​Oct 31, 2026; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions defensive end Yvan Kemajou (19) sacks Purdue Boilermakers quarterback Ryan Browne (15) during the fourth quarter of the game at West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Quarterback*Starters in BoldRyan Browne: Snaps – 46 – Comp – 10/29 – Yds – 142 – Td – 1 – Int – 2 – Rushes – 3 – Yds – 7Grade: FGross. That was Ryan Browne’s worst game of the season by a wide margin. That looked more like the quarterback predicted to be the Big 10’s worst, not the one who looked like one of the biggest roster values in the nation earlier in the season.Purdue needs him to be a playmaker for this offense to work. When teams blitz, he needs to punish them, not encourage them. Browne may as well have worn a “please don’t blitz me” sign around his neck in this one because when Penn State brought the heat, he melted. According to PFF, Penn State blitzed him on 14 of his 29 passing attempts. Those 14 attempts yielded Purdue 2 completions for 9 yards and an interception. On the 15 attempts he wasn’t blitzed, he completed 8 passes for 133 yards, a touchdown, and a late game “throw it up and see what happens” interception.Part of the problem is that the running game is completely busted. Browne has played his best when the opposing defense had to worry about getting gashed by Purdue run game. When teams don’t have to worry about the run game, they can get more creative in their coverages and blitz schemes. That’s given Browne fits. He’s not seeing the blitzes, and he’s not identifying his hot routes. He’s trying to process everything after the snap and keeps running out of time. In theory, Purdue should have a couple of quality blitz-beating receivers in Townsend and Waseem who can beat press coverage early and turn short passes into long gains in man coverage. That can’t happen if Browne is surprised by the blitz on half his dropbacks. Part of playing quarterback is identifying the blitz and adjusting both the protection and receiver routes accordingly, before the snap. Quarterbacks need to do most of their thinking before the snap and react to what they see in the scant seconds before the pressure gets home. On Saturday, I saw a quarterback who was thinking with the ball in his hand instead of reacting. That’s the sign of a bad quarterback, or at least a quarterback who doesn’t have a solid understanding of what the defense is trying to do and the most efficient way to beat it.Defensive coordinators have plenty of tape on the offense now. If you can stop Purdue’s run game and make the offense one-dimensional, Ryan Browne will struggle to win the game with his arm. It’s up to Browne and offensive coordinator Josh Henson to adjust to the defensive adjustments. I haven’t seen that in the last two games.Running BackFame Ijeboi: Snaps – 38 – Rushes – 11