Purdue (1-2) never had control of the game in its 38-21 loss Saturday night against Oregon State (3-1).
Purdue’s defense started strong by forcing a turnover on downs and three and out in the first two possessions. The defensive unit played with much more energy and physicality than it had against No. 17 Notre Dame, having missed 30 tackles against the Irish.
The Boilermakers offense was unable to take advantage of the momentum gained by the defense though. Instead, the offense handed the momentum right back to Oregon State with two turnovers in the first two drives, one resulting in a pick-six.
Once Oregon State had control of the game it never let it go, leaning heavily on a dominant run attack to slowly gain yardage and waste away clock.
The Beavers’ five rushers combined for a total of 341 yards on the ground, marking the second consecutive game Purdue has allowed over 300 yards rushing.
As the game continued the aggressive style of football played by the Beavers wore the Purdue defense down. Defensive coordinator Kevin Kane’s group spent over 40 minutes of the game on the field, compared to the offense, spending less than 20 minutes.