Ledman:

I basically had no expectations for this game. My expectations were blown away. The QB change due to Hudson Card’s injury led to Ryan Browne getting his first real minutes of the year and although he only had 9 passing yards in the first half, he not only showed in the second half that the game remained presentable, but also to put Purdue back in the lead with less than a minute left. Losing in OT is a killer, but I think it was the right decision to play with two and try to win the game.

It should be noted that Ryan Walters led both offense and defense in this game, which must give him some leeway with a number of fans. It wasn’t certain, but maybe Purdue uncovered something here. You can build on that. I’ve said over the last few games that I want to see this team fight. Tonight I saw that and more. That’s what we need.

Jed:

Well, given the last four weeks and the way the fire started in the second half, the second half was a surprise. I’m not sure I can properly put into context how different the Purdue team looked, especially after being down 24 points early in the second half.

A few things stand out:

Ryan Browne needs to be the starter going forward and it really shouldn’t be a competition. Card has struggled to get anything done offensively outside of Indiana State all year, and Browne posted 33 in the second half alone.

The defense looks much better when Jenkins is allowed to tackle the QB. If that means Purdue needs to go smaller at ILB and get faster at OLB with smaller guys, then so be it.

I’m not sure if this saves Ryan Walters, but it certainly keeps the dogs at bay for a week. This could definitely be some kind of “fight for life” and if it is an occurrence, the entire season so far will have to be used to make a decision…

Ryan:

First and foremost, choosing 2 was the right decision.
Second, Ryan Browne is Purdue’s QB next week no matter what.
Third, Ryan Walters really looks like he’s taking his career into his own hands by calling the offense. For now, this type of game is keeping him busy. He needs to show fight and make progress every week, but considering three of the next four games are Oregon, Ohio State and Penn State, progress could be hard to measure. Whatever the case, this second half explosion exceeded all of our collective expectations. I like this feeling.