Purdue's defensive renaissance continues with dominant performance at Missouri

COLUMBIA, Missouri — Purdue sophomore Navon Mosley saw the collision coming, but like a motorist idling at an intersection, couldn't look away.

Needing to convert a third-and-12 on the second Missouri possession Saturday, quarterback Drew Lock looked over the middle for receiver Emanuel Hall.

The ball arrived at the same time as linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley, whose emphatic body shot jarred loose a punt-inducing incompletion and sent Hall out of the game for the rest of the day.

"I'm back at safety and I'm like — 'Oh my God,' " Mosley said, wincing and flinching for emphasis.

"Stuff like that is how we want to set the tone. We want to be dominant this year."

For one afternoon, they were. Purdue's defense made a long-awaited statement in a 35-3 victory over Missouri at Faurot Field. For the first time since 1997, the Boilermakers went on the road and didn't allow a touchdown.

The Boilermakers completely stifled Missouri's up-tempo offense. Through three quarters Purdue had allowed six first downs and 120 yards. The Tigers had converted 1 of 8 third-down tries and never provided relief for its own defense, left to roast in the 90-degree heat against an efficient offense.

When a Missouri player finally touched the ball in the end zone in the fourth quarter, backup cornerback Kamal Hardy ripped it out of receiver J'Mon Moore's hands and raced off in the opposite direction.

"I thought it was a dominant defensive effort from the beginning to the end," Purdue coach Jeff Brohm said. "Even the plays they made, we challenged them all. We made them earn it. Our guys knew exactly what we were doing and they executed it."

The Boilermakers needed to contain a potentially potent Missouri rushing attack without being torched by quarterback Drew Lock and his flock of big-play receiving targets.

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Purdue hasn't consistently answered that first challenge in years. Perpetually ranking among the Big Ten Conference's worst run defenses, the Boilermakers believed talent and experience would finally converge in the front seven this season. 

Saturday provided more evidence that, perhaps, it has. Missouri managed only 2.9 yards per carry on its 24 rushing attempts. It averaged more than double that against Missouri State and South Carolina.

"We're trusting what we're being taught, we're trusting what we're being coached, we're buying in to what they're selling us, and we're just flying around 100 percent," Mosley said. "... We're understanding what's needed to win games."

With no ground support, Lock's mostly horizontal passing game never found a rhythm. Purdue never sacked him, but kept up enough pressure to leave the junior 12 of 28 for 133 yards.

Missouri only reached Purdue territory in the first half — with 20 seconds to play before halftime — thanks to an interception by its own defense.

While Purdue's front seven inspired some confidence before the season, many remained skeptical of the secondary. Without safety T.J. Jallow due to injury on Saturday, the Boilermakers expected a major test from Missouri's passing game.

After the game, Brohm smiled while confirming they had passed it. Mosley said the defensive backs felt challenged to prove the coaches could count on them.

"I trust those guys behind me," said linebacker Markus Bailey, whose interception on the opening drive of the second half was the fifth of his career and Purdue's first of the season. "I'm happy with the players we have on the field."

One year ago, Purdue's defense suffered the indignity of an obliteration at Maryland, a homecoming horror show against Iowa and three other games in which it allowed 45 or more points.

However, despite six returning starters, the current defense bears little resemblance to its predecessor. There's the influx of talent: Jallow, cornerback Josh Okonye and linebacker T.J. McCollum chief among them.

Yet its the addition of defensive coordinator Nick Holt that defensive tackle Gelen Robinson said has elevated that phase of the program. Holt's philosophy established Purdue's swarming, feeding frenzy approach.

"I don't think I've been around a coach like him before," said Robinson, who moved to the interior from defensive end this season. "He's taken us to a different level."

Bigger tests loom, beginning with homecoming opponent Michigan in the Big Ten opener. McCollum and starting cornerback Da'Wan Hunte didn't finish Saturday's game due to injury. Both are crucial to maintaining the momentum the defense has established.

Both Robinson and Bailey smiled when asked about that Bentley play from the first quarter. It resonated throughout the most complete performance the defense has summoned in years.

"Coach Holt stresses it — any time a big play happens, you'd better get excited and you'd better go tap the hat of whoever made the play," Robinson said. "That momentum is what the defense feeds off of. A big play leads to another big play."