War In The Big Ten: Purdue Squanders Fourth Quarter Lead, Loses 35-31 To #12 Michigan State

Make no mistake, this was a choke by the Boilermakers. With a chance to shock the country and turn the Big Ten Standings on their ear Purdue blew its unlikely shot at a bowl game with poor coaching and execution. Michigan State twice picked off Rob Henry in the first quarter, the first setting up a critical touchdown with Purdue leading by 11 and the ball. Mark Dell caught a nine yard TD pass two plays later from Kirk Cousins and the pair hooked up for a two-point conversion to make it 31-28.

Purdue continued to be conservative, and it resulted in a blocked Cody Webster punt that set up Michigan State’s winning score. Henry managed to get Purdue to the MSU 22 with less than a minute to play, but was intercepted again.

This one hurts for Purdue, who led 28-13 going into the fourth quarter. Poor clock management by the coaching staff and conservative playcalling gave Michigan State way too much leeway. The Boilermakers now know they will not be bowling for a 3rd consecutive season thanks to a second straight game in which they blew a double digit 4th quarter lead against the Spartans.

The Boilermakers were ready to pull off a major upset, knocking off ranked Michigan State and severely crippling their chances of playing in the Rose Bowl. But Spartans quarterback Kirk Cousins had different ideas. Cousins threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarterback, including one with 4:38 left in the game to give the Spartans a 35-31 win.

Purdue quarterback Rob Henry is seemingly single-handedly crushing #1 Michigan State’s hopes to play in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Henry has tossed two touchdown passes in the second half, giving Purdue a 28-13 lead over #7 Michigan.