly. The Sycamores punted after four plays for 14 yards. The Boilermakers drove down the field 53 yards. This drive featured the only incomplete pass by Card in this game.
A highlight reel of all of Hudson Card’s incompletions yesterday pic.twitter.com/emZgCyQXKO
— Big Boiler Brand (@B1GBOILERBRAND) September 1, 2024
It was a good deep ball that the WR Jahmal Edrine missed by less than a foot. The drive came to an end when backup TE Drew Biber made a solid catch, but fumbled and overturned the ball. The first quarter ended with another punt by Indiana State and Purdue starting down the field with a massive 43-yard reception by Klare.
Dominance Continues in the Second Quarter
After a couple more gains from short passes and runs, the last two plays of this drive were a great 12-yard run by transfer RB Reggie Love III, capped off with an 8-yard TD reception from Jaron Tibbs.
Indiana State once again went three-and-out on their following drive. The pursuing drive by Purdue started with RB Devin Mockabee showing why the first move Ryan Walters made as the head Ccoach was to give Mockabee a football scholarship.
Mockabee bulldozed his way to a 36-yard rush followed by another 13-yard gain. Card finished off the drive with an 8-yard TD pass to transfer WR De’Nylon Morrissette.
The next drive was perhaps the best drive of the day for the Sycamores. Their eight-play, 43-yard drive ended with a Jenkins’ sack, however, forcing them to punt. On the flip side, the last drive of the half was the worst for the Boilermakers.
The team only put together six plays for 13 yards that featured two offensive holding penalties and a false start. The Boilermakers would punt for the first time.
The final drive of the half was the best by the Sycamores. Nine plays for 49 yards with a 20-yard scramble by the QB Elijah Owens to get them lined up for a walk off field goal attempt. Unfortunately for Indiana State, that kick went wide left.
Starting the Third Quarter on a High Note
Card started the second half with another 20-yard completion to Edrine. After a two more plays for three yards total, Card rushed for 12 yards before completing another pass to Edrine – this time for 16 yards. The Boilers finished the drive with a 6-yard rushing TD by Reggie Love III. The Sycamores followed their trend of this game, and punted after four plays for four yards.
The Boilermakers final drive for the starting offense began at midfield. Card finished off this drive with back-to-back targets to WR Leland Smith. The first went for 16 yards before being capped off with a 31-yard touchdown. The rest of the third quarter featured the backups punting for Indiana State, punting for Purdue, and then punting for Indiana State again.
The Final Quarter
The Boilermakers started the fourth quarter on the right foot. True Freshman RB Jaheim Merriweather started off with a 3-yard rush. Meanwhile, backup QB Ryan Browne had back-to-back rushes for 17 and the first down. Walk-on RB Elijah Jackson had the last two plays of the drive with a 2-yard rush before exploding for a 69 yard rushing TD!
Elijah Jackson (@elijahj89319162) goes 69 yards to the house for his first @BoilerFootball TD 🏃♂️#B1GFootball on @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/LfZ10NxO1V
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) August 31, 2024
After back-to-back drives ending in punts, the second-best play of the fourth quarter happened. Indiana State gained four yards on three rushes and went to punt the ball. Unfortunately for them, a true freshman was waiting for his opportunity, as Tarrion Grant blocked the punt. Purdue recovered the football at the Indiana State 35-yard line.
Purdue’s final drive of the game started with Jackson rushing for 12 yards. Quarterback Ryan Browne had a nice 16-yard pass and barely missed another pass towards the endzone. Merriweather finished out the drive with a 3-yard rush before punching in a 4-yard rushing TD. Indiana State ran out the clock for a Purdue 49-0 victory.
Hunter Greene
Hunter started writing for The League Winners in the summer of 2021. Hunter has been playing fantasy football for about a decade, starting in middle school. Now he’s a professional landscaper and avid Colts and Purdue fan.