Purdue Falters in Red Zone, Michigan Claims 43-22 Win in Big Ten Championship
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Michigan Wolverines are kings of the Big Ten again.
With a 43-22 win over Purdue on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium, coach Jim Harbaugh has led Michigan to back-to-back Big Ten Championships and College Football Playoff appearances.
Purdue kept it interesting for most of the night, but settling for five field goals wouldn't cut it against Michigan's balanced attack. The Boilermakers out gained Michigan in total yards 456 to 386, but two costly interceptions marred an otherwise sharp night for Purdue quarterback Aidan O'Connell.
"Field goals aren't going to be good enough to win in those type of games," Purdue coach Jeff Brohm said. "Those are things that you have to look at and figure out what maybe we could have done different, but I'm going to have to give them a lot of credit. That's a good football team. We found a way to move the ball up and down the field a little bit, but they stiffened up once we got inside the 20, and they did a good job."
Michigan played without star running back Blake Corum, but didn't miss a beat with Donovan Edwards, who carried the ball 25 times for 185 yards and a touchdown en route to Big Ten Championship MVP honors. Harbaugh credited Michigan's game plan and offensive line for Saturday's performance and said Edwards has taken his game to another level on the biggest stage.
"I'm made for the big moments," Edwards said. "I love those boys [Michigan's offensive line] to death. They play a full, complete football game and that makes it easier."
Michigan took control of the game early on when the Wolverines’ defense smothered the Purdue offense for a loss of 10 yards on the first drive. The first possession was capped off by a Jaylen Harrell sack on O’Connell on 3rd and 13.
McCarthy began his night with two clutch third-down pickups, first completing a nine-yard strike to Cornelius Johnson. Facing 3rd and 6, McCarthy spun to avoid the Purdue pass rush and connected with Ronnie Bell for a 16-yard gain. On the next play, McCarthy placed the ball where only Colston Loveland could get it, leaping above the Purdue defense for 25-yard touchdown reception.
With a Purdue three and out to start the game, followed by a quick Michigan score, things didn’t look good for the Boilermakers early on. But in response, O’Connell turned to what worked best all year long. He fed the Big Ten’s leading receiver Charlie Jones for three straight first downs, and a Tyrone Tracy 20-yard rush put the Boilermakers on the goal line. Devin Mockobee trucked forward for a one-yard touchdown to tie the game 7-7.
O'Connell finished the game completing 32-of-47 passes for 366 yards and two interceptions. Jones led all receivers with 13 receptions for 162 yards.
Purdue took a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter with a 33-yard field goal from Mitchell Fineran. Michigan marched deep into Purdue territory, but it appeared the Boilermakers’ defense stood strong with pressure from Nic Caraway on 3rd and 6 to force a McCarthy incompletion.
Michigan’s Jake Moody pushed a 47-yard field goal wide right, but Purdue was flagged for offsides. Harbaugh kept the Wolverines’ offense on the field, and Kalel Mullings plowed ahead for a first down behind Michigan's jumbo formation. Six plays later, McCarthy hit Luke Schoonmaker for a 7-yard touchdown, representing a costly swing in momentum and score. Fineran connected on a 45-yard field goal for Purdue, and Michigan took a 14-13 lead into halftime.
"We were confident," O'Connell said. "We felt we played a good half, and obviously down one, but we needed a fake punt to put points.But we felt like we were moving the ball and playing pretty good defense ... I think if we scored a couple of touchdowns early on instead of field goals, I think it feels a lot different."
But whatever Harbaugh said in the halftime locker room fired up the Wolverines for a dominant start to the third quarter. Donovan Edwards ripped off a 60-yard run on the first play of the second half, and the jumbo package with Mullings worked again, leading to a one-yard touchdown run.
Michigan forced a quick three and out from Purdue on the next drive, and McCarthy found a wide-open Schoonmaker for a 40-yard gain to start the Wolverines’ drive. Edwards weaved through the Purdue defense for a 27-yard touchdown on the following play to give Michigan a 28-13 lead. Purdue was officially in the danger zone.
To make things worse, the Boilermakers drove into the Michigan red zone, but O’Connell made his first big mistake of the night. He looked for Jones in the end zone, but his pass was a touch under thrown, allowing Michigan’s Will Johnson to come down with the interception.
Purdue responded with a pair of field goals with a McCarthy interception sandwiched between, field goals wouldn’t be enough to win this game. O’Connell and the Boilermakers stalled in the red zone when they needed touchdowns the most, which proved to be the story of the game.
O’Connell’s second major mistake of the game came on the next possession when he tried to sneak in a quick pass to T.J. Sheffield. Again, it was Johnson jumping the route and intercepting O’Connell for the second time of the night.
And two plays later, Bell beat Purdue to the back of the end zone and hauled in a 17-yard pass from McCarthy for the touchdown. Leading by 17 points with 9:06 remaining, this was the dagger. McCarthy finished the game completing 11-of-17 passes for 161 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
With this win, the Wolverines are 2022 Big Ten Champions and locked in for back-to-back trips to the College Football Playoffs. When asked about a possible rematch with Ohio State, McCarthy didn't shy away.
"Please," McCarthy said. "Bring it on. That would be truly a blessing if we get a shot to play those boys again."
Purdue moves to 8-5 on the season with this loss, and will find out its bowl game, destination and opponent on Sunday.
"Really proud of our football team," Brohm said. "They've done a great job this year. They've battled through a lot, like other teams do, but some ups and downs, and they continue to play hard and work hard. They found a way to get in a championship-level game, like we did today, which is tremendous."
Related stories on Purdue football
- BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP LIVE BLOG: Purdue football is playing for the 2022 Big Ten Championship game against undefeated No. 2 Michigan at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday. Follow our live blog for updates, news and analysis throughout the game from the Lucas Oil Stadium press box in Indianapolis, Ind. CLICK HERE
- WATCH JAMARI BROWN'S INTERCEPTION: Watch the replay of Purdue cornerback Jamari Brown intercepting Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy in the Big Ten football championship. CLICK HERE
- WATCH CHARLIE JONES' 26-YARD CATCH: Watch this replay of Purdue wide receiver Charlie Jones' 26-yard catch off of Aidan O'Connell's bullet from the 48-yard line in the Big Ten championship versus Michigan. CLICK HERE
- WATCH DEVIN MOCKOBEE SCORE TOUCHDOWN IN TITLE GAME: Watch this replay of Purdue running back Devin Mockobee's touchdown to put the Boilermakers on the board in the Big Ten championship versus Michigan. CLICK HERE
Jack Ankony is a Sports Illustrated/Fan Nation writer for HoosiersNow.com, where he covers Indiana football, basketball and baseball. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism.