2022 Purdue Season Recap

[BabaYaga]

After making a run to the NCAA quarterfinals a year ago the Purdue Boilermakers looked to replicate their success in the 2022 season. However, they knew it would be hard as they lost a dynamic quarterback, running back, and one of the best tight ends in SimFBA history. They hoped to build on a good year and make another run to the playoffs but the Boilermakers just did not gel together this year. There were multiple spots throughout the year that felt like a turning point of the season but the momentum just could not be held. It felt like the season was three or four total plays from being a .500 team and off to a bowl. Purdue had either a double-digit lead or a lead in the second half in nine of their games this season. We recap the forgettable season below, first with awards for the team MVPs.

 

Offensive Most Valuable Player

Logan Langley - Senior - FB - 6’ 228

2022 yards, 13 TDs, 5.95 YPC, 23 catches, 180 yards, 2 TDs

Defensive Most Valuable Player

Bruce Johnson - Sophomore - ILB - 6’3 231

62.5 tackles, 12 TFL, 1 FF, 1 INT

 

Special Teams Most Valuable Player

Nick Ruf - Senior - K - 5’11 189

15-18 FG, 24-26 PAT, 51 Long

 

 

Now, we will move on to reviewing each game and formally announcing who got a game ball in each game.

 

Purdue @ Ball State

L 33-17

 

This was a heartbreaker of a game and one that Purdue should have won. Senior Justin Tu’ikolovatu had one of his best performances of the year as he went 18-33 for 261 yards and two touchdowns but the defense could not hold down the fort late as the offense sputtered. Purdue had the lead going into the fourth quarter 17-13 but then disaster struck. Purdue opted to go for the fourth down from the Ball State 41-yard line and did not get the conversion which led to an easy seven-play touchdown drive to give Ball State the lead. Four minutes later, Purdue opted to go for it on fourth down again from the same spot and did not get the conversion once again. Ball State then scored two plays later to make it a 26-17 game. On their ensuing possession, the Boilermakers fumbled the ball at their own 30-yard line, effectively sealing the game in an opening season loss.

 

Ball State Offensive MVP

Justin Tu’ikolovatu - Senior - QB

18-33, 261 yards, 2 TDs

 

Ball State Defensive MVP

Akeem Bailey - (Freshman) - FS

9 tackles

 

 

Penn State @ Purdue

W 23-7

 

Looking back on this game, it was the highlight of the season as this Penn State team would eventually find their footing and finish the regular season 8-4 while contending in the Big Ten West. This was the game where Purdue found out what they had in fullback Logan Langley. Langley rushed for 174 yards on 33 carries while punching it into the end zone twice. Tu’ikolovatu was also solid and did exactly what he needed to do to manage his team to the win as he finished with 178 yards passing while hitting 15-of-24 passes. The Purdue defense came up big in this game as they only allowed 58 yards on the ground and pitched a shutout in the final three quarters.

 

Penn State Offensive MVP

Logan Langley - Senior - FB

33 carries, 174 yards, 2 TDs, 5 catches, 60 yards, TD

 

Penn State Defensive MVP

Caleb Armenteros - (Freshman) - SS

6 tackles

 

 

Texas Tech @ Purdue

L 24-21

 

The second non-conference game of the year brought another heartbreaking defeat to the Boilermaker faithful. The Texas Tech team came into Ross-Ade Stadium and just wanted the game more. The Texas Tech quarterback was not spectacular but he did just enough to lead his team to the win as he threw for a touchdown and added one on the ground. Purdue led the game at the half, 14-3, and even took the lead with 5:40 remaining in the game. However, the defense could not hold as Texas Tech marched down the field and scored a touchdown with 12 seconds left in the game. On the game-winning drive, Purdue had chances to stop Texas Tech but they converted on two third downs and a fourth down on the 75-yard, 12-play drive to cap off an exciting comeback win.

 

Texas Tech Offensive MVP

Logan Langley - Senior - FB

18 carries, 107 yards, 1 TD, 5 catches, 68 yards, 1 TD

 

Texas Tech Defensive MVP

Ryan Autry - Junior - DE

6 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack

 

 

Alabama @ Purdue

L 40-14

 

Purdue was looking to use this game as a game to prove themselves as the Boilermakers felt as if they had a chance to be 3-0 after blowing two games in the fourth quarter. Well, that wasn’t the case as the Alabama Crimson Tide ran all over the Purdue defense to the tune of 291 yards and threw for 219 yards. Despite the game being a 26-point spread, Purdue had the ability to make this close but just did not make the adjustments needed in the second half. At the half, it was only a 10-7 game and Purdue scored early in the third quarter to make it 14-10 and grab the lead. Purdue had to feel good at this point but then the meltdown occurred. Purdue gave up a 56-yard touchdown run after an Alabama field goal to lose the lead at the 5:05 mark of the third quarter. After this point, Purdue gave up three plays of 40 or more yards which led to their quick demise as their defense just could not get off the field.

