Purdue Football: Small-Time?

A question has been rattling around in my head since the Bucket Game on Saturday...and perhaps earlier than that. Is Purdue football small-time?  Whether it is or not, it's acting and being treated by alums and administration as a small-time program. So I guess that means it is.

I love the school. I love the program. I want nothing more than to see these guys succeed. And it's these guys I want to see succeed, because I think they're talented enough to do so. I'm not longing for five-star, entitled punks who don't go to class. I like the guys who are there because they want to go to Purdue. That's one of the things that made the 2000 season so special and made the '03 and '04 seasons so almost-special.

Then I read quotes from Danny Hope at last night's football banquet and one of them is this:

"Everything about the program is going in the right direction. It’s unfortunate that we had some struggles."

Really? Really? Everything??


No, Coach, just....no. Everything is most assuredly not going in the right direction. And do you know how I know? I can simply look at the W-L record this season. And beyond that I can look at the way Purdue had no shot in several games. Simply no chance... primarily because they couldn't move the ball, or stop turning it over, or stop other teams from moving the ball... it all depended on the week, but no matter what, there were serious problems all over the field. Suggesting everything is going in the right direction is, quite frankly, absurd.

There is no accountability in this program, and that quote underscores it. Guys are fumbling. Guys don't know plays. Guys aren't in the right positions. Guys don't close the deal when they clearly should be able to. And the team is losing to good competition, mediocre competition, and inferior competition. The team is losing at home... on senior day... in the Bucket Game.... to a horrible IU team. And at home to a MAC team....two years in a row. That's simply inexcusable. 


And no matter how many times we raise these issues, there are readers who -- inexplicably -- attack us for being so demanding and it's always the same excuse -- the injuries. Injuries, I'll say surely not for the last time, do not cause guys to not know plays. Or to not block properly. Or to not tackle properly. Or to drop passes. Or any number of other things that come down to 1) Coaching and 2) Accountability. If you make fundamental errors or repeated mental mistakes... you should be benched. Not permanently, but temporarily. I don't care if a walk-on has to take your place for a half. How much worse would things be? And it would make a point to the unprepared or unfocused player. 


Or hey, how about working on fundamentals in practice instead of being everybody's best pal, Coach Hope? How about not making f-cking jokes to the sideline reporter going into halftime? Take this shit seriously. You're paid -- handsomely -- to make this program respectable. Nobody expects Purdue to be competing for national titles. Nobody really even expects Purdue to challenge for the conference. All people want is exciting football and average bowl seasons. Seriously, isn't that what the majority of fans and alums seemingly are okay with? 


And there, my friends, is the problem. When you expect or hope for mediocrity and fall short, it's dreadful. If you shoot for the moon and fall short, perhaps you at least begin to plant the seeds for success. Say what you want about Joe Tiller -- and we have -- but when he came in to Purdue, he rejected out of hand the losing culture. He simply said they were going to compete and build a winner. And he did that. Understand something here: while Joe mailed it in his last few seasons, his first 6 or 7 years were inarguably impressive. Tiller won 9 games his first season. He beat Notre Dame. He won the Alamo Bowl. Purdue beat good teams. They scared teams. They changed the way the conference played offensively. People want to talk about Rich Rodriguez bringing his offense to the Big Ten. No, sir. Joe Tiller made that high-flying spread offense accepted in the Big Ten 13 years ago. 


My point? That is can be done, but this coaching staff and this athletic department doesn't want it bad enough. Danny Hope should be sickened and disgusted by a 4-8 record and 9-15 over two years. Okay, so it was injuries this year -- what was it last year? Because, despite some excitement, last year was a lousy year, too. 5-7 is not good. It's not promising, it's not acceptable...it's not funny. 


More than half the teams in the country go to bowl games. You only have to go .500 to qualify. Not going to a bowl these days is a referendum on your program. Not going three years in a row? Unacceptable. Simply unacceptable. 


How come there is all this media talk about Rodriguez potentially being fired at Michigan? Two lousy years and now a pretty soft team that clawed to 7-5. Unmitigated beatdowns at the hands of their rival. And, rightfully, the natives are restless. Randy Shannon at Miami gets bagged after four years, 7-5 this year, 9 wins last year and a ranked team..... but it wasn't enough. Now, maybe Miami and Michigan fans are sometimes delusional....but the point is, they're simply not accepting average/mediocre teams. And let's be clear: those programs/teams are in far better shape than our Boilers. 


So why are we at BS the only ones saying the Purdue football program's current state is unacceptable? Where is the media? Where are the alums? Come on, old John Purdue Club members! This team lost to Notre Dame, a MAC team and IU this year! How low do things have to get before people with influence begin to get pissed? 1-10? 0-11? I'm not suggesting (yet) that Coach Hope definitely has to go. I'm simply asking why it feels like we're the only ones in the Purdue realm who are highly concerned/irritated at the state of things? How come nobody is questioning Danny Hope's nonsensical rah-rah "everything is going well" baloney? That's just....stupid. And insulting. 


All is not well, Coach Hope. And for things to begin to get better, you need to recognize that and get angry and do something about it.

The Media Giveth...The Media Taketh Away.

All growns up.

Kerring for Ryan

Ryan Kerrigan is a talented, fast and strong football player. Plus, he seemed to put a maximum amount of effort into each down. There are plenty of guys that have that motor that coaches want, but don't have the production that Kerrigan does. But because of the combination of effort, ability, production and beautiful, flowing hair, Kerrigan received some well-deserved attention on Monday.

He is the first, first-team All-American at Purdue since Anthony Spencer. He is the BT's & (of course) Purdue's defensive player of the year and MVP. Kerrigan was also Lineman of the year and received recognition for his sportsmanship. That's pretty cool- he'll knock you on your ass...then help you back up.

He'll receive other awards by the media too in the coming weeks. But, his most prized award will probably be the large, solid gold-plated trophy that's on the way to him right now- The (coveted) Boiled Sports Purdue Defensive Player of the Decade. Due to cost, only one of these has been (or perhaps ever will be) given...Keep checking your mailbox, Mr. Kerrigan. J's 11 month old son packed it up and shipped it himself. It's molded out of all of J's gold chains, ear rings and bracelets that he wore in the 80s and 90s.

Other Boilers Honored

Wiggs, Beckford and Allen were all All-BT Honorable Mention. For some reason, I couldn't find any Purdue offensive players on the list. It could be because many were thrust into action after not being on the depth chart in camp...(related) it could be because the offense simply couldn't score for halves at a time. Regardless, I think Rob Henry could be a guy who receives some awards in the next few seasons. If so, he needs to work on an acceptance speech. Because every time I've heard him talk, I can barely hear him or understand him. That'll come in time.

