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WEST LAFAYETTE – Joey Elliott couldn’t stop it.
On fourth down near midfield in the final minute of his last game at Ross-Ade Stadium, Michigan State blitzed, and Colin Neely got into the backfield untouched.
Elliott, Purdue’s fifth-year senior quarterback, was sacked.
From flat on his back, Elliott threw the ball in the air in frustration.
The play drew an unsportsmanlike penalty, not that Elliott noticed.
He walked dejectedly off the field, knowing not only did that final play cap a 40-37 gut-wrenching, late-fourth-quarter loss on Senior Day but also ended Purdue’s hopes of playing in the postseason.
“It was a very disappointing loss,” said a hoarse Elliott afterward.
Ditto for the rest of Purdue’s 20 seniors who played their final home game Saturday and suffered the double heartbreak.
“It was real tough, especially for our seniors,” said cornerback David Pender, one of the four seniors in the secondary. “We really wanted to come out, our last game here at Ross-Ade and keep our bowl dreams alive. Not being able to do it here in front of our home fans really hurts.”
There’s an extra sting because Purdue (4-7, 3-4 Big Ten) seemed to be in control, building a 34-23 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Besides a fumble-turned-touchdown on the game’s first play, Purdue’s offense was good. The Boilermakers had 524 yards, 28 first downs, held the ball for 40 minutes and 39 seconds and was 14 of 22 on third downs.
A quick glance at those statistics in the locker room after the game even had Elliott saying, “Wow, that really just happened?”
“It was kind of a shock,” said Elliott, who threw for a career-high 373 yards and two touchdowns. “O-line did a great job. Receivers did a great job. Our coordinator did a great job of calling the plays.
“Everything you wanted, just don’t have a ‘W.’ ”
That’s because Purdue was doomed by its other phases. The defense got burned for big plays, including a 73-yard touchdown pass that cut Purdue’s 11-point lead to 34-30 early in the fourth quarter.
Michigan State (6-5, 4-3) also blocked a field goal, and Keyshawn Martin’s 85-yard kickoff return with just over two minutes left set up Brett Swenson for the game-winning 21-yard field goal with 1:51 left.
“They didn’t have to earn their last drive or score, and that part is disappointing,” coach Danny Hope said.
Purdue had a chance to at least set up for the game-tying field goal, getting the ball back with 1:45 left and no timeouts.
The Boilermakers moved to midfield with 58 seconds left and then had two incomplete passes, a penalty and a short completion to set them up with fourth-and-6. Hope opted not to send Carson Wiggs out for a 64-yard attempt, though Wiggs said he was standing by on the sidelines ready.
On the final play, Elliott saw the blitz coming and tried to change the protection, but Elliott said running back Jaycen Taylor didn’t hear him.
And down went Elliott.
“(Making a bowl) was one of our goals,” Elliott said. “Coming off a 4-8 season last year, you never know what’s going to happen, but I think we put ourselves as a senior class in a great situation to let that happen. We didn’t go out there and get blown out.
“It’s a tough loss.”