 

Alabama Offensive MVP

Logan Langley - Senior - FB

33 carries, 180 yards, TD, 2 catches 11 yards

 

Alabama Defensive MVP

Bruce Johnson - Sophomore - ILB

12 tackles, 1.5 TFL

 

 

Purdue @ Minnesota

W 27-20 OT

 

Purdue met their second Big Ten opponent of the season as they traveled to take on the Golden Gophers in Minnesota. This was a game that the Boilermakers needed to gain their confidence back and get to 2-0 in conference play with the meat of their schedule upcoming. The Purdue defense won the game for them as they forced the Minnesota QB into throwing four interceptions despite also throwing for 304 yards. The defense needed to be great in this game as Tu’ikolovatu lost all his confidence on the road as he went 16-of-40 for 89 yards and threw two picks. Luckily, the man of the year, Logan Langley, showed up to play. In what was a very sloppy game, Purdue trailed with about seven minutes left in the game but cornerback Dominique Miller picked off an errant throw and returned it to Minnesota’s six-yard line. Two plays later, Langley punched it in to tie the game with 6:25 to go in the contest. Purdue had a chance to win it in regulation after another interception, this time by cornerback Franchy Washington, but Purdue opted to go for it on fourth down from the Minnesota 33-yard line rather than attempting a 50-yard field goal to take a lead with 1:30 left. The game headed to overtime where it was rather anti-climactic. Minnesota got nowhere on three plays and missed their field goal try. On Purdue’s opening possession they cashed in the win after four running plays capped off by a Mike Bates touchdown run to move to 2-0 in the conference.

 

Minnesota Offensive MVP

Logan Langley - Senior - FB

32 carries, 161 yards, 2 TDs, 8 catches, 36 yards

 

Minnesota Defensive MVP

Franchy Wsahington - Senior - CB

9 tackles, 2 INT

 

 

Purdue @ Maryland

L 28-10

 

Purdue was excited for this game as they had a chance to pull to 3-0 in conference play on the road as well as get back to the .500 mark on the season. All hopes would be dashed early as Maryland got off to a very hot start and pulled out to a 21-10 lead at the half. The offensive woes continued for the Boilermakers as Tu’ikolovatu was only 13-for-28 for 152 yards and again threw two interceptions. Logan Langley had an off night even with 157 rushing yards as he coughed up two fumbles and did not give the offense a chance as they were shut out in the second half. It was again, missed opportunities as even with an 18-point loss Purdue was just a few plays away. Purdue fumbled a total of five times in the game although only two of them led to turnovers. Purdue had the opportunity to make this a game but choked away the chance in the fourth quarter, which became a theme during the season. The game can be summarized by Purdue’s drives in the fourth quarter:

• 21-10 15:00 4Q - thrown INT at the Maryland 20
  
• 28-10 5:46 4Q - fumble at the Maryland 34
  
• 28-10 5:13 4Q - fumble at the Maryland 31
  
• 28-10 3:18 4Q - thrown INT at the Maryland 20
  

As you can see, the Boilermaker offense coughed up the ball four times inside the Maryland 35 during the fourth quarter, two of those being in the red zone. The past few weeks had seen senior quarterback Tu’ikolovatu’s confidence drop and his play reflected that on the field. Tu’ikolovatu threw six interceptions in his last three games including critical mistakes late in all three games. The coaching staff also noticed that the defense was getting tired late in games as an inexperienced defense with eight new starters and all of the turnovers surely had not helped get them rest. Late into the night on Saturday, they decided that they needed to make a change.

