Morgan Burke's Take On 7-Win Bowl Eligibility and a Note On Aspiring Female Football Fans

In an article posted by the Journal & Courier, Morgan Burke was quoted as supporting the likely move to seven wins for bowl eligibility, which Big Ten Commish Jim Delaney recently talked about as coming sooner or later.

I, for one, am actually with Burke on this one. A season is difficult to describe as "good" when your record is the very definition of mediocrity (6-6). A 7-5 record shows you decisively won more than you lost and that with a bowl win, you're an 8-win team. I think -- and this is unscientific -- the average college football fan would say an 8-win season is pretty good.

Not surprisingly, Coach Hope prefers to stick with the 6-win marker, mainly because -- I imagine -- Danny doesn't measure how good his team is in wins, but in heart. Or something. (Maybe I've just been reading Hopeful Danny's Twitter feed too much.)

Obviously the idea of what the fans prefer can be debated, but I actually appreciate Burke's honesty in stating that a 6-6 team going to a crappy bowl (be it Purdue or anyone else) leads to only marginally-interested fans, unsold tickets and cost to the University. It should feel like a reward and as much as we appreciate the guys who wear the old gold and black and represent us all, they should definitely have to earn that reward.

I did like this quote from Burke and, before you accuse me of reading into something too much, understand that I'm doing it more tongue-and-cheek because it amuses me:

“Having a 7-5 record in football isn’t easy, even with the way we schedule non-conference games.”

Potential translation: Even though we have some cupcakes that should be easy wins, you've seen how hard that can be for us.

Burke also acknowledges how the bar is moving from 6-6 as a measure of success to 7-5, which correlates directly to his remarks before last season that he expected a bowl out of the 2011 team. Coach Hope's squad delivered, just barely. If they hit the 7 win marker this year, I think Morgan Burke should just say the measure of success for 2013 is 12-0.

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Also in the article linked was an interesting tidbit about an upcoming event called "Huddle in Heels," which is a "clinic ...designed for women who want to gain basic football knowledge and who want to learn more about the Purdue football. Gentlemen also are welcome to attend."

I like "learn more about the Purdue football." Kind of like how my grandmother might have said it. I also love that gentlemen are welcome to attend. At first you might think, like hell! I know my football! But think of it this way... you'll be among women who are interested in learning more about football. Isn't that sort of.... hot?