With Purdue’s starting quarterback, Ryan Browne, being doubtful against Rutgers with a shoulder injury, I have focused a lot of this week’s film room/matchup analysis on Malachi Singleton, his tendencies, and on Purdue’s defense. In addition, I decided to spend more time than usual on Rutgers itself, with the team making some changes on defense to hopefully fix their season-long woes that led to their horrific showing against the Ducks.
If Rutgers fans thought they were done seeing ultra-mobile quarterbacks this season, they should think again, because the first thing that pops out about Singleton is his speed and mobility. Although he was backing up Ryan Browne in this game, Singleton’s legs provided the spark Purdue needed on a fourth down to get the scoring going against the Golden Gophers.
Singleton takes the snap on the quarterback draw and bursts through the middle for a 40-yard rushing touchdown. The Scarlet Knights have struggled with quarterback runs all season, and what impresses me most here is that Minnesota did not “give” him those yards by leaving them available for him. They had defenders in the area, and Singleton used his speed and strength to get past them for the score. Rutgers will need to make sure it schemes for quarterback runs, because oftentimes, they do not even do what the Gophers just did on that play.
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With Ryan Browne being sidelined early in the third quarter against the Wildcats, Malachi Singleton was thrust into second-half action for the Boilers. He completed 11 of 20 passes for 187 yards and threw one interception, which was a result of heavy pressure from the Wildcats’ defensive line.
That was not the only time that pressure forced a bad decision by Singleton, as the Arkansas transfer lost a fumble due to the Wildcats’ front getting to him. On this play, the ball is jarred loose and takes a couple of bounces before landing in the hands of defensive lineman Brendan Flakes. Rutgers will need to pressure Singleton into mistakes if it wants to win this game, as the inexperienced quarterback is turnover-prone.
Odom also discussed getting third-string quarterback Bennett Meredith some game reps against Rutgers, who will play as the backup quarterback behind Singleton in this game. If Browne is somehow able to go, he is also a mobile quarterback, but is more of a physical runner than the pure speed that Singleton can provide.
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Despite Purdue outgaining Northwestern through the air by nearly 100 yards, the Wildcats dominated the line of scrimmage with 232 rushing yards against Purdue’s shaky defensive front. However, the Boilermakers were able to get some takeaways of their own, even though they were unable to capitalize on either of them.
This play is reminiscent of Rutgers’ early forced fumble against the Ducks, with Hershey McLaurin jarring the football loose with a hit on Northwestern’s running back. The football is picked up out of the air by Alex Sanford. With Antwan Raymond losing a fumble against the Ducks, ball security will be paramount against this defense.
Purdue created another late turnover on this interception, in which Smiley Bradford comes up with his first career pick. NU quarterback Preston Stone makes a horrible decision here, throwing the ball into harm’s way with Bradford sitting on the route for an easy interception.
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Athan Kaliakmanis has had several passes thrown in the vicinity of defenders in recent weeks, including one against the Ducks that was intercepted, so he needs to be careful not to make throws like this that could end up resulting in points for Purdue.
However, the biggest X-factor for this week lies internally. The Scarlet Knights have had one of the worst defenses in all of FBS football, and are on pace for the worst defense in Big Ten play since Illinois in 2018. Mike Broadbent of The Knight Report podcast highlighted all the statistics that show just how poor this defense is.
Greg Schiano discussed the changes that the team has made, saying that “We’ve made some changes in a lot of ways, right? In personnel on the field, personnel off the field, adjusting responsibilities. Guys doing some different things, doing them differently.”
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Players are taking well to the changes so far, with Jordan Thompson saying during practice, “’I mean, so far, it’s been great. We’re just listening (to) all the coaches as much as always. Coaches in different roles, but like, really, just listening to everyone trying to execute better and better. We’re trying to…we emphasize every day (to) get better incrementally better. And I feel like we’ve done that today.”
I know those might just be statements, but for a team that has been too stubborn in its ways, the fact that they have made defensive changes is promising. Although no official changes, such as firings, have taken place (those would have been disclosed), it is unclear whether Robb Smith will still be calling defensive plays this week or whether those duties have shifted to Zach Sparber or even Greg Schiano himself. Schiano neglected to go into specifics at his press conference as he wanted to maintain a competitive advantage.
Thompson continued, ”I can tell this past two days of practice, like the energy, just the energy alone, has just risen a lot. We’re all having fun out there. We’re getting better every single step. So (what) I can tell is that the change is already helping us.”
Another important thing to keep tabs on is the status of Ian Strong. The star wide receiver caught just one pass for six yards in Saturday’s loss before leaving the game with an upper-body injury in the second half. Although it looked like Strong was banged up and should be available for the next game, his status and health will be crucial in Rutgers’ chances for a victory.
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The Rutgers offense has looked very good against the non-conference slate and has been pretty solid at times against the first three Big Ten teams, although it sputtered in the second half. It was surprising to many that Oregon’s defensive line completely overwhelmed the Scarlet Knights’ offensive line to the point that Kaliakmanis barely had any time to throw and had by far his worst game of the season. However, Purdue’s defense is nowhere close to Oregon, and Rutgers should be able to rebound offensively.
In a “matchup game” where both teams are roughly equal in talent and ability, it will be a battle of wills. Can Purdue bounce back after getting shut out with Malachi Singleton leading the offense, or can the Rutgers defense pressure him into mistakes? If it becomes an offensive shootout, which is most likely going to happen, can the defense hold up enough to give the offense a chance at the win? And can Kaliakmanis and the offense bounce back from getting smothered by a superior Ducks defense to win the game?
If Rutgers has really made changes on defense and can get back to their usual level of play on offense, then there is no reason that they cannot win this game. However, those are all big ifs. Should the Scarlet Knights blow their chances against the Boilermakers, the narrow path to bowl eligibility will be completely off the table.
It is up to Rutgers to make sure that does not happen against a similar opponent in a similar situation to the Knights. Purdue also has not won a conference game yet, with its last win coming against Southern Illinois in Week 2. Program pride and the slim chances for a meaningful November will hang in the balance when the two teams meet in West Lafayette for the first time since 2020.
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