FORT WAYNE – Landon Feichter had a career-high 12 tackles in Purdue’s 38-14 loss Saturday to Wisconsin at Ross-Ade Stadium.
The sophomore strong safety from Bishop Dwenger also had one interception, his team-leading third of the season. Feichter is second on the team with 32 tackles.
“He’s a very, very good football player, and he has been since the day that he came to Purdue,” coach Danny Hope said on Tuesday. “He was one of those guys on the scout team. When he was on the scout team as a freshman, you would come in at nighttime and look at the practice film of the offense, and you’d ask, who is that guy back there No. 44 running around making all these plays?
“He’s always stuck out as a football player, even when he was a freshman walk-on the scout team. He was a high-motor guy that flew to the ball, and played hard, and tackled hard, and made hits and fought for the ball while it was in the air. He’s very competitive and looked very, very scrappy.
“So he has a lot of redeeming qualities about him that makes him a good football player.”
Inching closer
Indiana coach Kevin Wilson put into perspective the back-to-back close losses to Michigan State (31-27) and Ohio State (52-49).
“Too many people around here maybe are trying to congratulate you on almost winning because we have struggled,” Wilson said Tuesday. “But at the same time that has to be a sign of confidence. You are getting better, and you should feel good about yourself, but you need to keep pushing.”
Making plays
Purdue’s Kawann Short blocked a field goal against the Badgers. It was the eighth block of his career (two extra points, six field goals).
“It’s a combination of a lot of things,” Hope said. “He’s very big. He’s got a tremendous lower unit. He gets a lot of push, so he’s able to knock the guards back, and he has very good hand-eye coordination and a good sense of timing. He gets his big paw up and swats the ball down and has a good eye for it.”
