Purdue v. Minnesota Prognostications

This week's game is a blessing and a curse...It's a blessing because Goldy is probably a year away from being a legit ranked opponent, so they're beatable. It's a curse, because they're still ranked...and Tiller's teams are still sans-victory in the last 17 contests versus teams that have earned spots in the national rankings.

Let's all be very honest though- If Purdue played a well-coached, mid-sized high school team...and made the amount of mistakes they did last week, they'd get beaten. I know, I know, the coordinators have done a good job and only someone as intellectually mature as Joe himself could really understand that it's more about effort than wins and losses at this point...But our Boilers looked simply lousy last weekend...Not like the Coletto Era, but like the Akers Era, friends.

The question is- Was what we saw in Evanston the bottom of the recent nosedive? Here's what we're thinking about this week's Homecoming Matchup v. Minny.

Tim says:
Good for Purdue
-It's been 18 seasons since the Gophers won at Purdue.
-Purdue hasn't dropped five in a row since losing six straight in 2005 (has it really been that long? *rolls eyes*)
-It's Minnesota

Bad for Purdue
-They're Purdue
-Purdue has a 17-game losing streak to Top 25 opponents
-They suck

At this point it doesn't matter who the f Purdue plays. They're done. Should they win this game? Absolutely. Will they win this game? Absolutely not.

They freaking should win 45 - 10. They will, however, snatch defeat from the jaws of certain victory.

The wheels are off the train and the train is on fire and the conductor is taking a nap. F you conductor!

Minnesota - 38
Purdue - 20

J says:

Purdue hosts a ranked team this week. Uh-oh.

While none of us here think Minny is THAT good, their record is 6-1 and you have to give them credit. Whatever Tim Brewster is doing to get quality football players to come to the land where it's hard to tell the co-eds from the livestock, it's working (and he hasn't been caught yet). So good for him and good for them.

Another thing that's probably changed -- this isn't your father's Glen Mason Minnesota program anymore. Joe Tiller owned Glen Mason and would take him off the shelf and toy with him every fall before crushing Mason's hopes and dreams and putting him away for another year. Purdue-Minnesota's history has many interesting games, almost all of them shootouts... even back when both programs were terrible. And then there's of course the famous Brandon Hance comeback that's still kind of ridiculous.

Thing is, though, I don't think Minnesota fears us anymore -- if they ever did. Brewster has them thinking bigger and winning bigger games than they've won in many years. This team reminds me of those early Tiller teams -- they're talented but are also playing over their heads and catching teams by surprise. Does that mean there's a chance they could let down against a 2-5 Purdue squad and get beat? Sure it does....Purdue has the talent to hang with most teams in the Big Ten, as we've said over and over -- they just haven't gone out there and executed.

Talent-wise, this should be a great game, probably another shootout. But reality-wise, with the way Purdue simply hasn't shown up lately.... I can't imagine why I would pick them to win.

The defense shows up and plays hard against two of the better teams in the COUNTRY in OSU and PSU, and then goes into the crapper against Northwestern when the offense finally awakens and at least gets 20+ points on the board. There's just no telling which wheel is going to come off from week to week. But one thing is usually pretty consistent -- Purdue doesn't beat ranked teams anymore. I really hope I'm wrong.

Minnesota 27

Purdue 16

boilerdowd says:
This game is a lot like last week in that part of me believes Purdue wins...Sure, that's the completely illogical part because this is not the same Minnesota team of last season...So, I'm going with logic. Tiller-coached teams of late have played way-down versus poorer competition and risen to the challenge for close losses versus good teams (awesome sports psychology, by the way).

Until they prove otherwise to me, I don't know how I can pick my alma mater. I'm seeing flashbacks of Reggie Fogie-era greatness from Goldie...I mean Tony Dungy-era greatness...and on the other sideline, Fred Akers and his gigantic hat might once again be stalking the sidelines of Ross Ade...or at least it will feel like it. (Put in Downing!) You have to figure Minnesota is due for a victory in West Lafayette...

