Offensive problems lead to Purdue loss

By Paul Trembacki
Sports Editor

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Two strong forces met on Saturday —the nation's No. 4 pass offense and the nation's No. 2 pass defense.

And because the former faltered and the latter excelled, the Michigan State Spartans, possessors of the latter, earned a 30-10 win.

The Spartans (5-5, 2-5 Big Ten) held Purdue (7-3, 5-2) to 279 passing yards and intercepted Purdue quarterback Drew Brees three times.

"Give credit to their defense," said Brees. "They had a very good defense. They're not leading the Big Ten in total defense or second in the nation in pass defense for nothing."

Purdue came into the game averaging 327 yards per game but struggled early and managed just 106 yards passing and three points in the first half.

"It just didn't seem like we were in a routine today," said Brees, who completed 26 of 43 passes for 279 yards, three interceptions and a touchdown.

Vinny Sutherland, who had Purdue's only touchdown on a 68-yard reception from Brees in the third quarter, said the problem wasn't just Purdue's offense. Michigan State's defensive backs wouldn't allow the Boiler receivers to get open.

"They get scholarships too, you know," Sutherland said. "I think that their corners are the best players on their team."

Spartan cornerbacks Renaldo Hill and DeMario Suggs, who had one interception each, combined for 13 tackles and kept Purdue's wide receivers from running for long gains after the catch. But that was when they allowed the receivers to make a catch, which wasn't often.

Sutherland came into the game averaging nearly seven catches per game but had just four catches. The other starting wide receiver, John Standeford, who averaged more than five catches per game through the first nine contests, had just four catches and dropped several crucial passes in the loss.

The 20-point loss, which snapped Purdue's four-game winning streak, was Purdue's worst defeat since a 38-12 loss to Michigan Oct. 2, 1999. The total of 10 points was Purdue's lowest since 1996, the last year before Purdue coach Joe Tiller took over the program.

To limit Purdue offensively, Michigan State stuck to its basic game plan.

"What were they doing defensively? Nothing that they haven't been doing," Tiller said. "They did a good job of playing man coverage and I think that we panicked in the passing game several times."

Tiller said Purdue open receivers rarely got a chance to catch the ball. This was frustrating, said Tiller, because the Boilers concentrated on throwing the ball for two straight weeks leading up to the game.

Hurried, poor decisions by Brees, combined with miscommunication between the quarterback and his receivers, led to three interceptions, six broken-up passes and seven dropped passes, many of which came at crucial moments.

The Boilers, who came into the game converting 58 percent of their third downs, faced third down 12 times and came up with just three first downs. Five of the nine failed conversions were because of dropped or incomplete passes. The other four conversion attempts failed because passes were completed but they weren't long enough gains.

Despite their offensive struggles, Purdue stayed in the game.

After Sutherland's touchdown made the score 15-10, Purdue got the ball back and one had a sense that the momentum was about to shift Purdue's way, especially because of Purdue's recent history with Michigan State.

In 1997, Purdue was down 21-10 late in the game but came back to win 22-21. In 1998, the Boilers were down by 11 late in the game and came back to win 25-24.

However, Purdue's chances at a comeback ended when Brees threw his second interception of the game on the last play of the third quarter.

Michigan State took the ball to start the fourth quarter and scored to make it 23-10. Then after Purdue ran three plays before having to punt, Michigan State put the game away when tailback Little John Flowers lost his shoe but still ran 48 yards for a touchdown to end the scoring.

On the ensuing possession, Brees threw his third and final interception of the game to seal the loss.

The loss caused the Boilers to drop from No. 9 to No. 17 in both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN polls. However, with Northwestern's 27-17 loss to Iowa Saturday, the Boilers can still earn a trip to the Rose Bowl for the first time in 34 years if they beat Indiana this week at home.

The Boilers and Hoosiers (3-7, 2-5) battle for the Old Oaken Bucket at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in Ross-Ade Stadium.

Offensive problems lead to Purdue loss

Boilermaker defense falters in MSU game

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Guard's efforts lead Boilers to win

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Sports editor: Paul Trembacki

Assistant sports editors: Anne McLaren, Keith Thomas

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