INDIANAPOLIS – How can the Boilermakers build on this experience?
It won’t be easy. Saturday’s 43-22 loss to No. 2 Michigan was the first time Purdue has made it this far, reaching the Big Ten championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Winning the Big Ten West is viewed as a big deal around here, but how does coach Jeff Brohm’s program take another step and make a return trip to the championship game?
It won’t get any easier, that’s for sure.
Big Ten titleSecond-half blitz carries No. 2 Michigan past Purdue
How they scoredMichigan 43, Purdue 22
Big gameCharlie Jones put together a season for the ages.
Once the Big Ten moves away from divisions, which is expected following the 2023 season, everyone in the league is battling each other for the top two spots.
Purdue now has true championship game experience, knowing touchdowns and not field goals win titles, although Brohm elected to kick field goals in last year’s bowl game against Tennesse, slowly cutting into an early 14-point lead before prevailing in overtime. The Boilermakers can use what they learned Saturday and apply it during the bowl game, which is expected to be in Florida.
There are worse locations to ring in the New Year.
But Brohm and his players shouldn’t take coming this far for granted. Purdue endured an uneven season of self-inflicted plays and missed opportunities but also played well enough to win seven of its last nine games to reach at least eight victories for the second straight season.
“It’s great for this program to reach this point, a championship-level game,” said Brohm, who challenged an early call, which was overturned and used a couple of trick plays to keep the Wolverines off-balanced. “It doesn’t mean it’s going to happen again. Every year is new, and you’ve got to find ways to improve the next team and go out and compete.
“Hopefully, some of your guys get the feeling of what it was like to play in this type of game. It was awesome. It was awesome for our guys. They loved competing, they loved practicing this week.”
Brohm and his coaching staff have plenty of re-tooling to do in the offseason, depending on how many players jump into the transfer portal, who joins the program from other teams and replacing several key positions, including who’s going to play quarterback next season.
And the bowl game might be similar to last year’s Music City victory over Tennessee, where marquee players opt out or aren’t available due to academics.
Whoever remains can use this week’s experience to ensure this isn’t a one-year flash.
“Sometimes that motivates guys to work harder,” Brohm said. “We’ll see what the future holds. Our team is built on hard work and grinding to get better, and we’re not scared to take on anybody and take some hits to the chin and punches in the gut and get back up and keep competing. I hope that our team knows what it takes to win.”
Aidan O’Connell spoke for the first time since revealing his older brother, Sean, died prior to Purdue’s matchup against Indiana over Thanksgiving weekend.
It’s been a difficult time for O’Connell and his family, but he relied on faith, football and his teammates to help him navigate through this tragedy.
“It’s been very difficult as you can imagine,” O’Connell said. “When you first hear news like that, it’s shock, and denial and a lot of emotions. Last week was tough. I know going into the IU game, my head really wasn’t there, if I’m honest.
“The coaching staff was gracious enough to let me go home and spend some time with my family. I think that was much needed. Felt a lot better this week than I did last week. It’s been a little crazy and it will be good to spend more time with my family.”
O’Connell put together a high-level performance. Granted, he threw two interceptions, including one near the goal line, that proved costly and prevented the offense from scoring touchdowns.
O’Connell finished 32 of 47 for 366 yards.
“Aidan O’Connell put on a tremendous passing performance, and he has since he got here,” Brohm said. “He’s continued to work and get better.”
Purdue trailed 14-13 at halftime and believes it matched the talented Wolverines play-for-play. Michigan is headed to the College Football Playoff after winning its second conference title.
It took O’Connell back to 2017 when Purdue last played Michigan. The Boilermakers led 10-7 but dropped a 28-10 decision at Ross-Ade Stadium.
“We were confident. We felt like we played a good half, down one and we needed a fake punt,” O’Connell said, referring to Payne Durham’s 4-yard run. “We were moving the ball, but we needed some touchdowns.
“In 2017, it felt the same way. We can hang with them but didn’t win the game.”
The Wolverines scored 14 points to start the second half in the first five minutes, leaning on big plays to quickly build a 15-point lead. Purdue got as close as nine points early in the fourth quarter.
“Unfortunately, the other team came out in the second half and imposed their will on us a little bit and got after us,” Brohm said. “We couldn’t answer the bell.”
Maybe the next time, whether it’s in the upcoming bowl game or next season, the Boilermakers can provide more of an answer after going through this experience.
Mike Carmin covers Purdue sports for the Journal & Courier and USA Today Sports Network. Email mcarmin@gannett.comn and follow on Twitter and Instagram @carmin_jc
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