All signs seem to be pointing to Keith Smith getting his sixth year of eligibility in '11. He'll be Purdue's 3rd player in three seasons to be granted this. Hopefully no one has to do this on the Purdue roster for the next five, because in all cases, it was due to horrible injury.

Here's to Bolden, Smith, Siller and Marve all making full recoveries and making one of these post-season recognition lists next year. Everyone already knows their names...but most of the media has probably forgotten about them. Purdue fans haven't.

Free Fallin'

I didn't get to post yesterday due to interwebnet problems at the BS world headquarters...But a lot happened.

First, Purdue dropped from 10th...to 22nd in the writer's poll (8 to 18th in the coach's). A significant drop was warranted, in my opinion...but 12 spots is a pretty huge drop. If you want to analyze the lack of consistency within the poll, it's not difficult. I'm not going to do that today. But, I will say that it makes Purdue the hunter once again. That might not be a bad thing. They played with no edge or grit versus Richmond. Painter should have been, and was embarrassed by the lack of effort by his squad. There will be others this season, but this is a pivotal moment for the team.

One day later

Yesterday was a bad day...hell, let's be honest- the last two months or so have been pretty tough to be a Purdue fan.

But a lot has changed in 24 hours...for one thing, my perspective has been corrected a bit.

I detailed how angry I was while watching my Boilers lose last night. The reason the loss v. Richmond hurt so bad was because the people that I, as a Purdue fan, felt were rock-solid were shaky. JJ and Smooge didn't shoot well...that's lousy. But, they didn't seem to fight or get angry as they lost. That hurt to watch.

The night before, when JJ was pushed, he pushed back, he got angry and he put the opponent away. And Smooge, while almost always smooth on the court, he plays with a chip on his shoulder and a toughness that comes from facing mean competition in NW Indiana and South Chicago. But the chip on his shoulder seemed to have been knocked off and his silky-smooth game was flat-out rough versus Richmond.

While these two struggled, Matty seemed to have no answer. He wasn't confident enough in much of the bench to make the substitutions that we thought would save this team in gritty times. And, he seemed frazzled- with the officials and with his own team and the situation they found themselves in.

I've heard their conditioning being questioned...and I think it's fair to look at this. Everyone was fatigued. Perhaps it was the fact that they weren't battle tested by the lackluster competition in this early season, and the first real test was surprising. Regardless, the team and the coaches looked tired and Richmond looked hungry. Purdue was out-Purdue-d...Out-willed...out-hustled.

The neutral court in front of an empty crowd felt like a late night NCAA tournament game being played out West. And if you're as old as me, you remember Keady's teams losing those games in similar fashion- the wheels came off, the will wasn't there and our Boilers' season was over pre-maturely. That sting lasts. This one doesn't have to. This one can be built upon and learned from.

The rubble after the loss to the Spiders also reminds me a bit of the Wofford game 3 years ago. Lowly Wofford came into Mackey and shocked the Baby Boilers. In the game's wake, I didn't want to turn on the TV or get on the computer. But Painter later called that game one of the most-important of the season. Perhaps we witnessed a moment of similar gravity last night? Hope so.

I still believe that this team can defy the national media and local skeptics by creating havoc in the Big Ten race and ultimately making it to Houston. But, that won't happen unless they figure some things out first. Adversity reveals character...here's the first big opportunity for this team to show what it's made of.

A Little Momentum?

Our side discussions, on Twitter and in the comment box have revolved around how the Purdue basketball program needed a victory...off the court. In a decision that was as surprising as Yogi Ferrell heading to IU, Bryson Scott verballed to Purdue earlier today. It's not a huge deal as his arrival is still nearly three years away, and no letter of intent has been signed, but his comments should give Pollyannas surrounding Matty's program pause...the sky's not even close to dropping...and there's still hope for the program.

But, in the interest of being consistent, I'll not get too excited about this...but will say- Can't wait to see you in black and gold, Bryson. Signing day is a little under two years away.

Wise Move From Bloomington

I was hoping Fred Glass would be starry-eyed from the massive victory in West Lafayette yesterday...I was hoping he'd ignore IU's deplorable BT record during Lynch's time at the helm in Bloomington and decide to keep him around for another year. But he didn't.

IU's AD decided it was time to change direction, and he will now seek a replacement for the likable, but staggeringly-unsuccessful Bill Lynch. Good for Mr. Glass and IU. This decision says a couple things.

First, Glass doesn't want a crappy football team and understands that he needs to generate revenue by selling seats in Memorial Stadium. Second, he sees that beating a sub-.500 Purdue team wasn't that big of a deal...and the bigger picture can't be ignored.

He's right too. Sure, winning is better than not winning against your in-state rival. But, Glass doesn't want a sub-.500 record and a game in Indiana to be the end of the season for his football team. Hopefully, in this case, Purdue fans take note of Glass' respectful decision to change course when there's no progress.

I know everyone who visits this site is rooting for Hope and company to erase any doubt that they can be successful at Purdue. Moral victories are still losses...and positive talk after close losses doesn't suffice for winning. I'm already looking forward to Spring Football.

Looking Ahead

Our focus will shift to being mostly on basketball (of course) now that football season's over. But, we'll still take looks at what's on the horizon for the football team in '11. The quarterback position has tremendous potential to be an interesting battle in Spring/Fall. Weigh in by voting on the poll on the right side of the page.

Perfect Ending of a Perfect Day: Boilers lose 65-54 in Smalltime Invitational

Spiders...Everywhere!!!

Perhaps my rage from the loss this afternoon played into this or maybe I was having flashbacks to the Minny game last spring in the BT tourney...Whatever the case is, I haven't been this angry while watching Purdue sports in a few years.

LewJack, Smooge and Barlow combined defensively to make Richmond's Anderson look like Allen Iverson...back in 2000. At the same time, JJ, Bade, Byrd and Carroll made Justin Harper look like Dwight Howard.

I loved that Hart and Barlow tried to make something happen...especially Hart. But everybody else...EVERYBODY else earned this loss.

Purdue's defense was outshined by Richmond's and the offense...what offense? Purdue shot 19% in the first half...then raised their game waaaaaaay up to end the game at 30%. Plus, as a team, our Boilers shot 25%. Nice work, gentlemen.

