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'Basketball on grass' grounded

By CURT RALLO

Purdue quarterback Drew Brees had a hard time finding open receivers, attempting just 22 passes against Notre Dame last Saturday

Purdue wide receiver Vinny Sutherland never saw two critical plays last Saturday that helped seal Purdue's fate.

Sutherland never saw a pass coming his way on a fake punt in the third quarter on a fourth-and-23 from the Boilermaker 23. That botched play cost 13th-ranked Purdue three points thanks to an eventual field-goal by Nick Setta.

Then, with two seconds left in the game and Setta lining up for the field goal that would give No. 21 Notre Dame a 23-21 victory, Sutherland couldn't bear to look.

"Playing here, luck always falls their way," Sutherland said. "That (expletive) Leprechaun. All you can do is play your tail off in practice all week and beat the heck out of your next opponent."

Purdue's fans probably couldn't believe their eyes by what they saw from the Boilermaker offense.

Notre Dame quarterback Gary Godsey, a converted tight end filling in for injured Arnaz Battle, completed more passes (14) and had more passing attempts (25) than Drew Brees (13 completions, 22 attempts).

Purdue ran the ball 43 times for 207 yards, a shift from its pass-happy offensive strategy that vaulted Brees into the Heisman Trophy race.

What Purdue fans did see was their team lose its 12th consecutive game at Notre Dame Stadium, dating back to 1974. The Boilermakers are now 0-8 against ranked teams on the road in the coach Joe Tiller Era.

"You have to win on the road," Sutherland said. "You can't be a good team until you win on the road. That's what validates you."

Purdue fans weren't the only ones who couldn't believe the Boilermakers went from "basketball on grass" to three yards and a cloud of dust.

"I'm very surprised I only threw 22 times," Brees said. "That's probably a career low. We have to do what we have to do to win. Had we won this game, I would have said, 'Fine, I'll throw it 22 times every game if we win,' but we didn't win.

"I think had we thrown more we might have won, but maybe had we taken out those throwing plays on my part that weren't very smart then maybe we could have won as well," Brees added. "It's a matter of taking the play that's called and making the best of it."

Sutherland also wanted the pass in the offense more.

"They were taking away some short stuff," Sutherland said. "We should have thrown deep more, but that's my opinion. I'm greedy."

Purdue battled itself as much as it battled the Irish.

Numerous mistakes, including a blocked punt that set up a touchdown, an interception returned for a score, a bad snap to kill a drive, the botched fake punt and 10 penalties for 78 yards stalled the high-octane Boilermakers.

Even good numbers weren't as impressive as usual. Purdue was seven-of-14 on third-down conversions, but the Boilermakers, an astonishing 24-of-34 (71 percent) on third-down conversions entering the game, couldn't deliver in several key situations.

"You can't win when you have a blocked punt that goes for a touchdown, an interception that goes for a touchdown, a fumbled snap, a fake punt ... you do all those things and you can't expect to win," Brees said. "I've kind of come to learn, every game is determined by one or two plays. That was definitely the story of today. If you take (away) one of those bad things that happened, we win this game."

Neither Brees nor Sutherland felt Notre Dame had taken the game from Purdue, as much as the Boilermakers gave it to the Irish.

"I hate to go out like this against these guys," Brees said. "I can't really say they deserved it, but that's all right. We'll live to play another day. We can still control our destiny. We'll be fine."

Sutherland also had reservations about the game.

"I just wish we had a couple of more plays back this game," Sutherland said. "I'm not going to be able to sleep night."