Purdue loses to Indiana on last-minute touchdown by Diamont
By BROCK SANDERS
ISL Correspondent
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Purdue’s season finale pretty much summarized what we have seen from the Boilers all year.
Purdue never trailed until the time when it mattered the most. With 27 seconds left, Indiana quarterback Zander Diamont rushed for a touchdown that gave the Hoosiers a 23-16 win and the Old Oaken Bucket.
“It hurts, definitely,” senior tight end and captain Justin Sinz said. “It’s certainly not what we had in mind for this game or for this season, but we’re going out with no regrets.”
There may be no regrets, but there is no excuse for the offense and the play of sophomore quarterback Austin Appleby. You can never blame the game on one person, but if Appleby wouldn’t have thrown the three interceptions or passed for just 123 yards without a touchdown, Purdue would have been in a better position to win this game.
“We had a lot of opportunities,” Appleby said. “We have to do a better job of taking advantage of the first and second downs so it doesn’t force us into those third down situations.”
A bright spot for the Purdue offense today was Akeem Hunt, who closed out his senior year with 171 yards rushing and a touchdown, including an 82-yard score. He was injured late in the third quarter and appeared to be going through concussion protocols on the sideline. He did briefly return to the game, but was then held out the remainder of the game because of his symptoms.
Hunt finished his senior season at Purdue with 778 yards rushing and five touchdowns.
“He’s done a really nice job this year,” Purdue coach Darrell Hazell said. “It was just a complete 180 from where he was last year.”
The only other positive for the Boilers today was the defensive effort put forth by the whole team. They held Heisman Trophy candidate Tevin Coleman to 130 yards on 29 carries for a average of 4.5 yards per carry. That may sound like a lot, but Coleman was held well below his season average of 7.9 yards per carry. The Boilers’ defense also completed a shutout in the first half, and really did all they could to stop the somewhat ground-heavy attack the Hoosiers threw at them until the second half.
We could see that theme all year where Purdue just couldn’t put a complete game together. They had some spurts here and there, both on offense and defense, which showed that they could be a legitimate contender with the best teams in the Big Ten, but there were also some moments that showed why they finished the year 3-9. Believe it or not, Purdue’s football program is going in the right direction. While you can’t ignore the record, fans should feel good that this season showed so many positives.
When asked to sum up the season and looking into next year, Hazell was optimistic.
“The best part was seeing these guys come together,” he said. “You can see the growth as these guys come along. I’m really excited to see what next season holds.”
