Boilermaker fans ride rollercoaster of emotion watching Big Ten Championship game

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Fans at DT Kirby’s went through a rollercoaster of emotion Saturday night as they watched the Purdue Boilermakers face off against the Michigan Wolverines match in hopes of becoming the champions of the Big Ten Conference.

It all started from the opening drive after Michigan was able to successfully contain the Boilermakers from moving out of their opening 10 yards.

Fans could be heard murmuring amongst themselves, questioning if Purdue even had a chance to compete against the Wolverines.

But those concerns quickly disappeared after the Boilermakers scored their first touchdown during the first quarter. The place lit up in cheers, as strangers began high-fiving each other in excitement after the Boilermakers reassured fans that they were there to fight.

Big Ten football:Second-half blitz carries No. 2 Michigan past Purdue football to claim Big Ten title

All week media outlets predicted that this would be an easy game for Michigan to win.

Going into it, the Boilermakers knew that they were the underdogs of the night, and that first touchdown showed fans that the Boilermakers were going to fight to bring home that trophy.

In the first half of the game, fans could be heard cheering the names of Purdue University quarterback Aidan O’Connell, runningback Devin Mockobee and wide receiver Charlie Jones after every successful play.

The first half of the game was a back-and-forth match between the Boilermakers and the Wolverines, and the fans at Kirby’s were loving it.

Purdue football:Building on championship experience at Big Ten title game should fuel program

By the end of the second quarter, the Boilermakers found themselves only falling behind by one point to the Wolverines, 14-13. Someone made sure to highlight that it was the closest point difference in the history of the Big Ten championship after the score posted onscreen.

But as joyful fans were celebrating all over the bar, there were some fans that began to leave Kirby’s as halftime started. Some were taking halftime as an opportunity to head home and finish watching the game in their living rooms. But there were others who were leaving because they felt like they knew how the game was going to end.

“Wait until the fourth quarter. If Purdue isn’t ahead before the half, they don’t win,” said one fan, as she paid out her tab once it became halftime. “Purdue’s good, but they don’t win when they’re behind. They’ve lost all four games they’ve been behind.”

As she left Kirby’s, others overheard her comments but dismissed them as unnecessary negativity. As the night went on, perhaps her words should’ve been taken as an omen for how the night would eventually end.

As the third quarter started, Michigan received the ball, and immediately turned it into the first touchdown of the second half.

Fans were screaming at the TVs after Donovan Edwards, running back for Michigan, ran the ball 60 yards and set it at the 1-yard line, which allowed linebacker Kalel Mullings to score a touchdown.

But perhaps the moment that best exemplified the ebb and flow of the night was illustrated by a moment in the third quarter.

Mockobee had faked a pass-off back to O’Connell, which confused Michigan’s defense. This opened a pathway for him to run for a first down. Seconds later, fans were horrified when Michigan defensive back Will Johnson caught an interception. The catch would have put the Boilermakers into the end zone.

In that brief window of time, the crowd at Kirby’s went from screaming Mockebee’s name at the top of their lungs, to screaming in agony and disbelief – all within the span of 30 seconds.

After the initial moment of shock subsided, fans gathered themselves and reassured one another that the Boilermakers were still in this game.

The Boilermakers may have fallen behind, but it was only by one touchdown.

But all of the confidence that fans had gathered amongst each other left the building after Michigan scored its second touchdown in the third quarter.

The Boilermakers found themselves trailing 28-13. .

The once-boiling energy that filled Kirby’s could be felt dissipating from the room, similar to a kettle that’s been taken off the burner.

Fans could be seen accepting the fact that Purdue might lose to Michigan.

Moments that would have once garnered cheers for the Boilermakers were met with silence or soft and quiet claps.

By the end of the third, the Boilermakers were able to score a field goal, bringing the score to 28-16.

Come the fourth quarter, the Boilermakers scored another field goal, bringing them nearly a touchdown away from Michigan.

The energy in the room could be felt returning, as people started talking to one another again.

That was the case until Johnson caught another interception, the final straw for some fans at Kirby’s.

The Wolverines turned that interception into a touchdown.

“F***!”, screamed one fan after Michigan had scored the fifth Wolverine touchdown of the game. He could then be heard screaming, “Of course, he gets it,” referring to the two-point conversion the Wolverines scored on the Boilermakers.

By the end of the night, the Wolverines would end up running away with the game in the fourth quarter, finishing the match 43-22.

Fans were devastated by the last quarter. Many just stared at the TV, and some took their emotions out on others. But one fan helped alter the mood of the night when he yelled, “We at least did better than Ohio State.”

Although his heart was in the right place, the Boilermakers did not do better than Ohio State. Ohio State lost to Michigan 45-23, while Purdue lost to Michigan 43-22.

Ultimately, that comment helped lift the moods of the fans at Kirby’s. In the end, fans expressed their joy that the Boilermakers had even managed to make it to the championship game, and that they had one heck of a first half.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue fans ride emotional rollercoaster watching Big Ten championship