Ryan Walters Explains Purdue's Failed 4th Down Attempt in OT Loss to Northwestern
There are probably a lot of bent fingernails in West Lafayette from the head-scratching that followed Purdue's 26-20 overtime loss to Northwestern on Saturday. With a chance to potentially secure their first Big Ten win of the season, the Boilermaker staff made an interesting fourth-down decision that left everyone speechless.
With Purdue trailing 20-13 late in the fourth, the Boilermakers put together an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, capped by a 1-yard run from running back Devin Mockobee to tie the game and force overtime. Purdue took a lot of momentum into that extra period, but failed to take advantage of the opportunity.
In the extra period, Purdue's offense had the ball first with an opportunity to take the lead on Northwestern. After three plays, the Boilers picked up just five yards, making it 4th-and-5 from the 20-yard line.
Surely, coach Ryan Walters would trot the kicking unit onto the field to potentially give the Boilermakers a 23-20 lead, right? But that wasn't the case. Instead, Purdue's offense stayed on the field, Northwestern's defense broke up a pass from Hudson Card and the Boilers came away with no points.
Northwestern then needed just two plays to reach the end zone, winning the game 26-20, thanks to a Jack Lausch pass to Joseph Himon II.
It was a peculiar decision by Purdue. After the game, Walters was asked about the choice to go for it on fourth down rather than kicking a field goal in that situation.
"From that down and distance and that hash, that's been a struggle for us in the kicking game," Walters said. "Had a discussion — that's why we called timeout, to thoroughly process the situation and what decision to make and just felt like, from a percentage standpoint, we had a higher probability of getting that first down than we did kicking that field goal. Felt like we had a good play call to get that first down. So, that's the decision we made."
Ultimately, the decision didn't matter. Northwestern's touchdown would have won the game even if Purdue did convert on the 37-yard field goal attempt. But coming away without any points certainly took the pressure off the Wildcats offense in the overtime period.
Purdue dropped to 1-7 on the season with Saturday's loss to Northwestern and remains winless in Big Ten play. The Boilermakers have lost two of their last three games in overtime, also falling 50-49 to Illinois in Champaign.
Saturday's game was a critical one for Purdue. Now, the Boilermakers will play three ranked opponents in their final four games: No. 4 Ohio State, No. 3 Penn State and No. 13 Indiana. They'll also travel to East Lansing to play Michigan State.
After the loss to Northwestern, it's becoming even more likely that Purdue finishes the 2024 campaign without a Big Ten victory.
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