Ryan Walters Emotional in Postgame Presser Following Purdue’s Loss to Michigan State

Purdue coach Ryan Walters struggled to contain his emotions following Friday night’s defeat to Michigan State. After the Boilermakers lost 24-17, dropping their record to 1-10 and missing yet another opportunity for victory, Walters cleared his throat and paused before responding to a question.

When asked why it was particularly hard to remain composed after this latest setback, he took a moment to gather his thoughts before replying.

“I don’t know a locker room in the country that would be 1-9, going down like we went down in the first half and continue to fight,” he said. “There’s no finger-pointing. They’ve still been practicing their tails off. They’ve still been showing up and going to work every day.”

Walters added, “If you have kids — I don’t know if you have any kids — when your kids work hard, you want them to have success. They’re working hard, man. It hurts.”

Purdue found itself in an early deficit, trailing 24-3 at halftime, and it seemed like the Spartans would easily claim victory while the Boilermakers would give in. However, the team returned from halftime with renewed determination, fighting back to narrow the score to 24-17 with just over 13 minutes left in the game.

“Going into halftime, it felt like the game was getting away from us and the guys in the locker room, it just didn’t seem like they flinched,” Walters recounted.

Despite having three more chances to tie the game, Purdue was unable to capitalize, suffering from a series of dropped passes, a struggling ground game, and a crucial interception on their final three possessions.

This marked the third time this season that Purdue had a shot at their first Big Ten victory but fell short, having also lost overtime contests to Northwestern and Illinois.

With only one game left on the schedule against No. 5 Indiana, Purdue sits at 1-10 and remains winless in conference play. While the blowout losses have been painful, nights like Friday have proven even harder for Walters and the team to endure. They have come close multiple times this season but have yet to overcome the final hurdle.