How Purdue football's Hudson Card played through injury to beat Indiana

WEST LAFAYETTE — What you didn't know, because Hudson Card didn't want you to know, is that he's in pain.

The Purdue football quarterback played this season with a busted up shoulder and a rib injury where the slightest twitch caused an overbearing soreness.

What hurt more, though, was having to sit out a game at Northwestern seven days prior to Saturday's 35-31 win over rival Indiana at Ross-Ade Stadium.

After his Northwestern absence, Card told Purdue coach Ryan Walters that he was going to play the Old Oaken Bucket game.

"We wanted to finish the season out the right way for the seniors. They deserve it," said Card, a junior transfer from Texas. "They left a mark here and we wanted to end it the right way for them.

"And then just building momentum going into next year for the guys coming back," he continued. "That was the focus, especially (with a) rivalry game. Obviously I wanted to be out there."

Card had a lot at stake as well.

He was lured away from the Longhorns, to win football games for the Boilers. But Purdue entered Saturday with a 3-8 record and playing only put Card at further risk of injury.

Card played anyway and he was masterful, engineering the game-winning drive capped by his 10-yard draw keeper for the final touchdown with 2:39 left.

"Huddy is banged up, but he made great plays," receiver Deion Burks said. "He overcame all the adversity and it's great to see him back. Not healthy, but back."

The final words from Burks resonate.

Not healthy.

Card wasn't 100 percent. He hasn't been since the Boilermakers played Illinois on Sept. 30 — nearly two months ago.

"He's got a rib injury on his left side, so any kind of twisting motion or any kind of pressure to it, it's painful," Walters confirmed after Saturday's win. "As long as he could throw the ball, he wanted to play. I think it was Monday or Tuesday and he still wasn't looking right or feeling right, but he's like, coach, I'm playing."

Card rushed for a career-high 85 yards.

He was 21 of 34 passing for 375 yards and three touchdowns, including a 38-yard scoring strike to Devin Mockobee on fourth-and-1 with Purdue trailing by 10 in the fourth quarter; a 16-yard TD to Drew Biber, who had one career catch prior to scoring with 12 seconds left in the first half; and a 33-yarder to freshman George Burhenn, who made his first career catch on the play before his second quarter touchdown.

Card's midseason play had people asking if he was Purdue's quarterback of the future.

On Saturday, Card proved the quarterback of the future is the quarterback of the present, though hopefully healed by the next time we see him on Sept. 7 when Purdue opens the 2024 season against Indiana State.

While Card missed last week's game in Evanston, Ill., he was magnificent the week before against Minnesota.

Card's final two games read like this: 38 of 59, 526 yards, 6 TDs, 0 interceptions, 20 carries for 129 yards and 2 TDs.

"You see how he's played his last two games and you see such a big jump from year one to year two," Walters said. "Let's be real. This is year one for him. He hasn't been the guy yet in college. This is his first year in this system."

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue football quarterback Hudson Card plays through pain vs. Indiana