Purdue Football: 3 takeaways from road win against Maryland

2. The little things matter.

Maryland is talented at the offensive skill positions. The Terrapins have one of the country’s most talented wide receiver rooms. Penalties, however, have been an issue for the Terrapins all season. Even in wins, the Terps have committed a lot of penalties. For example, Maryland committed 15 penalties in its win against SMU.

The Terrapins committed nine penalties in this game. Many penalties put the Terrapins far behind the chains or gave Purdue one more down. Purdue took the lead late in the fourth quarter, and Maryland answered. The Terrapins needed a two-point conversion to tie the game and committed an illegal man downfield penalty that backed them up to the eight-yard line, negating the conversion.

Maryland needed the two-point conversion because the extra point was blocked on its previous possession. A flag was thrown, and it appeared that Purdue safety Cam Allen was offsides, but the penalty was an illegal forward pass. Games like this are challenging because the referees have a more significant influence over the game than they should have.

That said, when Terps head coach Mike Locksley looks at the film, not capitalizing on three Purdue turnovers is just as big a story.