IU Defense Unraveled by Rondale Moore and David Blough

David Blough (11) threw for 310 yards and three touchdowns Image: Sammy Jacobs Hoosier Huddle

Written By Lauralys Shallow

With bowl eligibility on the line, Indiana fell to Purdue 28-21, and the Old Oaken Bucket will remain with the Boilermakers for another year. The Hoosiers finish the season at 5-7, and Purdue is going bowling. In a must win game, the IU defense was undisciplined and unprepared, which lead to costly mistakes.

No Answer for Rondale Moore

The biggest challenge for IU’s defense heading into the matchup was finding ways to contain true freshman wide receiver Rondale Moore from having a big game. I don’t know if the IU defense was simply not prepared or just failed to execute, but Moore had 141 yards and 2 touchdowns and averaged 11.8 yards a catch. Moore was targets 14 times, and quarterback David Blough connected with him 12 times. Moore is one of the top receivers in the country, and definitely the best freshman at his respective positon. The Purdue offense is at its best when its best player is making plays, and the IU defense could not contain Moore from the big plays.

Both of Moore’s touchdowns came on busted plays by the IU secondary. Moore’s first touchdown came in the second quarter on a 56-yard reception after Raheem Layne missed his assignment and Devon Matthews fell down. Moore’s next touchdown came in the second half when he burnt Jonathan Crawford for another long touchdown catch. The freshman beat the senior safety for a 33-yard touchdown catch. Moore gave the Boilermakers a two score swing and a 21-7 lead mid-way through the third quarter. It seemed like the IU defense made the right halftime adjustments after back to back sacks from Gavin Everett and Jerome Johnson forced Purdue to punt its first possession of the second half, but the next possession Moore got his second score. Moore showed how much damage he can do when the defense cannot find an answer for him.

Never Made Purdue Uncomfortable

The Purdue offense seemed in control for majority of the game. Besides Mike Barwick intercepting Blough early in the second quarter and a few sacks, the Purdue offense was able to move the ball easily against IU.  The Boilermakers amassed 440 yards of total offense with majority of the yards coming through the air. Blough had 310 passing yards, three touchdowns and a pick for a 174.1 passer rating. Blough threw to eight different receivers, and five of them averaged over 10 yards per catch. The Purdue receivers consistently won the matchups with IU’s secondary, and it proved costly to the Hoosiers. The secondary coverage was soft, and Purdue exploited the weakness. Besides a 4th down stop inside the red zone late in the third quarter, Barwick’s interception and Everett and Johnson’s consecutive sacks, the IU defense never made Blough and his offense uncomfortable, and Purdue was always in  control of the game.