Brock Purdy Batted A Tipped Pass Straight To A Clemson Defender For A Pick-6

Brock Purdy has had a fascinating career at Iowa State, as he’s been at the helm for some of the program’s biggest moments in recent memory, but struggled (as the team as a whole did) with lofty expectations this season as the Cyclones stumbled to a 7-5 record despite being a trendy preseason pick to possibly win the Big 12.

Purdy has a knack for creating something out of nothing, but that can sometimes result in him forcing things when a play isn’t there, which leads to turnovers. Chaos has a tendency to find Purdy, for better or worse, and on Wednesday night in the Cheez-It Bowl against Clemson, he threw one of the most insane pick-sixes of the season on a play where he actually tried to do the right thing and it just went horribly wrong.

After a quick out got tipped back towards him, Purdy wanted to do the right thing and knock the ball to the turf for an incompletion rather than trying to catch the ball and make something out of nothing. Unfortunately, he batted the ball forward and into the air right to the waiting arms of a Clemson defender, who took off and rumbled his way into the end zone.

It is, truly, one of the most ridiculous plays of the season, and poor Purdy found himself punished by the football gods for trying to make the right decision. The touchdown gave Clemson a 20-3 lead, which seemed insurmountable for an Iowa State offense that couldn’t move the ball much at all up to that point.

UPDATE: Iowa State’s first touchdown of the game was setup by this play, an interception thrown by the Cyclones on a double pass that then was fumbled by Clemson and Iowa State had 15 yards tacked on for a roughing the passer play.