JJ continued his poor shot selection as he settled for three pointers and 18 footers time and time again. He finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks- sounds good, huh? Well, he shot around 35% and was simply man-handled by Richmond's big & brawny frontcourt. We all know Johnson has a ton of talent...his lack 0f consistency has showed itself twice already in this young season. Purdue needs him to play like he's capable of playing, night-in, night-out...and honestly, so does JJ to help his financial future.

As JJ didn't play at full potential, Moore seemed to have a big cold turkey leftover sandwich right before tip-off...then at the half, he enjoyed all carbs- mashed potatoes, stuffing, yams and a big ol' slice of pumpkin pie. Yummy! The sad side effect was that he looked as sluggish as he has in the last two years on both ends of the court. Once the evening was over, he had 16 points, 9 rebounds- nice, right?? But he shot under 25% and simply didn't look like an all conference player...let alone All-American.

While the Big Two were lilting under the immense pressure of the Sears Centre crowd of 70 or 80 fans, Bade, Byrd, T. Johnson, Carroll and Marcius faded into the backdrop of empty seats and a black curtain dividing the arena...and disappeared all together.

Here's the really sh*tty biproduct of today's game- it makes the jerks in the national media look like geniuses. Purdue will surely drop 10-or-so spots in the polls. And honestly, until Purdue proves otherwise, the group of non-believers will only grow.

Purdue was beaten on the glass by 10...but it felt like 20. Plus, there was simply no offensive flow for the entire game.

The great news is Purdue plays a team that'll probably be ranked when they tip-off in four days...the bad news is Purdue plays a ranked team in four days. Did I mention that was on the road...on a bigger stage?

J and I have said it before- we want Purdue to be playing their best basketball in March...Thank God there's not much of a chance that they're using all of that mojo up in November!!

Other stuff that I'm angry about

-Notre Dame is winning against USC right now (it's the third quarter as I type). I hate days when ND wins, IU wins and Purdue loses (twice).

-Hope won't be fired in the coming days...weeks...months. So anyone stressing about that should just focus their angst on things that are more tangible and current...like the fact that Matty's boys having no offensive flow...and the defense isn't even that great at times this season. But, Hope has no excuses next season, regardless of who gets injured from now and next November.

I root for Hope to succeed because I like the guy. Plus, regardless of what you thought about the hire, he's Purdue's coach. I love his enthusiasm and positivity. But, the positivity crossed over from inspiration to delusional some time in October...and without proof of all things positive in the left column, his talk has become nothing more than fuel to the fire of those who are frustrated each Saturday in Ross Ade.

If Purdue doesn't win 7 or 8 games next season, the ground swell from Purdue fans combined with Hope's low buyout should force Burke's hand to make a change. In the meantime, here's to Hope assessing the staff and make changes where they're needed.

-This has been a very tough week as a Purdue fan...especially if you're in Indiana. Crean is getting commitments left and right, Painter's recruiting momentum seems to be gone. Our Boilers lose at Ross-Ade v. IU for the first time since I was on campus and now Purdue drops a game to a team that lost to Iona 9 days ago. We're all smarting right now.

I don't usually comment about verbals from 15 & 16 year old kids...I just don't think it's wise to get wrapped up in that stuff. That said, Painter needs a shot in the arm in the form of a verbal from Smotherman, Scott or somebody, just to help the psyche of the Purdue fanbase.

Before you go and jump off of that bridge you've had your eye on, keep in mind a couple things- first, John Hart was an unheralded recruit who some saw as a waste of schollie not long ago...He's now pretty good and will get better in the next 2.8 seasons. Plus, let's not forget that the class of '12 has three top-150 players in it. Sure, things could be better...we all know that. But, they could absolutely be worse.

It's easy to be a fan when everyone is in love with your favorite team and winning's coming easy...it's times like this that make winning big games, and dare I say it, championships really sweet. Keep your heads up!

The Bad Old Days Are Here Again; Boilers Relinquish Bucket

Congrats, you just beat a horrible Purdue team. Party like it's 1996!

The Boilermaker football team is nothing if not creative. Week after week, this team finds really creative ways to lose ballgames.

Start the season looking kind of flat, yet win a few games... Yay.

Then lose to a MAC team. At home. Boo.

Start the Big Ten season 2-0. Yay.

Get lambasted by OSU. Boo.

Expect to get railroaded by Wisconsin, but lead them at the half! Yay!

Get torched in the second half. Boo.

Feel like the season is over... but then come ready to play against 9-1 MSU and look great for three quarters. Yay!

Fold in the fourth quarter. Boo.

And then there was today's 34-31 loss in OT. "Boo" doesn't quite do it.

I'm getting tired of coming up with new ways to describe Purdue's football failures. IU is a terrible, terrible football program. Not just a bad team -- a bad program. And if I just read that sentence and liked IU, I might say, "Well, then what does that make Purdue?"

Indeed, a good question. Purdue just lost to a horrendously bad football program. So what does that make Purdue?

You can stop now with all the "if only" talk. There were injuries, yes, I get that. But how many games do the players and coaches need to get the team ready to beat IU at home? Again, I don't want to hear blame on the injuries. Rob Henry is a Division I football player. So were all the guys out there. Purdue wasn't starting walk-ons and volunteers. Other teams had injuries, too. You move forward as a unit.

Another thing this does is eliminate any of the consternation over missing a bowl game because of the loss to Toledo. 4-8 isn't even close to a bowl game, Toledo or not. In fact, losing to Toledo and IU in the same season should make you ineligible for a bowl game even if you finish 10-2.

I feel terrible for guys like Dan Dierking and Ryan Kerrigan. Seniors who played their asses off for this program but finish with three straight losing seasons. These guys (and others) deserve better.

Another thing I keep seeing is a stream of complaints about the officiating. Let's just knock that off. The officials did not give IU this game. IU beat Purdue, plain and simple. Yeah, you could maybe argue about some of those pass interference calls, but I think only one was really a bad call. The others were legit pass interference. You can't tangle the receiver up or grab him before the ball is there. Simple as that. And again, the refs didn't give this to IU. Let's not forget they threw an IU player out fo the game for a scuffle. I don't care if you get bad calls against you -- you need to be able to beat IU if you're going to be even a marginal program. Purdue is not that right now.

For a change, I didn't think the coaching was a huge problem today. Play-calling seemed okay (not great, but okay), but the problem seemed to be execution. Maybe it was preparation. Maybe it was -- and this is hard to believe -- overconfidence. Whatever it was, Purdue's defense gave up 34 to IU. And Purdue's offense only manage 31 against a truly terrible defense. I blame everyone.

Those of you crusading for Hope to be fired, you might have more traction now with the loss to the Hoosiers, but I still don't think you should expect anything to change. He'll get next year to prove himself, at the very least.