Will Tiller end his career with a 19-game losing streak versus ranked opponents? It certainly looks that way right now. The magic formula of (Purdue<30pts=loss) continues...

Minnesota 34
Purdue 28

They Are Who We Thought They Were (OSU wrap)

Coach Rock: "See, Curtis, a progression is what we call it when you look at multiple receivers instead of staring down one guy starting from the snap count until you fire it at him.

Curtis: "Hold on...pro-what-now?"

Sorry to use a hoary cliched line that ESPN would use (thanks, Dennis Green), but it's kind of appropriate here. The Boilers are, as we've said before, nothing if not predictable. Sure, sometimes they throw a little variety into the way they consistently lose to ranked opponents -- such as, you know, inspired defensive efforts and sudden impotence on offense -- but in the end, they're still our Boilermakers.

Random thought: I especially enjoyed the caption on this photograph -- Curtis Painter "throws for yardage." As opposed to, you know, throwing for cookies or throwing for a hamburger or something.

Anyway, I have to admit, I am less "down" on the team right now... not because I'm not still disgusted with the team and the coaching staff, but because for two weeks now, the defense has come to play. And they've come to play hard... despite everyone in the stadium knowing there was a loss coming. I think it says a lot that these guys are continuing to compete. Last week's defensive effort against Penn State looks even more significant now after seeing how badly Penn State dismantled Wisconsin, at Wisconsin this weekend.

But the frustration continues and, as I said, it's always in new ways!

Amazingly, Brock Spack has gotten good game plans together and, frankly, these game plans have been MORE than good enough. I hold Brock completely unaccountable and normally I think he's the problem. This offense, as Peyton says, is offensive.

What the hell? That's about all I can say. I watched, sadly, most of this game -- yes, I wasn't able to pull myself away as Boilerdowd and Travis were able to do. No, as I heard on my XM Radio that the Boilers defense was hanging tough, I had a shred of hope that maybe something could happen.... something like an interception, a fumble, a punt block. Oh, no, that's right, that's what OSU did.

But even if they hadn't gotten that blocked punt, we'd still have lost 9-3, thanks to our poor offense. And I don't know where to turn at this point. I just need one of you to hold me and tell me everything is going to be alright.

Where's the Joe Tiller of 1997? Where's a trick play or two? Where's a consistent offensive scheme? Or is it not the play-calling? I mean, I don't think the play-calling, honestly, was all that bad. It was the execution.... and as we've discussed, that goes back to preparation and practicing. And as commenter dozer pointed out in the comments of the below post, even Kory Sheets is now leaking comments about how practice is where it all starts.

I don't know where we go from here, but as some have pointed out, we might not have expected to win against PSU or OSU anyway, even if we were having a good season. But, again, the frustrating part is that if we had the offense we've had in recent years -- that is, if we could hit on a couple of deep balls per game -- we might well have not only been in those games... we could have -GASP- won those games. I know, it's crazy talk... but what can we possibly expect when we score 9 points combined in two games? And not only that, if someone had told you we'd allow 36 points combined to PSU and OSU, wouldn't you have thought to youself, "Self, we might go 1-1 in those games"? I think you might have thought that. I know I would have.

So where do we go from here? Well, we hope that the defensive unit continues their inspired play and perhaps creates a few turnovers in the coming games (yes, I'm asking for even more from them) and the offense returns from their midseason hibernation slumber. There are indeed winnable games coming up, with the next three @ Northwestern, vs. Minny, and vs. Michigan. No, I'm not saying we should be favored in any of those games. But if we can keep it close against some of the nation's elite, then we should be able to also hang with -- and, frankly, beat -- these teams.

Thanks for the comments in the post down below from during and after the game. You guys rule. It's making me consider doing a "live blog," as overdone as that has now become in the blogosphere. But I think you guys would make it fun.

Anyway, your thoughts are, as always, welcome.

Purdue Football T-Shirt

PURDUE FOOTBALL '08

EXPECT THE EXPECTED.

