Purdue’s first Big Ten test arrives under the lights Saturday night, and the Boilermakers won’t get any easing-in period. They head to Pasadena for an 11 p.m. ET kickoff against UCLA, carrying the sting of a 38-36 double-overtime loss to Wake Forest into a matchup with a Bruins team that is 2-0 under new head coach Bob Chesney.
That loss last week is the obvious emotional backdrop here. Purdue let one get away, and now the question is simple: does that frustration fuel a sharper response, or does it hang around into conference play?
This is the first real look at how this group handles adversity, even if many of the players weren’t part of last year’s 2-10 team. There is at least a recent cautionary tale - Purdue dropped a game it should have won at Minnesota last season, then followed it with a blanking against Northwestern the next week.
One place the Boilermakers have clearly done enough so far is inside the 20. Purdue has gone 13-for-13 in red-zone trips, scoring eight touchdowns and five field goals.
That sounds clean on the surface, but there’s still plenty to clean up. Two of those touchdowns came in overtime against Wake Forest, and before that the Boilers had settled for field goals on five red-zone chances.
Against Big Ten competition, those drives need to finish with more trips to the end zone.
That was part of the conversation after the Wake Forest loss, too. Offensive coordinator Josh Henson said he would have liked to let quarterback Ryan Browne take another shot at the end zone at the end of regulation if given the chance to do it over. That makes Saturday night worth watching once Purdue gets deep into UCLA territory: does the offense stay conservative, or does it attack more aggressively?
The Bruins bring a very different challenge on the other side of the ball. Their calling card through two games has been the run game, with Wayne Knight and Anthony Woods leading a rushing attack that ranks second in the Big Ten at 245.5 yards per game. UCLA’s 10 rushing touchdowns are tied for the most in the country, and quarterback Nico Iamaleava adds another layer because he can hurt defenses with his legs, too.
That puts a lot on Purdue’s defensive front. The Boilermakers have had trouble containing that kind of threat through the first two games, so getting a real push up front becomes a priority. If Purdue can’t limit UCLA on the ground or keep Iamaleava from scrambling for chunk plays, the Bruins’ offense has a chance to dictate the night.
UCLA has also already shown it can finish. In Week 1, Chesney’s team was tied 24-24 with Cal after three quarters before ripping off a 21-0 fourth quarter to win.
Last week against San Diego State, the Bruins carried a 7-0 lead into the final period, then outscored the Aztecs 21-10 over the last 15 minutes to win 28-10. Two games is a small sample, but the Bruins have already proven they can close.
Purdue will need all 60 minutes if it wants to leave Rose Bowl Stadium with a win.
And then there’s the penalty issue, which has already shown up for both teams. Purdue was flagged eight times for 50 yards against Wake Forest, and while that number doesn’t jump off the page, a few of those calls came at the worst possible moments and stalled drives. The Boilermakers can’t afford that again, especially if holding wipes out explosive plays or false starts show up inside the red zone.
UCLA has its own discipline problem. The Bruins are the most penalized team in the Big Ten, averaging 10 penalties and 90 yards per game. So while both teams have plenty to prove in different areas, the cleanest team may end up with the edge in a late-night Big Ten opener that already has a lot of moving parts.
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