 

Maryland Offensive MVP

Logan Langley - Senior - FB

33 carries, 180 yards, 1 TD, 2 catches, 11 yards

 

Maryland Defensive MVP

Bruce Johnson - Sophomore - ILB

12 tackles, 1.5 TFL

 

 

Nebraska @ Purdue

W 34-10

 

Fans packed Ross-Ade Stadium as the 4-2 Nebraska Cornhuskers came to town. The Purdue coaching staff talked all week about potential changes that were going to be made and they had heard rumors and wanted to see for themselves. Fans noticed immediately that it was senior Donnie Laulile who got the opening snaps and the offensive alignments were changed. Purdue looked like they wanted to pound the rock on every play, and that is just what they did. Laulile managed the game and despite being just 5-of-13 for 36 yards, he led Purdue to a win in his first start. The Boilermakers pounded the ball on the Cornhusker defense to the tune of 453 yards rushing and four touchdown runs. It was a potential turning point of the season as Purdue looked to start utilizing their strengths much more as they had a top-five offensive line in the country. Logan Langley had a fantastic game as he ran for 270 yards and two touchdowns while junior Mark Romak rushed for 100 yards on 15 carries. The win got Purdue to 3-4 on the season and brought some confidence back to the squad. With the change in pace on the offensive side of the ball, the defense was only on the field for 38 total Nebraska plays and allowed less than 200 yards of offense.

 

Nebraska Offensive MVP

Logan Langley - Senior - FB

32 carries, 270 yards, 2 TDs

 

Nebraska Defensive MVP

Bruce Johnson - Sophomore - ILB

6 tackles, 1 TFL

 

 

Purdue @ Wisconsin

L 24-13

 

What went well in the Nebraska game, went wrong in the Wisconsin game. Purdue could not stop shooting themselves in the foot in a loss that was within grasp. Purdue, once again, had a double-digit lead in the second quarter but let the game slip away. Wisconsin closed the game on a 24-3 run and Purdue’s defense was the driving force behind the collapse. Purdue just could not get anything going on the ground to sustain their drives as they only ran for 216 yards on 51 carries. The air attack was not much better as Laulile threw for 62 yards and a pick. Purdue did have a chance in the fourth quarter but an interception inside their own territory and a Wisconsin touchdown six plays later drove the nail into the coffin. Purdue was only down eight points at this time but four minutes later coughed up the ball leading to a field goal to put the game away. It was another case of having the game be within reach but just making a few plays that turned the momentum abruptly. Both scoring drives for Wisconsin came off of a short-field turnover for Purdue and if they had not coughed the ball up twice in the fourth the game might have seen a different outcome.

 

Wisconsin Offensive MVP

Logan Langley - Senior - FB

30 carries, 114 yards, 1 TD

 

Wisconsin Defensive MVP

Caleb Armenteros - (Freshman) - SS

10 tackles

 

 

Iowa @ Purdue

W 20-3

 

Purdue got a bit of life back as they dominated an Iowa team that had been playing some good football. The defense glistened brightly as they only allowed three points total in the game and those points came late in the game. Purdue only threw for 36 yards in the game but it did not matter as the rushing attack was dominant all day long. Langley ran for 165 yards and fellow fullback Romak added 119 yards. Freshman Mike Bates got in on the action as well rushing for 79 yards and a touchdown as well. The rushing attack kept the defense off of the field and played a key part in holding Iowa to under 175 total yards in the game. A week after struggling in the secondary they held the Iowa pass offense to just 5.18 yards per attempt and kept everything in front of them. They also got to the quarterback very well grabbing three sacks en route to a dominant performance on both sides of the field. This pushed Purdue to 4-5 on the year and 4-2 in the Big Ten West division. With a big game against Illinois looming, Purdue felt like they had an outside shot at winning the division if they could pull off an upset of Illinois. But little did they know that the next three games would be the most disappointing games of the year.

 

Iowa Offensive MVP

Logan Langley - Senior - FB

28 carries, 165 yards, 1 TD

 

Iowa Defensive MVP

Danny Ellis - Senior - DT

5 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 0.5 sack

 

 

Purdue @ Illinois

L 31-7

 

Purdue and Illinois took center stage in the primetime slot on Saturday evening for what was a critical game in the Big Ten race. However, it appeared as if Illinois was the only team to lace their cleats up for this one. Purdue came into the game with one plan - to shorten the game as much as possible and to stop the run. They did not achieve either as Illinois ran all over the Purdue defense that had been good all year up until this point against the run. Illinois ran for 359 yards and starting running back, senior Gabriel Adeboyejo, ran for 201 yards on just 26 carries. Purdue was solid on the offensive side of the football but just could not string drives together as they kept stalling near midfield. Langley ran for 157 yards but just could not power the offense on his own. Purdue forced three turnovers and did not have any themselves, but like most of the season just failed to execute to give themselves any kind of chance. Illinois was the better team all year long to this point and they played like it in this game. Once again, this game was a game where Purdue could have made it closer than it was but just could not muster up points. Even with the loss, if Purdue could win their two remaining games they would be bowl eligible once again.