As of now, when we think of Purdue football, we get to think of this image for the next 9+ months.

This should make you very angry.

Boilers Roll in Chicago 79-60 in Front of Hundreds

Unusually-frigid 30 degree temperatures (pssst- that's sarcasm), and fantastic Black Friday sale prices kept the Purdue alums in Chicago away from the Sears Center this evening...but poor attendance and a small-time feel of the Chicago Invitational didn't stop Matty's boys from opening a can...at least for a half. And those who did brave the barely-freezing temps to see their Boilers play, got to see Smooge get silly.
In the first ten minutes, much like in the Oakland game, JJ and Smooge simply weren't making any noise at all. But, after starting the game like JMoney circa 2010, Moore went all 1996-JMoney-in-the-co-rec on the unfortunate Salukis as he went 9-for-9 in around 32 minutes while scoring a career high 31 points and added 9 rebounds. JJ had 18 points and 3 blocks...but a very-unimpressive 4 rebounds.

And speaking of rebounds, outside of Smooge, really no one rebounded well...Bade had 2, Marcius had 2, Carrol had 1 and Byrd crashed the glass for 4. But somehow, the Boilers 30 rebounds were 6 more than the lackluster SIU squad.

LewJack had a couple of nifty finishes early in the game (he finished with 8 points) as JJ and Smooge were awakening from their late-evening naps...and Byrd tried to keep Purdue close as he had 9 points and 3 assists. But the first 16 minutes of the game were very ugly for Purdue as our Boilers had their first lead of the game at around the 17 minute mark.

This game kind of felt like one from two seasons ago as the offense was simply AWOL...but the defense still frustrated Southern Illinois. A combination of pestering defense and really poor ball handling led SIU to turn it over 25 times.

Other than Moore's unconscious second half, there isn't a ton to talk about- Purdue seemed a bit sluggish and disinterested, but still beat an out-manned opponent by 19 points. Smith, Hart and Bade all seemed to be having a contest to see who could play the quietest game...they all won...or lost depending on your perspective. The officials were AWESOME as they made sure everyone noticed them by blowing their damned whistles every 7 or 8 seconds, regardless of who had the ball. The carnage left four Boilers with four personal fouls and both teams with 24 total. The good news from this was that our Boilers shot 80% from the stripe, which is an improvement over much of this season.

Next up, Purdue plays Richmond tomorrow night on BTN at 7:30. Richmond has a winning record...unlike any of Purdue's opponents thus far.

Bucket Predicto

After a rip-roaring 3-0 out of conference start, the Hoosier faithful were once again excited about their Hoosiers. Ben Chappell's offense was humming as they averaged 40+ per game and Lynch's squad was feasting on tasty cupcakes that would've made Joe T. blush. But, the BT schedule has not been kind...so, a lousy IU team heads to Ross-Ade to play a banged up Boiler squad.

If you're not in Indiana or an alum of Purdue or IU, you probably don't care...but the players will.

What will happen tomorrow at high-noon?

J says
If you're a pessimist or think the team is cooked, then I can't fault you for worrying about this game. A loss here would be a really terrible way to finish the season. Not just because it's IU, but because this is an 0-7 in conference IU team. They're really bad. So is Purdue, sure, but I think Purdue's still got better athletes. That plus being at home plus Danny Hope's ability to get them up for certain games... like this one... and I think it's enough.

Purdue's defense was able to severely slow down Michigan's vaunted offense as well as Wisconsin's, so I reason that they'll be able to handle IU's offense. On the other side of the ball, that's where it could be hideous. Purdue's offense is just terrible right now and IU's defense is... perhaps even more terrible. Ah, but what about last week? For three quarters, Purdue's offense actually moved the ball effectively....and against a team that in any other year would be in the national title discussion right now. IU can make no such claim.

If THAT offense (from the MSU game) shows up tomorrow, then this will be another Purdue blowout and likely, one would think, the end of Bill Lynch's time at IU. If the typical Purdue offense shows up, then it'll be a closer game, but one that I would still expect the Boilers to win. When was the last time they played this game at home and didn't come out fired up?

Purdue hasn't lost a home Bucket Game since the Wabash was clean, Boilerdowd was young and Tim had hair.

Sorry, that's just me being silly.... the Wabash wasn't clean.

Purdue 35
IU 21

"Hey ladies...did you know we have a football team?"

boilerdowd says
If you like statistical rankings, this intro will be as delicious as Thanksgiving leftovers:

Weakness v. Weakness:
The worst scoring offense in the BT (Purdue) plays the worst scoring defense in the BT (IU).
The worst pass offense in the BT (Purdue) plays the second-worst pass defense in the league (IU).

I could go on as IU's defense is the worst or in the bottom three in nearly every category. At the same time, we have reason to believe that Purdue's offense has figured out its identity, finally, as the rash of injuries has settled down and Rob Henry's finger seems to be healing each week.

Offensively for the Hoosiers, Chappell is a very good quarterback with some very good receivers. Purdue has a few pretty good DBs, a great DB and the best pass rusher in the league...possibly the best we've seen in a Purdue uniform in the last 20 years (that says a lot). Kerrigan should make that official on Saturday by passing Colvin's all-time sack mark (he needs 1.5 to tie).

As we've seen time and time again, Bill Lynch teams get worse as the season progresses and Purdue has been able to benefit from this a couple times. They will again. Without a rushing attack, look for Kerrigan to get three sacks...and at the same time for Henry to give us a lil' something to look forward to in '11.

Purdue 33
IU 17

To Your Call Once More We Rally;
Alma Mater Hear Our Praise.
Where The Wabash Spreads Its Valley;
Filled With Joy Our Voices Raise.
From The Skies In Swelling Echoes
Come The Cheers That Tell The Tale
Of Your Vict'ries And Your Heros,
Hail Purdue! We Sing All Hail!

Hail, Hail To Old Purdue!
All Hail To Our Old Gold And Black!
Hail, Hail To Old Purdue!
Our Friendship May She Never Lack.
Ever Grateful, Ever True,
Thus We Raise Our Song Anew;
Of The Days We've Spent With You,
All Hail Our Own Purdue!

The BCS Is A Cartel

I meant to mention this a couple of weeks ago when it came out, but I'm slow, as you all know. Dan Wetzel and  Austin Murphy collaborated on perhaps the best article I've seen in SI in a very long time. Unfortunately, everywhere I click to link you to it, I get a "bad gateway" error message. Perhaps the BCS cartel has firebombed SI's server.

