Blah.

I was at Mackey for this afternoon's contest versus the 1-win ISU Sycamores. Unimpressive.

If you just saw the score and ESPN's ticker, a 14-point victory with Hummel pouring in 25 sounds pretty respectable...Don't ruin your image by watching highlights. While I'm always happy to see a win versus a loss (of course), this game was lousy. The emotion seemed non-existent and the killer instinct was absent as well.

Between Kramer and Grant being unwilling to shoot and not playing the defense that made them nightmarish for opponents in '07/'08 to Smooge not looking to create shots, but instead wait for a double-team to make decisions; this game was pretty sad. Lew Jack's energy was good as he pushed the ball well...but he made some Frosh mistakes- understandable. But, he also had 4 rebounds...just one shy of the tallest player on Purdue's roster, JJ, who seems to have lost the grasp on what the strengths of his game really are.

If you're like me, you waited to see what happened v. OK and Duke before making a call on these Boilers. Well, since losing the former in heart-breaking fashion, and not showing up for the latter, this squad looks to be a shell of itself. The ball movement isn't fluid and as a result, they aren't getting open looks from outside the arch. Calasan (who might be injured) & JJ don't flash to the top of lane and call for ball, instead, they just kind of move aimlessly. Moore, who looked like a world-beater versus OK (as well as some weaker foes too), has looked fair-to-poor in four straight games. All this is bothersome, but Keaton Grant is the worst story of all, up to this point in the young season. I've been giving Grant a stack of "get out of jail free" cards so far in '08...but after watching tonight's game, I think there's a reason to believe he's not going to be the player of last year, but instead the guy from two seasons ago. Perhaps the knee has ruined his confidence, whatever the case, he is making a bunch of mistakes that simply can't be chalked up solely to conditioning.

So do we worry? Not yet, in my opinion.

But, without a win versus Davidson next Saturday, I'd make the argument that this team isn't a ton better than last season's heading into the Big Ten season. Not bad, right? Near the top of the league...beating good teams on the road...getting better each week. The difference is, this year, everyone wants to beat Purdue...last year, no one saw them as formidable. The target on their back seems to be large and weighing down this team dominated by underclassmen. Another big difference is everyone, including Purdue's players and coaches, are expecting much more than last season. Unless the pulse of this team is found in a hurry, there will be no BT title...nothing more than a mid-seed in the tourney, a second, or first round loss...and finally, all of us simply looking to get this season behind us and to move on to next season.

On the brighter side of things, the Ostrich looked like the Ostrich for about the final 15 minutes by scoring 22 (of his final 25) and hoisting his team mates on his back as they (with the exception of the sole starting Freshman) floundered around pitifully, at home no less. My only question was- Robbie, why'd you wait so long? No matter...perhaps Hummel reminding himself why he's the BT pre-season POY is exactly what this team needs to get back on track...they sure need something. This is another chance for Painter to show us how good of a coach he really is and how good his team can be- I don't know if we've seen that this season.

The sky is not falling...but it's not nearly as high as it seemed a few weeks ago.

Apathy

One of our regular visitors said he had a bad feeling about the MSU game last week...To tell you the truth, I had no feeling at all about the contest. That's never a good thing for someone like me who does so much based on feel since I'm not the smartest knife in the drawer. After the loss was officially in the book, my apathy dropped to another level. I got to this point following the loss to Hawaii last season, so I guess this is timely.

As you probably know, I'm a Purdue sports nerd. I like to soak in as much info as I can during the seasons and even out of season. But when I reach this point, I really don't care too much about reading up on my favorite football team anymore. While I'm sure my wife and son may appreciate it, I'm not so keen on the idea of this malaise once again infecting me. One of my favorite past times is gone...at least for a while.

Maybe the approaching signing day will stoke my interest...or perhaps a strong 2-0 (not likely) finish will act as a defibrillator to my enthusiasm for my beloved Boilers. Regardless, it's a good thing basketball season is nearly here when NCAA powers like Lipscomb and Bethune Cookman are traveling to cozy Mackey Arena in the very near future. Thank Baby Boilers your timing could not be better- You're entering the picture right when it's needed.

Exposed

Sadly, I was wrong...way off, in fact. I thought not only that Purdue would play competitively versus Ohio State, but that my Boilers would win. From the get-go, the Bucks were the better team. Painter did not recover from a poor showing versus UND, in fact he played pretty darned poorly. I counted AT LEAST 6 interceptions that hit Buckeye defenders in the numbers that were dropped. But, the offensive play-calling and preparation was laughable. The new wrinkles that I thought we would see were non-existent...In fact, it looked like Purdue had no clue what to do on the offensive side of the ball. The only bright spot, to me was Dustin Keller's play. He looked like the weapon that Purdue fans all know he is. Conversely, Purdue's big receivers didn't seem to break loose from OSU's DB's and Bryant dropped more than one ball that he should have caught.

To me, and granted, I have not watched tape, the defense was not the problem...when the crowd urged them to make a big, tough play, they seemed to do so...especially in the second and third quarters.

My biggest disappointment of the night, even bigger than that in the coaching staff was the fans. I really don't like OSU and its fans...but there were a lot of them in Ross Ade- too many. The John Purdue Section beneath the press box was littered with red shirts, both end zones were filled with Buck fans and there were pockets throughout. All of the negativity toward the Purdue fanbase seems to be warranted. We are soft. So soft, we sell 1/3 of our tickets to the visiting Buck fans...in a game in which we came in 5-0 and ranked in the top-25. Sad.

So the question is- Has the apathy of the fanbase softened Joe Tiller OR has Joe Tiller's even-keel "everything's fine" philosophy poisoned Purdue's faithful? Regardless, the Tiller teams that used to fight until the end and never stop playing until 0:00 seem to be nothing but a distant memory. This game was over in the second quarter.