Purdue Quarterback Aidan O'Connell Proves Effective Using His Legs in Victory Over Illinois
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In six years with the Purdue football program, quarterback Aidan O'Connell has never been known for his ability to escape a collapsing pocket and pick up extra yards with his legs.
But that played right into the hands of the veteran signal-caller on Saturday against Illinois, as he galloped for a career-high 33 yards on the ground after tucking the ball on two rushing attempts.
"In today's college football, if you have a running quarterback and he can make some plays with his feet, it more than helps," Purdue coach Jeff Brohm said. "That's just kind of what this game's gone to. When you gotta throw it from the pocket and hand it off, you've gotta be really, really efficient.
"We had some packages of other things, but we were at least going to try the speed option a couple different ways to create some misdirection and get on the perimeter. We were hoping the end would take the quarterback and we could pitch it. That didn't happen, and it left some big lanes."
O'Connell's first attempt went for nine yards and kickstarted a five-play, 55-yard drive which ended in a touchdown plunge by redshirt freshman running back Devin Mockobee with 10:47 left to play in the first half.
Mockobee finished the game with 106 yards rushing on 28 carries to go along with the score and became just the third freshman running back in Purdue history to rush for more than 700 yards in a single season.
Throughout the 2022 campaign, the Boilermakers have had success with a balanced offensive attack, and the Fighting Illini were keying in on the walk-on early in the game.
That left a pair of open alleys for O'Connell, who may have squandered even more opportunities for himself by hesitating to carry the ball.
"We knew they played one or two coverages and tried to disguise things," O'Connell said after the game. "But we knew the look we were getting, and we knew that play would be useful for us. A couple of times, they just ran out to go get Devin — which I probably would, too — and let me go run."
O'Connell went on to add a 24-yard run down the middle of the field in the third quarter that reached midfield. The play was part of a 12-play, 90-yard scoring drive, capped by a 5-yard touchdown pass to redshirt senior tight end Payne Durham.
Purdue went head 21-14 with 6:57 on the clock in the third quarter, and the team never relinquished the lead for the remainder of the contest, eventually claiming a 31-24 victory on the road and improving to 6-4 on the season and 4-3 in Big Ten play.
"Sometimes you gotta pull out and do different things to win games, and this was a tough game to win," O'Connell said. "I mean, that's as open field as anyone in football probably has ever had. So I had no excuses there."
Brohm didn't have to reach too deep into his playbook in order to deploy option plays with O'Connell at the helm, but he might consider teaching his starting quarterback how to properly slide after picking up a big play down the field.
"I was proud of the way he ran," Brohm said of O'Connell. "He got some yards, and the hole looked like it was big enough for a couple trucks to drive through. You know what, he didn't get hurt, and that's critical for us.
"We don't want to lose him, and you always have to be leery of that when he runs the football. They were designed to pitch, but they took the running back away. He did a really good job. We have to have some element of that, but I'm happy that he came out alive."
Purdue will return to Ross-Ade Stadium next Saturday, Nov. 19, when it welcomes Northwestern for the team's final home game of the season.
You can keep up to date on everything at Boilermakers Country by liking and following our Facebook page: Purdue Boilermakers on Sports Illustrated/FanNation.
You can also follow D.J. Fezler at @DJFezler on Twitter.