If you get a chance to read the article, wherein Wetzel and Murphy detail why the current system is such a screw job. You may be surprised to learn it's not just a screw-job to the fans. It's also a money-losing proposition to almost every school. One of their examples was an OSU appearance in a BCS game -- a money-gainer, to be sure, right? Wrong.

For a summary of some of their points, go to Rock Chalk Talk here or visit your dentist's office and read a hard copy of SI. You'll find yourself getting really, really angry. Even if you like the bowl system, you'll be pissed at the way the schools get screwed over.

And then once you've done that, check out this great column from Murphy, where he details some of the pissy/nonsensical responses he's gotten from those in power with the BCS.

Calling it a cartel is awesome, because that's what it is. The argument that it would lessen the regular season just isn't true. Just as the wild card doesn't lessen the baseball season, a small playoff (8 or 16 teams) would only keep more fan bases involved and excited. An upset in your rivalry game could mean getting into the playoff mix. A loss by a #4 or #5 team over Thanksgiving could suddenly drop them out of the mix. Point is, there would still be excitement for a lot more teams.

Alabama, for example, lost two games earlier this season. And for them, winning a national title is the goal... so their season was essentially over. How is that exciting? Because they may get to ruin Auburn's season? Whoop-dee-do.

As you know, I could go on about this forever, but I'll let you read the much, much, much better works by Murphy and Wetzel.

Bucket Week

Both Purdue and IU's football programs are struggling to not kick the bucket this week.

Hey-yo! Lamest lead sentence ever?

Truth is, it's bucket week and there's really nothing else for either program to be thinking about. No bowl games, no postseason practices... and in Bill Lynch's case, maybe no job after this. So in a good way, it allows the players, fans, alumni, mascots, training table workers, janitors, vendors, etc., to all focus on their rival. All energy goes into this game this year... all hate, including "International IU Sucks Week," featured on Facebook. (Which, sadly, IU fans are joining so they can tell Boilermakers that they suck. There's even a complete toolbag on there who keeps saying "Got 5?" And can you guess where he went to college? Not IU.)

Courtesy, Chad

Okay, so I'm stretching here, trying to give this game more boost. Thing is, though, while it really doesn't mean much.... it still kinda does. That absolute last thing we want to see the season end with is a loss to IU. IU football is terrible. Don't misunderstand, Purdue football is a mess right now. A true mess. Beyond the injuries, the coaching staff seems, at times, overwhelmed. The players don't seem well-prepared. It's giving us this sinking feeling that Purdue football is completely sliding back into the irrelevance of the pre-Tiller era.

But you still can't lose to IU. Simply cannot happen.

Some factoids about the bucket game to chew on:

• Purdue is 11-2 in the last 13 bucket games. 
• The two losses ('07 and '01) were by a combined nine points.
• The 11 wins were by a combined 304 points (or 27.6 ppg)
• Purdue won 15-14 in 1989.
• Purdue won 1-0 in 1894 (interestingly, a year after winning 60-0)
• From 1892 to 1910, the two played 13 times, with only one of those being at Indiana.
• IU's last bucket win in West Lafayette was in 1996. We were at that game and Purdue wore all-black (which was a novelty back then) and IU wore all-white (not a good look). 
• Bill Lynch is 1-2 against Purdue, with one of those losses being the 62-10 blasting in Joe Tiller's last game. One surmises that Lynch's win over Purdue the previous year is one of the reasons he has held onto his job. Much like at Purdue, if you can beat the rival, the old alums are happy. Lynch could win this game on Saturday and be 2-2 against Purdue. Not bad.
• The last post-Thanksgiving matchup was 1995, when Purdue went down to Bloomington and Mike Alstott curb-stomped the Hoosiers, 51-14. 

I actually don't have a lot of great memories of the Purdue-IU rivalry from my days on campus because I started 0-2 against IU (losses in '94 and '96). I like seeing all the spirit (hate?) brewing on campus right now. Let's hope our Boilers take out their frustrations of an infuriating season on the Hoosiers.

Purdue Uses Their Johnson To Slap Around Austin Peay

A nice night for top-ten basketball...if your ISP allows it.

In the second game of the Chicago Invitational (played, naturally, in Indiana), the Boilermakers continued their march through the preconference schedule, rocking the Austin Peay Governors to sleep, 87-65.

Nothing to see here, just keep moving along, national media. Just another 22 point win as Purdue moves to 4-0.

Okay, okay, to be fair, it's hard to be sure what these games against inferior opponents really mean. But what can we definitely take away?

Allo, Govnah!

Well, for one thing, Purdue hasn't really had any hiccups. Yes, Oakland gave them some game, but the Boilers still won by 15. Double-digit wins are nice. And let's also remember that the walk-ons are getting into almost all of these games. This means the game is so surely well in-hand that things are essentially over. So the Alcorn game, for example, was a 42 point lead a the half and wound up a 55-point win. Had Purdue kept the pressure applied with their big guns, that could easily have turned into a 70+ point bloodbath.

Normally when you watch a team as closely as we watch Purdue, you find things to nit-pick about. But I mentioned to B-dowd tonight that the things we niggle about from time to time are usually things the younger guys are doing. And that's okay, because they're still learning. We haven't really seen anything from E'Twaun or JJ that causes us to have any concern. And when the competition gets stiffer, those are the guys who will have the ball in their hands at crunch time. Not Bubba Day. (No offense to Bubba -- we love you, man!)

JaJuan has tended to shrink in weird spots in the past. We haven't seen that at all this year. JJ had another double-double tonight, playing 35 minutes and scoring 21 (on 51% shooting) and grabbing 11 rebounds. He also had one of the ugliest three-point attempts ever, hammering a brick off the backboard so badly, I thought they were going to have to clean up glass chips off the floor.

Smooge eased his way to a cool 17 points and 6 rebounds, while also shooting over 50% from the floor. He does this so quietly and that makes me kind of giddy.Whether it's long-range, silky layups on the break or acrobatic dunks, E'Twaun is an all-around player.

LewJack, while only registering a lone point, had 9 dimes, which is what we like to see out of our PG. Solid work. 

Purdue as a team had some interesting stats, including 11 steals and 24 assists (versus four and ten for AP). Somehow Kelsey Barlow only had one assist, but it was an awesome one, following what can only be described as a kind of no-look steal... Kelsey then kept his eyes forward but knew his teammate was on his way and sent it over for the layup. Barlow may find his way into Coach Painter's doghouse from time to time, but this kid can ball. Remember, this guy's a bench player right now.

