Purdue Boilermakers vs. Iowa Hawkeyes: Halftime Thoughts

Thoughts on the first half of play between the Purdue Boilermakers and Iowa Hawkeyes as they went into the locker room tied 10-10.

Purdue’s Defense Came to Play

Despite their below average rankings, the Boilermaker defense started the game by holding the Hawkeyes to four three-and-out drives and a pick-six by safety Frankie Williams in the first quarter.

Some of Iowa’s first quarter woes could be contributed to C.J. Beathard getting his first career start after Jake Rudock sat out most of the week due to the leg injury he suffered against the Pittsburgh Panthers last week.

Purdue linebacker Sean Robinson committed a pass interference on Iowa’s first drive of the second half, giving the Hawkeyes their first first down of the game. Iowa also got on the board with a 2-yard run by Mark Weisman on that same drive.

Iowa’s offense showed up the second half, while Purdue’s defenders forgot how to tackle. The Hawkeyes scored 10 unanswered points in the second quarter, finishing with 136 total offensive yards for the half.

Purdue’s Rushing Game Running all over Iowa

Akeem Hunt and Keyante Green got all the carries in the first quarter. Hunt had four carries for 55 yards and Green had five carries for 18 yards. Raheem Mostert didn’t receive a carry in the first quarter.

The second quarter wasn’t too kind to the Purdue running game. Hunt gained 21 more yards and Green gained two. Thanks to Etling’s -24 rushing yards (all from sacks), the team finished with 67 total rushing yards at the half.

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Danny Etling Showing He’s Not the Answer at Quarterback for Purdue

I’ve been down on Etling this season, but jumped on the bandwagon after his performance last week. After watching the pitiful performance he put up in the first half, I think it’s time to move on to Austin Appleby. Etling took sack after sack that he could have avoided by either running away or throwing the ball away.

He then had a chance to somewhat redeem himself on a 3rd-and-3, but instead threw the ball at the feet of Danny Anthrop because the “slight” pressure around him appeared to get to him.

Etling finished the half 7-of-13 for 33 yards. Don’t think that’s going to get any better in the second half.

Purdue’s Selfie Helmets are Kind of Cool

If you missed it, the Boilermakers wore a “selfie” sticker on their helmets for today’s game. They took selfies of season ticket holders and put them in the inside of the “P”. While you can’t really tell there are tiny photos, it does make the “P” look like it’s camo, so it’s still pretty cool.