Purdue football loses to Fresno State in Ryan Walters' head coaching debut (2024)

Evan FrankIndianapolis Star

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A new era begins today for Purdue football.

First-year head coach Ryan Walters will look to start his time with the Boilermakers with a win against Fresno State. The last Purdue coach to start his Boilermaker career with a win was Danny Hope, whose team beat Toledo in 2009.

Purdue's honorary captain today is Mike Alstott, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers standout who rushed for 3,365 yards and scored 42 touchdowns during his time in West Lafayette in the 1990s.

There will be plenty of new faces suited up for the Boilermakers. Seventeen players on the depth chart for today's game joined Purdue in the offseason from the transfer portal.

Final: Fresno State 39, Purdue 35

Purdue led 28-17 at one point but Fresno State turned it on in the second half. Hudson Card threw for 254 yards (17 for 30) and 2 touchdowns. Deion Burks caught 4 passes for 152 yards and 2 touchdowns.

The running game was less successful. Devin Mockobee ran for 60 yards on 16 carries and a score, but in total the team had 110 yards on the ground.

:31 left 4Q: Fresno State stops Purdue on 4th down

Ryan Walters will start his Purdue career off with a loss. The Boilermakers couldn't convert on 4th down and Fresno State will exit this one with a win.

:59 left 4Q: Fresno State takes back the lead

Uh oh. Fresno State's Mikey Keene found Erik Brooks for a 22-yard touchdown. Less than a minute left for Purdue.

Fresno State 39, Purdue 35

1:04 left 4Q: Fresno State drives into Purdue territory

Fresno State is in Purdue territory at the 22-yard line. OC Brothers was down on the field for a moment but walked off on his own.

4:36 left 4Q: Purdue takes back the lead with a Devin Mockobee touchdown

After the interception, the Purdue offense needed just 2 plays to score. Devin Mockobee ran in an 11-yard touchdown. It was set up by a 44-yard pass from Hudson Card to Deion Burks.

Purdue 35, Fresno State 32

5:17 left 4Q: Dillon Thieneman gives Purdue life with an interception

Fresno State quarterback Mikey Keene threw up a high-arching pass toward the left sideline. Purdue's Dillon Thieneman made an impressive catch that was initially called an incompletion. After a review, the call was reversed.

Purdue takes over at its own 45.

8:13 left 4Q: Purdue gets stuffed on 4th and goal

The Boilermakers had 1st and goal at one point from Fresno State's 9-yard line, but could not generate any points. Devin Mockobee tried several times to score but was stopped each time, including a 4th and goal attempt from the 1.

13:44 left 4Q: Fresno State takes its first lead of the game

From 1-yard out, Malik Sherrod took a pitch and lost his footing for a moment. Sherrod regrouped quickly and found the endzone to give Fresno State its first lead.

Fresno State 32, Purdue 28

End 3Q: Purdue 28, Fresno State 25

Fresno State isn't going away. The Purdue defense will have its hands full to start the fourth quarter.

Elijah Gilliam ran 17 yards to the Boilermaker 3-yard line to end the third quarter.

6:44 left 3Q: Fresno State gets back in it with a touchdown

Mikey Keene, the Fresno State quarterback who exited the game late in the first half, is back. Keene tossed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jaelen Gill. Fresno State then successfully converted the 2-point attempt when Keene found Jalen Moss in the endzone.

Purdue 28, Fresno State 25

10:43 left 3Q: Purdue misses field goal

Boilermaker kicker Ben Freehill had a chance to extend Purdue's lead, but his 43-yard field goal attempt went wide right.

14:49 left 3Q: Tyrone Tracy Jr. returns kickoff for a touchdown

Purdue's Tyrone Tracy Jr. found the endzone again. This time, it was in exciting fashion.

Tracy returned a kickoff for 98 yards to start the second half. He tip-toed the left sideline for a bit for an impressive start. It marks the first time in 10 years that the Boilermakers returned a kick for a score.

Purdue 28, Fresno State 17

Halftime: Purdue 21, Fresno State 17

Fresno State kicker Dylan Lynch booted a 52-yard field goal to end the half. Earlier he missed one from 21 yards.

Hudson Card completed 8 of 13 passes for 153 yards and 2 touchdowns. Deion Burks' two receptions resulted in touchdowns.

Markevious Brown leads the Boilermaker defense with 8 total tackles. OC Brothers and Kydran Jenkins each have sacks for Purdue.

Fresno State quarterback Mikey Keene was pressured late in the first half and was down on the field for a period of time after being hit hard by a couple of Purdue defenders. Backup quarterback Logan Fife came in for Fresno State to end the half.

:57 left 2Q: Fresno State misses a field goal

A long Fresno State drive ended in a missed 21-yard field goal. Kicker Dylan Lynch couldn't convert after the drive lasted 17 plays for 72 yards (8 minutes, 8 seconds).

9:05 left 2Q: Purdue's Deion Burks scores again

Deion Burks and Hudson Card do it again. This time around, Card tossed a 17-yard score to Burks. The receiver has 2 catches for 101 yards.

Purdue 21, Fresno State 14

12:29 left 2Q: Fresno State evens the score once again

We're tied up again after Mikey Keene connected with Jalen Moss for an 8-yard touchdown pass.

Purdue 14, Fresno State 14.

14:57 left 2Q: Purdue's Tyrone Tracy Jr. breaks through

Purdue's Tyrone Tracy Jr. had to work for it, but the senior running back scored on a 1-yard touchdown run on 3rd and goal to give the Boilermakers a lead.

Purdue 14, Fresno State 7

End 1Q: Purdue 7, Fresno State 7

The Boilermaker offense is knocking on the door again and is close to scoring. For the past few plays, Fresno State has stopped Purdue from getting in the endzone from the 1-yard line.

7:26 left 1Q: Fresno State strikes back with Erik Brooks touchdown

We're even after Mikey Keene threw a 29-yard touchdown to Erik Brooks. The drive lasted 6 plays and 55 yards.

Purdue 7, Fresno State 7

Get to know Purdue quarterback Hudson Card

Hudson Card is the redshirt junior starting quarterback for Purdue football after transferring from Texas.

Card played three seasons at Texas, appearing in 21 games, completing 65.5% of his passes for 1,523 yards, 11 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

In 2022, Card filled in for injured starter Qwinn Ewers for four games. In his first start, Card completed 14-of-22 passes for 158 yards in a narrow loss to Alabama. His best start was also his last, going 21-of-27 for 303 yards and 3 touchdowns on Oct. 1 in a win over West Virginia. He threw one pass the rest of the season.

11:40 left 1Q: Purdue starts things off with a bang

What a way to start the Ryan Walters era off. Hudson Card tossed a short pass to receiver Deion Burks, who broke away from several defenders for an 84-yard touchdown. The drive lasted 3 plays and 92 yards.

Purdue 7, Fresno State 0