But my favorite play of the night is one you should be seeing on highlights tonight, but probably won't. John Hart led the break down the floor and with a couple of Austin Peay defenders back, John sort of brought the ball back in his palm as though he was going to send a behind the back pass over, but then instead brought it forward for the layup... all in one motion, reminiscent of a globetrotters kind of play. It was one of those moments where the crowd sort of gasps and roars their approval. And remember, this guy's a bench player right now.

Ryne Smith responded to not being in the starting lineup tonight (or perhaps it was B-Dowd's call for him to be out of the starting lineup on the Handsome Hour last week) by coming to life and hitting his first three three-point attempts in the first half. Ryne finished with 11 points and three assists in 17 minutes on 67% shooting. Not bad. Oh, and right now, this guy's a bench player.

Yes, I'm repeating myself for effect. But let's not lose sight of the fact that Purdue is a deep team, even without Sir Hummel, who broadcasters still cannot stop bringing up. Notice, though, that the team doesn't bring Rob up. Not because they don't wish he could be with them, but because the mission remains the same and they're moving forward with what they have. They're over the Rob injury and they've moved on.

Anyway, regarding Purdue's depth, tonight ten players got onto the scoring ledger. Not bad for a team some don't even think should be ranked... at all.

Purdue's next game will be their first outside of the friendly confines of Mackey Arena, as they venture into Illinois to face Southern Illinois, where Matt Painter had a career .833 winning percentage as head coach. Friday at 8:30, Eastern.... let's get crazy.

Boilermakers Vs Austin Peay Tonight Inside Your Computer

Sometime, deep into the future, when technology allows us to dream the impossible dream.... college basketball will be shown on television.

It may not be all games, mind you. No, but a top ten program will actually be able to have all of their games on the glowing tube we call television.

I know, I know... I sound like a crazy person, talking about such futuristic nonsense. Flying cars, hoverboards....and Purdue basketball on television.

We can all dream, can't we?

Until people more intelligent than I are able to figure out such technological marvels, we will watch Purdue basketball streaming online via ESPN3.com. Check it out now and see if your ISP allows you to view it. It's kind of like the magic 8-ball that way -- maybe you'll be able to see it, maybe you won't.

You Can Crack IU's Nuts For Half-Price

You, too, can teabag IU.

It's Oaken Bucket week and some lonely purchasing manager at Hobby Lobby is in deep doo-doo. Reader Anna sent in this photo, taken at a Lafayette Hobby Lobby a week before Thanksgiving. 

So I guess either Hobby Lobby has more IU nutcrackers than they could possibly hope to sell...OR they expect Purdue to slaughter IU on Saturday and want to move them as fast as possible...OR they realized that they're in fricking Lafayette. 

Either way, what better way to spend the holidays than saying "Eat DEEZ NUTS, IU!" every time you put one in this guy's chopper.

Weekend Wrap-Up: Drifting to Sleep...and a Wake Up Call

Here at BS, we love Purdue players to wear their hearts on their sleeves, sell out when on the field of play and play with heart. Our Boilers did just that in East Lansing on Saturday...and the reason is probably their coach. Danny Hope sold the idea of his players making something happen, being aggressive and playing like there was no tomorrow...And his players did just that. In the process, the Boilers almost pulled off a gigantic upset similar to aOSU in '09. But, unlike in Ross-Ade last season, they simply couldn't finish.

The games are pretty similar in the way they were played. Purdue played with the lead for much of the game in both and the more-talented squad scratched and clawed its way back into the game. But, Purdue stepped up and made plays last year, and simply collapsed this season.

Unlike many games this season, there are plenty of positives to take away from this one...but, like most games this year, there were a ton of negatives. But, the main problem really was the timing of these mistakes was critical.

I joked in my prognostication for the game that it would take multiple defensive TDs for Purdue to win. And Ricardo Allen got the message as he had his second interception for a TD in two weeks. All day long, Allen played blanket defense and made play after play. At one point, I asked myself why MSU dared throw his way. The only times he wasn't there to break up the pass was when Purdue's scheme called for zone or asked for the corners to back off of the line of scrimmage.

Kerrigan also played large in spite of being clothes-lined and held for most of the game...but as MSU decided to simply double and triple team him, the rest of the line just didn't take advantage of the situation.

Rob Henry played very well at times and made some awful decisions others. I think much of that can be chalked up to his age and maybe his injured finger still...In my opinion, Henry played well-enough to lead Purdue to a win. I like that he is willing to check out of plays when he sees the defense in the wrong set for potential success. I hate the way he doesn't seem to see it until it's too late. I like the fact that he's willing to take shots down the field. I hate the way he seems to make those throws blindly at times...and seemingly to no one.

The special teams, like Henry, was way up and down. Wiggs got involved with an important 52 yard field goal...but both he and Webster, while punting, had some horrible kicks. Barbarette had an important long kickoff return...but the punt protection let an obvious block formation in nearly unabated. In fact, multiple players could have made the block of the punt that sealed Purdue's fate.

Coach Nord had some brilliant play calls...but also seemed to struggle making effective calls on first down. Landholm & Emanuel had Purdue's bend, but don't break defense dialed in early, but played it too safe in the fourth quarter time and time again...plus, they gave Cousins too much time and allowed him to pick Purdue apart (he played brilliantly, by the way...and gritty too).

No Purdue fan that I know was surprised that Purdue lost. But, most were surprised in the manner in which it happened. The offense showed that it had a pulse, the defense played hard and made plays for three quarters. But the team combined to rip the hearts out of the Purdue faithful. Granted, MSU made plays, but our Boilers all but presented the opportunity for Sparty on a shiny silver platter...and (as you all know) MSU won, 35-31.

After the game, I was so deflated and "meh" that I simply enjoyed having my family over for dinner and forgot to do a post-game wrap up...that's why this is so late. This is kind of what this season has done to me as a fan, honestly. I've been to every home game, watched every away game on TV, but I'm sapped of enthusiasm...and hate admitting it, because I'm not usually that way, especially about Purdue football. I still love the players and feel like they're giving everything they have...and much of that is because of Hope's ability to motivate them.

BUT, I also feel the lack of football IQ by this staff has simply killed this team over and over. From stupid time-outs (again and again), to inconsistent play-calling, I'm frustrated with this coaching staff. We had a commenter yesterday get angry at people for having the audacity to complain about these coaches, but I'll always support the players first. Afterall, they're the ones who are really bleeding for the University and the coaches as they follow their marching orders.

