The Spartans got thoroughly beaten Saturday at Purdue as the Boilermakers’ passing attacked picked apart the MSU secondary in a 40-29 victory.
West Lafayette, Ind. — Everything Mel Tucker harped on this week apparently fell on deaf ears. Seven days after Michigan State rallied to beat Michigan at home in a top-10 battle and days after being ranked No.3 in the first set of College Football Playoff rankings, the Spartans got thoroughly beaten Saturday at Purdue as the Boilermakers’ passing attacked picked apart the MSU secondary and Purdue took advantage of multiple Spartans mistakes on its way to a 40-29 victory at Ross-Ade Stadium. An early fumble from Kenneth Walker III, two third-quarter personal fouls and a pass defense that offered little to no resistance all played a huge role in Michigan State’s first loss of the season. Purdue quarterback Aidan O’Connell threw for 536 yards and three touchdowns while David Bell had 11 catches for 217 yards and a touchdown as the Boilermakers (6-3,4-2 Big Ten) piled up 594 total yards. O’Connell was the first player to throw for more than 500 yards against Michigan State since Bryce Petty went for 550 for Baylor in the 2015 Cotton Bowl. Michigan State (8-1,5-1), meanwhile, could never find a rhythm on offense. Walker finished with 146 yards on 23 carries with one touchdown, but the Spartans missed wide receiver Jalen Nailor and left tackle Jarrett Horst.
