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Spartans Snap Boilermakers' Win Streak

Casey Abbett
/
WBAA

They say you are only as good as your last game. And if that were the case, many people would have assumed that Purdue would have been the favorite in Saturday's football matchup against Michigan State.

However, the team that thrashed then#2 Ohio State last week was a far cry from the team that took the field in East Lansing. Instead, the Boilermakers looked more like the team that started the year with three straight losses, and never led in a 23-13 letdown.

Perhaps the biggest reason for this was the fact that freshman wide receiver Rondale Moore was somewhat limited by the Spartan defense. He recorded 11 catches, but for only 74 receiving yards and no touchdowns. Thats a far cry from the 170-yard, 2 TD performance versus OSU. This is the first time all season that he has been held to so few yards. 

The MSU Defense keyed in on Moore the entire game and never let him see any open field. In doing so they halted an offense that was averaging 41 points per game and more than 500 yards of total offense. Purdue was held to less than 400 yards of totall offense and only scored 13 points.

Senior quarterback David Blough must also shoulder much of the blame for the lack of offense. He threw for just 277 yards and had 3 interceptions, including on the first drive of the game.

Michigan State backup QB and true freshman Rocky Lombardi made his first career start against Purdue and had a memorable day. He totaled 318 yards and two TDs.

Purdue drops to 4-4 on the season and plays 18th-ranked Iowa next Saturday back home in West Lafayette.

Casey Abbett is a senior at Purdue from LaCrosse, Indiana, and has been been interning as a sports reporter for WBAA since his freshman year.