For the second year in a row, the Bucket is what it was in the mid-90s. An in-state rivalry that means nothing outside of the borders of Indiana. And it's funny, 30 minutes really changed that. At one point late in the second half of both games, IU was tied with Penn State and Purdue was up by 15. One half our later, Purdue had given the game to MSU and IU had done what they do- rolled over...on their home field, FedEx Field.

I don't have the hatred for IU (especially in football) that I do for UND...and I while I want Purdue to beat IU, I have a really hard time getting "up" for this one. I hope our Boilers don't feel the same way I do.

Mackey Madness (Kinda)

Oakland came to Mackey tonight and was clearly more-ready to play than Purdue. The Golden Grizzlies held the lead for much of the first half and didn't go away until late in the second. Like many contests versus mid-con teams, their drop-off in talent after their starting five was sizable. Purdue's depth was something they couldn't keep up with, so the Boilers improve to 3-0 after winning 82-67.

The box score tells you that Purdue's Big 2 both played well and carried Matty's crew. But, a few things might get missed just by looking at the numbers.

First, Smooge started the game ice cold and didn't score until around 9:00 left in the half. It's not coincidental that after he started heating up, Purdue began to assert itself. But, he had an uncharacteristic amount of turnovers (4)...but was lock down on defense at times. He finished with 26 points, was 4/5 from three, 4 assists and 3 steals.

JJ seemed to do everything right...except shooting behind the arc. All of a sudden he thinks he's a three point shooter. Sure, he hit two tonight (doubling his previous high from last game)...but he missed three. In JJ's case, I'm just trying to look for something to pick on- he played huge in a game that was hyped to be a showcase for him and Benson (from Oakland). JJ finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks...and played 40 minutes. He was great, and made his teammates better.

John Hart's the third guy who comes to mind for me. He had 11 points off the bench in just 13 minutes. He shot poorly from three (1/5), but was a huge spark and played with a ton of energy.

On the other end of the spectrum, I'm not sure how Ryne Smith can stay in the starting line-up much longer. I like the guy, but, as Painter said, you've gotta produce to play...and I don't see it. He might be automatic in practice, but he's not in the game. Plus, he's not as strong as many of the guards on the team on defense and simply isn't able to assert himself at either end.

Terone Johnson (10 points in 17 minutes) or DJ Byrd (6 pts, an assist, steal and block) might both be able to take his place, in my opinion. I really like DJ Byrd without the ball and on defense too.

LewJack, like Smith, struggled offensively, but unlike Smith, continues to be very good defensively. But, he was rocked a few times by picks up top and was visibly shaken up as he was taken out of the game. But, tonight might have been the first night this season where Barlow looked like he should be starting at the point. Kelsey only scored 4 points, but he had 5 assists and 0 turnovers. I like LewJack as a starter and Barlow off the bench though because their styles are so different...but it could work either way, I believe, and might be best to judge depending on the opponent.

Outside of JJ, none of Purdue's bigs did much to write home about- Bade had no points...but more disparaging, 0 rebounds. Carroll the same, and Marcius didn't play. This is the first game this season where Purdue played significant talent under the basket, and the rebounding battle showed it- Purdue lost that 26-31. If nothing else, Bade & company need to make rebounding their sole focus- especially when JJ is scoring like he did tonight (which should happen often).

Not sure if it was the fact that they were coming off of such an easy win, or because Oakland is a pretty good team (they were 17-1 last season in conference and went to the tourney), but Purdue was flat for much of the first half and couldn't separate themselves until Oakland was just beat-tired. But, Purdue allowed way too many points in the first half and seemed to let Oakland dictate the pace...noteworthy, but not bothersome unless these problems become a trend.

And I know there's no transitive property in sports, but Oakland lost by 24 to West Virginia to open their season...and WVU lost to Minny earlier tonight (after beating UNC). At this point, I don't think any of this means much.

Next up, Austin Peay on the 23rd.

Sparty Predicto

Tim says:
Take worst parts of past 5 games and repeat them this week. I wonder who can get injured on the first play this week. Will anyone spontaneously combust? Sudden onset of gangrene? Leprosy? I'd say there must be something in the water, but in reality I think the strength and conditioning crew all need to be replaced.

It will take a miracle to get bowl eligible, but that's not even mentioning that if this team goes to a bowl it very well may be the worst bowl team in history. The offense simply cannot move the ball. How many times in a row can you run the ball while expecting the defense to pretend to care about the pass? Sure you're missing most of your weapons, but get a little creative on offense anyway. Oh wait. Remember the reverse last week where Edison saw the QB from 20 yards away and still ran right into him? I guess creativity just isn't in the cards either.

Michigan State 38
Purdue 6

J says:

I wish I could see any reason to be optimistic because it's much more fun to believe good things are possible. And while I'll still be supporting the guys, I really see no way they can win this. That's bothersome to me for lots of reasons, one of which is that at the start of the season, I truly felt there were NO games Purdue would have no shot in. I know a lot has happened, and everyone points to injuries, but injuries don't excuse a lack of preparation, or guys not catching the ball correctly on kick returns.

Last week, every time the defense gave us reason to believe and bailed the team out, the offense found a way to punch another hole in the hull....below the water line.

Purdue would need to be incredible on defense and mistake-free on offense to beat MSU this weekend. How likely do you think the latter is?

MSU ends Purdue's bowl hopes for a third straight season.

Michigan State 31
Purdue 13

boilerdowd says:

You know what has bothered me more than anything this week? The Toledo loss from the pre-con. And while I'm positive that the bowl that Purdue might have gotten with 6 wins wouldn't be great, that extra few weeks of practice is helpful for the development of young players...something Hope has needed and will continue to need as his time at Purdue continues. None of that matters now- Purdue is still mathematically alive for a bowl...at least for 24 hours or so; so we can hold onto hope for a bit.

With a healthier offense, we know the Boilers would be a bit more-effective...but things are what they are. Purdue couldn't move the ball last week versus a bad Michigan defense. I don't have much of a reason to believe my Boilers will be able to move the ball versus one of the best rushing and scoring defenses in the league.

Kerrigan, Short and Allen all need to score on defense...and ATM on special teams for a win to be possible...So I'm saying we have a chance!

Michigan State 28
Purdue 10

To Your Call Once More We Rally;
Alma Mater Hear Our Praise.
Where The Wabash Spreads Its Valley;
Filled With Joy Our Voices Raise.
From The Skies In Swelling Echoes
Come The Cheers That Tell The Tale
Of Your Vict'ries And Your Heros,
Hail Purdue! We Sing All Hail!