Even Uncle Pat's Pissed (Purdue v. MSU...and other college football notes)

Bryant dejected after Senior Day loss to MSU

Uncle Pat is one of my favorite people. He graduated from Purdue in Engineering in 1970. I respect him because I'm very different from him in a lot of ways. He's level-headed, mild-mannered and not angered easily. He and I are alike in that we both love Purdue and find Purdue football to be one of our favorite past times. I got to see Uncle Pat after the debacle at Ross Ade this afternoon and he called it one of the worst performances he's seen in a long time. He also said the team looked "pretty sad." That may not sound like much, but from this guy, it is a whole lot. He also said what he saw on the field was getting kind of old...That's important, because those within the Purdue family that are complacent with things as they are seem to be coming few and far-between.

It's kind of funny, the numbers look good, in parts...Good amount of points, Painter put up a lot of yards, had two rush TDs and a pass TD...But my Boilers stunk it up. MSU showed more will, more grit, more guts and executed much better than Purdue. On third down, when they needed yards, they'd get them, usually through the air. Spack's defense seemed to have no idea that the tight end was eligible for most of the afternoon. While the Boilers focused on stopping the run, MSU decided to chew up the field through the air...and it worked well. Hoyer looked very sharp; and I've watched him this year and he's not that great of a QB; but he looked pretty great this afternoon. Purdue's defense allowed the Spartan offense to move with ease for the majority of the game...in fact, I don't think I saw the MSU punter all game except twice. They dominated the time of possession, (get this) executed an effective game plan & even had the onions to attempt & succeed in executing a fake punt to salt the game away.

It was Senior Day...usually a very big day, especially when such a large class says goodbye to their home stadium. But those same Seniors didn't step up and even made mistakes during key situations as the game slipped into the loss column.

Selwyn Lymon had a great grab and run after the catch, and Kory Sheets looked like a legitimate weapon on more than one occasion...But Painter threw an int that was returned to the three...and another that was turned into three points moments later. And Bryant had a disgusting fumble that was returned for a TD. There's your game- 17 points gift-wrapped and handed to Sparty...how very hospitable of our Boilers.

The 10-win season that some thought was a possibility is now off of the table...and so is a quality bowl. Best case scenario is another 8-win regular season filled with moral victories and actual victories over patsies followed by an invite to a lousy bowl...and the worst case (and maybe likely) scenario is a 7-win regular season capped with a loss to a mediocre-at-best IU team (to make it three losses in-a-row) and a who-cares bowl invite.

Thank goodness that while some within the Purdue family accept 7.5 wins/season as good-enough, there are other programs that push for something greater. That outlook is what makes college football great.

So Sad for you, Brutus
Alright, not really...in fact, I don't know if it could have happened to a better group of people. As I watched Illinois put the game away in Columbus, no less, I was happy. I couldn't help but remember the blogsters and message board visitors from tOSU all but planning their trips to the BCS game...the only question to them was, who would their opponent be?? Sorry guys and gals wearing nuts around your neck, but you probably shouldn't have believed it was a done deal until it was over. I don't really care about the Big Ten's strength at this point and am now into survival mode. Its every team for themselves.

Seeing the sweater vest lose was good fun.

A New Record!
UND set an all-time program record by posting its ninth loss of the season! Congrats Manatee and all of the Irish fans...and congrats on your moral victory, Jimmy!

BCS Clarity
I dislike judges deciding who wins a boxing match...and refuse to call figure skating or gymnastics "sports" because judges decide who has danced the prettiest or had the best form...I've got the same beef with college football. Votes, polls and beauty contests are simply too important in the existing system. Furthermore, having just one game to decide who is king of the college football universe is ridiculous, even in an "ideal" year when there are only two undefeated teams. But, what's shaping up for this post season is exciting for all anti-BCS football fans out there. There could be between 5 & 7 one-loss teams at the end of the 2007 season...Regardless, the pointy-heads, academians and sports whores will tell us that it worked out perfectly in the end.