Penalties contribute to
Boiler loss against Michigan
By Greg Doddridge
Staff
Writer
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Purdue's football team
had 15 penalties that cost the team 105 yards in its 24-10 loss to Michigan
Saturday.
Purdue was penalized three times in its first drive
against Michigan and still managed to score its only touchdown of the
game. However, the Boilers were also penalized in seven of their 13
remaining drives and only managed to score a field goal.
Purdue coach Joe Tiller said he wasn't sure if
the penalties were the result of concentration problems.
"Well, if I knew, I would hand the guy who made
the penalty a grenade after I pulled the pin," said Tiller.
The offense accounted for 13 of those penalties
for 90 yards.
"I don't think, since I've been in coaching, that
I have ever seen that many offensive penalties by a football team,"
said Tiller.
Quarterback Brandon Hance said the penalties slowed
Purdue's momentum.
"You're starting to get on track, starting to move
the football and get a first down and getting really hyped up …
and the next thing you know, they're telling us to move the huddle back,"
said Hance.
Purdue (4-1, 2-1 Big Ten) was penalized in many
ways — twice for illegal formation (only lining six offensive players
on the line of scrimmage instead of the required seven), twice for delay
of game, four times for false start, once for an illegal block, twice
for holding, once for kick-catching interference and once for a personal
foul.
"It was just stupid mistakes, like jumping offsides
or not hearing the call," said right tackle Kelly Butler. "This is the
first time we have had a lot of mental mistakes."
Center Gene Mruczkowski echoed Butler's comments.
"It's not a learning thing," said Mruczkowski.
"We know what we are supposed to do and where we are supposed to be.
It's a mental thing. It's just, some of these guys that probably made
the mistakes, this is their first time in a really big game like this;
and I wouldn't say you expect it, but it's not out of the ordinary for
it to happen."
Butler said the penalties started to become a factor
after a while.
"We would go out there and play hard and get a
penalty," said Butler. "It wouldn't affect us — it just got tiring.
It got old after a while because we constantly kept on having that stuff.
We just got tired of it happening, but we tried to play through it."
Purdue had two drives in the first quarter and
one drive in the second quarter that resulted in either a first-and-15
or second-and-15 because of penalties.
"It makes it very hard to make play calls when
you're very predictable on offense," said Mruczkowski. "The defense
knows you are not going to run the ball, so the D line is pinning their
ears back and the defensive backs are sitting on the pass."
Hance ran five times and passed incomplete three
times during those three drives, which all ended with Purdue punts.
Tiller said he wasn't negative with the team at
halftime because of the penalties.
"But I was surprised that we came out and turned
around right in the third quarter and made some critical penalties,"
said Tiller.
Purdue was penalized twice during its first drive
of the third quarter for an illegal formation and holding.
Purdue's Chris James was called for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike
conduct penalty (for unnecessary roughness) after a 12-yard Montrell
Lowe run late in the third quarter. The run gave Purdue a first down,
but the penalty put the Boilers at their own 17-yard line. Travis Dorsch
later punted to end the drive.
Tiller said the personal foul was "totally inexcusable."
Butler said Purdue will watch a film of the game
with Michigan (5-1, 3-0), analyze what went wrong and start preparing
for the Northwestern Wildcats, who the Boilers play on Oct. 27.
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