Hail, Hail To Old Purdue!
All Hail To Our Old Gold And Black!
Hail, Hail To Old Purdue!
Our Friendship May She Never Lack.
Ever Grateful, Ever True,
Thus We Raise Our Song Anew;
Of The Days We've Spent With You,
All Hail Our Own Purdue!

John Gasaway Knows Basketball Better Than Coaches

John Gasaway gets to work on his next article.

I happened to be browsing Twitter earlier today and I came across something interesting. And by interesting, I mean "fodder for Purdue fans to get irritated about."

T-Mill from H&R had said on another site that this year's Purdue basketball offense could actually wind up better than last year's. Naturally, simple-minded people took this to mean Travis was saying Purdue is better off without Rob Hummel. That's not really what he was saying and people with brains knew that, but that doesn't include everyone.

Big Ten Geeks said that Travis' comment was the craziest thing they'd heard all month. Then John Gasaway said it was the craziest Big Ten comment.... of the decade. Yes, he actually said that. The mere idea that Purdue might be better offensively this year than last year is the craziest thought....of the decade. Maybe Gasaway thinks of the decade as just having started with 2010 so there haven't been many crazy things said. I don't know.

Anyway, this leads us to a column Gasaway wrote for ESPN last week, cleverly hidden under the "Insider" shield. Fortunately, while we're not rich, our readers are and many of you who pay for ESPN content (and that's a whole other issue) provided us the content of that post, entitled "Purdue Boilermakers aren't a top-10 team." 

The content of that article is as follows:

The nice thing about having two major polls is that we can compare the thinking of college basketball writers (AP poll) with what Division I coaches (ESPN/USA Today) are seeing. So what do we find when we put these two preseason polls side by side? 

We find that the two groups of observers have remarkably similar opinions when it comes to ranking the nation's top teams. Whether you're parked behind a laptop along press row or pacing the floor in the coach's box, you're very likely to think that Duke is the best team in the nation. In fact, as we saw in last week's edition of "Poll Position," the writers and the coaches are in more or less complete agreement when it comes to identifying the top seven teams in the country.

And yet just outside that top seven, there's a team that the coaches and the writers clearly can't agree on: The Purdue Boilermakers, ranked a lofty No. 8 by the coaches, are ranked a more down-to-earth No. 14 by the writers. No other team in either poll's top 25 is the source of so much disagreement in terms of ranking. Who's right?

Sorry, coaches, but I have to side with my fellow writers on this one.

The first thing to understand here is the source of the disagreement: Robbie Hummel. Before Hummel suffered a season-ending knee injury on Oct. 16, Purdue was widely held to be one of the top five teams in the nation. It's safe to say the Boilermakers wouldn't be the cause of this kind of polling divergence if head coach Matt Painter had a healthy Hummel in uniform.

In other words, the disagreement between the polls really comes down to a simple question: How important is Hummel to the Boilers? Unfortunately for Hummel and for fans of Purdue, we have some prior evidence close at hand for answering just this question. Last season Hummel tore the same ACL on Feb. 24 and, in effect, the Boilermakers played their last four conference games without him. (He played 12 minutes in the Minnesota game before his injury occurred.) You may remember Purdue then went on to play one of the ugliest games in recent college basketball history, a 69-42 loss to Minnesota in the Big Ten tournament semifinals. In that game Painter's team scored just 11 points in the first half. 

To their credit, the Boilers recovered from that loss, went on to make the Sweet 16 and even took eventual national champion Duke to the 30th minute of a closely played contest before eventually losing by 13. So I'm going to do Purdue an analytic favor. I'm going to ignore that Big Ten tournament game, which fairly screams "outlier," and instead look at the 250 regular-season possessions they played without Hummel after he injured his knee.

There's something about Robbie

Purdue's offense and defense, with and without Robbie Hummel, on a points-per-possession basis.
(Conference games only, 2009-10)

Purdue	PPP	Opp. PPP
With Hummel	1.08	0.97
Without Hummel	0.97	0.91

By the way, this table comes to us courtesy of an excellent new book that I highly recommend, one that has this to say about these after-Hummel figures:

You could just as well conclude from these numbers that Hummel is the only thing standing between Purdue and true defensive greatness, but for better or worse that's not my read. As I said at the time, I think Painter responded to Hummel's injury last February by more or less declaring the coaching equivalent of martial law. Offensive rebounds, to pick one example, were clearly banned outright by Painter post-Hummel. In effect, Purdue curled up into a tight defensive ball and did their level best to bleach offense out of each succeeding contest entirely.

In terms of our present question -- who's right, the coaches or the writers -- the conclusion I draw is that Painter, even though he's a coach, actually agrees with the writers. He thinks Hummel is really important, so much so that when Hummel is not there, Painter changes his team's whole approach. Who knows, maybe if JaJuan Johnson or E'Twaun Moore went down with an injury, Painter would react the same way. But what we do know is that in the past, Hummel's absence has had a specific and measurable impact.

Any discussion of how important a player is to his team is incomplete without asking the obvious question: Who's going to be getting those minutes instead? In the case of Purdue, the names that Painter brings up as candidates to inherit Hummel's possessions don't exactly strike fear into the hearts of opposing defenses. 

Now, maybe that will change. Maybe one of the young Boilers will seize the moment and become a third scoring threat alongside Johnson and Moore. We are, after all, talking about a conference where a once-unheralded recruit like Northwestern's John Shurna emerged as a legitimate scoring threat after Kevin Coble suffered a season-ending injury last November. Stranger things have happened.

But that is my point: A strange thing like that does need to happen for the coaches to be correct and for Purdue to be considered a top-10 team without Hummel. Until that strange day comes, this writer's completely unbiased advice is to believe what writers are telling you about the Boilermakers.
 ------------------------------------------------

So it's going to take "something strange" happening for Purdue to be a top 10 team? Really? Because they kind of already are. 

I'm not going to give this article the usual BS dissection because, frankly, I don't care that much. If John Gasaway thinks that this year's Purdue team -- with different personnel and the ability to prepare for a full season without Rob -- is no different from the shell-shocked team that lost one of their key guys in mid-February last year and had to adjust on the fly.... well, then he honestly doesn't know the first damn thing about college basketball.

Seriously. Is this clown honestly saying that Matt Painter is so lacking as a coach that a team that was a possible #1 team and widely-agreed national title contender is not even a top ten team any longer because of the loss of one guy?

How many teams in the nation have not one but TWO potential all-Americans who are seniors? Hard to think of any others, right?

As for Gasaway's posit that the thought that Purdue's offense might actually be better this season being the craziest thing he's read all decade, well....all we can say is this, John:

Let's get crazy.