 

Illinois Offensive MVP

Logan Langley - Senior - FB

25 carries, 157 yards, 1 TD

 

Illinois Defensive MVP

Daniel Piscotty - Sophomore - OLB

4 tackles, 2 FR

 

 

Northwestern @ Purdue

L 34-29

 

Coming off of a disappointing loss, Purdue wanted to get back to the basics and protect their home turf. A bowl game was in sight and the Purdue staff felt like they had done enough during the week for their team to be ready. When the game started, Purdue got off to a fast start as they took a 12-6 lead into the half. They were controlling the football and a missed PAT and FG were the only hiccups that they had in the first half. Their defense was playing outstanding and putting a damper on anything Northwestern tried to throw at them. The second half came and Purdue went on a long drive to open the half with a 12-play, 64-yard drive that ended in a touchdown. Things got even better for Purdue as they picked off Northwestern on their first play of the ensuing drive and kicked a field goal to take a 22-6 lead with eight minutes left in the third quarter. Things fell off the rails after this as Northwestern started to play. Northwestern scored on a 50-yard run and then forced a 3-and-out followed by a good drive to score again making it 22-20 late in the third quarter. Purdue took the ball and scored a touchdown of their own early in the fourth to make it 29-20 and seemingly give themselves the momentum back. However, after forcing Northwestern to go 3-and-out, Purdue missed a 54-yard field goal with eight minutes left in the game. This gave Northwestern good field position and they drove quickly down the field and scored with 6:16 left on the clock. All Purdue had to do was run out the last six minutes and they would win a dogfight of a game. Purdue was forced to punt at midfield and Northwestern put together a great two-minute drive to score a touchdown with 1:00 left on the clock to steal a win. Purdue’s second-half defense was terrible as they allowed 28 points to a team that struggled to move the ball in the first half. The offense stopped executing and could not figure out the defensive alignments. This heartbreaking loss pushed Purdue out of the bowl conversation, a conversation that the players and staff thought that they should have been in, if not for a few collapses on the season. Purdue still has one more game on the schedule and it’s a big one. The season could be looked at in a different light if they can steal one on the road in the Old Oaken Bucket game.

 

Northwestern Offensive MVP

Logan Langley - Senior - FB

30 carries, 257 yards, 1 TD

 

Northwestern Defensive MVP

Akeem Bailey - (Freshman) - FS

7 tackles, 1 INT

 

 

Purdue @ Indiana

L 13-10

 

Purdue came into the Old Oaken Bucket game with one goal - stop quarterback Aaron Gossett from throwing the ball all over the field. They did a pretty solid job of that but their offense just could not muster enough strength. The defense of Indiana stuffed the Purdue running attack as they only had 285 yards of rushing on 47 carries. Langley had a tough day rushing the ball as he only carried it 16 times since Purdue could not move the chains. The defense for Purdue was excellent as they held Indiana to under 300 yards passing and under 100 yards rushing, but again, it was the offense that couldn’t muster any points. At the half, it was 6-0 and Purdue was well within striking distance but a touchdown by Indiana in the third quarter put the game away. Purdue did score a touchdown early in the third quarter as Laulile ran it in from 24 yards out, but they could not build off of it. They forced a punt on the next possession but then stalled and had to kick a field goal to make the game 13-10. Purdue would have one more chance but their drive stalled out at the midfield stripe with 1:15 to go in the game and they failed to convert the 4th down attempt. This disappointing loss summed up the entire season as a few more plays went their way and they could have won the game. However, the Purdue staff felt like they put their guys in positions to win games this year and are very excited to get back on the field in the future.

 

Indiana Offensive MVP

Logan Langley - Senior - FB

16 carries, 107 yards

 

Indiana Defensive MVP

Bruce Johnson - Sophomore - ILB

9 tackles, 2.5 TFL

 

2022 Purdue All-B1G Selections

 

First Team

RB - Logan Langley - Senior

OT - Jacquies Mathis - Junior

OG - Johnny Blach - Senior

K - Nick Ruf - Senior

 

Second Team

OT - Brady Wimmers - Senior

C - Trayvon Wadley - Junior

CB - Franchy Washington - Senior

 

Third Team

ILB - Bruce Johnson - Sophomore

[kgreene829]

god damn this is really well done might have to steal this for next year

[tsweezy]

V good write up