3 Thoughts Following Purdue's Heartbreaking 27-24 Loss to Rutgers

Halloween arrived in West Lafayette earlier than expected. Rather than a treat, Purdue was tricked into thinking it was going to snap its 13-game Big Ten losing streak, only to drop a 27-24 heartbreaker at the hands of Rutgers.

The Boilermakers jumped out to an early 10-0 lead and appeared to be in complete control. Purdue even took a 17-7 lead in the third quarter and appeared it was on its way to its first Big Ten win of the season.

But Rutgers' passing attack, a late turnover, and two clutch field goals from Jai Patel helped overcome a pair of 10-point deficits, resulting in a win for the Scarlet Knights. Here are a few quick thoughts from another Purdue loss, this time on Homecoming.

The secondary was awful

Purdue's secondary has been an Achilles heel since the season began, and nothing changed this week. Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis threw for 359 yards while completing 19-of-27 passes. He frequently targeted KJ Duff, who caught six of those passes for 241 yards and a touchdown.

Rutgers averaged 18.9 yards per completion, and Kaliakmanis became the second quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards on Purdue's defense, along with Illinois' Luke Altmyer.

Another late-game turnover

With the game tied at 24-24 and 1:06 to play in the fourth quarter, Ryan Browne dropped back for a pass play to try and lead Purdue down the field for a game-tying drive. Instead, his throw was batted down by a Rutgers defender. He caught his own pass, but fumbled the football and the Scarlet Knights recovered. That ultimately led to Jai Patel's game-winning field goal.

Browne has been a solid quarterback for Purdue this season, but continues to make mistakes at critical times. He threw a pick-six with the game tied 20-20 in the fourth quarter against Minnesota earlier this month.

BROWNE STARTS VS. RUTGERS.

Failing 3rd down conversions

At times, Purdue's offense moved the ball effectively on the ground, rushing for 217 yards. The Boilermakers got some big plays out of Devin Mockobee, Malachi Thomas, and Antonio Harris, too.

But Purdue's ability to move the chains was a problem. The Boilermakers had just 14 first downs and finished the game converting 1-of-9 attempts on third down. That simply isn't good enough to win football games in the Big Ten, as this team has learned.

The secondary was awful

Another late-game turnover

Failing 3rd down conversions

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