Thank You, Seniors: Boilers Keep Bucket, 56-35

Congrats, men.

About a month ago, I, for one, was skeptical that the Boilers would win another game this year. I thought the tent had been folded up and put away neatly in the shed until next season. After the gut-wrencher loss to Ohio State, the Boilers failed to show up in Minneapolis and were downright embarrassed. After that game, Robert Marve -- when asked questions about his team -- just said, "You just gotta go out there and play, man." The undertone we heard was "Let's stop talking about this stuff and just go play better."

The Boilermakers struggled the next week vs Penn State at home, only further cementing their mediocre-at-best season status and likely Coach Hope's fate in front of mere hundreds at Ross-Ade. Many teams, including teams in positions like Purdue was in, would have truly folded it up at that point. As I said, I didn't think they'd necessarily win again.

It's a true testament to the players and especially the seniors that the Boilermakers have won three in a row to become bowl-eligible, culminating in today's guilty pleasure 56-35 win over the Hoosiers. I say guilty pleasure because that was not a "good" game in terms of good football teams playing good football, but it was fun. Shootouts often are and this one had huge swings of three touchdowns at a clip.

Robert Marve and Akeem Shavers had career days on Senior Day, with Marve passing for a 69% completion percentage (imagine how good it would have been if Purdue receivers weren't wearing cement gloves in the second quarter) on 20/29 passing, for a tidy 348 yards and four TDs.

The two-QB system even sort of "worked" today, as Rob Henry passed for a TD and rushed for one. ("See??!!" Gary Nord is shouting right now, before his percocet sandwich).

Shavers carved up the Hoosier defense for 225 total yards -- 126 on the ground and a TD and two catches for 99 yards and two TDs. He also had scoring runs of 71 and 58 yards called back on penalties. Mercy. Not a bad last game in Ross-Ade. Too bad more fans weren't on hand to see it.

Other notable performances included Frankie Williams' impressive interception of Cameron Coffman's long downfield pass and on the other side of the field, junior Stephen Houston rushed for 158 yards and three TDs. The guy was hard to stop.

Speaking of IU, I know the knock on their D all season has been their porous run stopping, but their secondary is positively dreadful as well. I'd love to crow about Purdue rolling up all these points (and I will) but that secondary can't stop anybody. It's not like it was laserlike touchdown passes threading needles all day. The Boilers caught passes in the flat or even at the line of scrimmage (Gary Bush from Henry comes to mind) and then just ran through, around and over the IU defenders. One guy who got particularly worked over was #37, Mark Murphy, a safety for the Hoosiers. 

On Brandon Cottom's 14 yard TD for the first Boiler score, he kind of ran right past Murphy, who made a weak arm-tackle attempt and wound up splayed out on the field watching Cottom rumble into the end zone. And then on Akeem Shavers' 73 yard TD catch-and-run (his first of three straight in the final 10:40 of the game), Murphy had a clear line on Shavers and should certainly have been able to take down the smaller running back. Then Shavers grabbed Murphy by the face and threw up to the ground and this happened:

Mark Murphy (37) is thinking "My girlfriend saw that."

What I don't get is how this team stayed with some of the teams they stayed with this year. I think the fact that Kevin Wilson cobbled a 4-7 season out of these guys (remember, an improvement from one win last year) really is quite an accomplishment. Everyone seems to agree they're going in the right direction, including me, but he has got to get some defenders in there (or a coach who can coach these guys up) who can stop...something. Pass, run, whatever. Because that defense was abominable. (No, I'm not saying Purdue's is phenomenal, before you say something about that.)

Another guy I should mention here is Cody Webster since punters rarely get coverage. This guy has been more of an asset than I think people realize. Cody averages over 45 yards per punt today, notching 275 yards on six kicks. He's only a junior, so next year this will be an asset again and he'll be kicking on Sundays in two years. Good for him.

Crosby Wright, another favorite here at BS, had a game himself. Despite Crosby having two big penalties that resulted in huge gains being brought back (we had to bust your balls, Crosby), Wright had a manly catch and run while carrying IU defenders for over 15 yards in the third quarter. It looked like he dragged three defenders into the end zone but was ruled down a the 1 and Rob Henry punched it in. Crosby had three catches for 81 yards, his best yardage output of the season. Unfortunately, he never made it into the end zone this season, but caught balls in every game but two. 

Boilermaker

Back on Robert Marve, I don't think we can say enough about this guy. I know he's had a troubled past in some ways but if you believe in second chances and that young guys sometimes make poor decisions and then straighten themselves out, then you should also love this guy. There are few examples in recent Purdue history of guys who just wanted to be a Boilermaker and be out on that field with his teammates more than Robert Marve. Much like Rob Hummel, this is a guy who could lament his spot in life and his three ACL injuries and how things just have not worked out for him they way they could have, but then you see his dad during the game saying that Robert is so "blessed" to be a Boilermaker and you can see how happy the whole family is that he's playing football in the black and gold. If you're like us, it just makes you proud of him. And thankful to him, because those are the guys we love to see in Purdue uniforms.

As for his play on the field, we also couldn't be happier that he had his career day on Senior Day. But the play many of us will surely remember for a while was after he threw a hard luck interception that rattled around among a few players and was snagged by junior cornerback, Greg Heban of the Hoosiers. Heban took off the other way and had the running head start on Marve, who was closer to the center of the field while Heban was streaking down the hashmarks. Marve turned on the jets and reminded us all that he's still one of the best athletes on the Purdue roster. Marve took the correct angle and -- on a torn ACL, remember -- caught Heban and, as I said to b-dowd after the game, made a tackle with better form than many of Purdue's defensive players of the past five years. Now that's a guy who wants to play football for the Boilers. How many QBs would have shown that hustle? And don't tell me many, because we've all seen guys coast out of the frame and give up on the play. The tackle occurred 70 yards after the interception. It still resulted in an IU TD, but that's not the point here. Robert Marve made us proud during his time at Purdue, especially this season. Marve-lous, indeed. Thank you, Robert.

*             *             *

As we mentioned on Friday, we heard from a number of sources within the athletic department that Coach Hope is done. While we've always liked him as a person, we've never felt he was a very good coach. We've tried to stay off the "Fire Hope!" bandwagon as we never like to call for a guy's job and we don't know what good it does. Plus, he has been the coach, so until he isn't, we always felt we should do our best to stay objective and not personal. However, Danny Hope has made it personal in recent weeks, referring to those who question this team and how it could possibly have looked so bad as "losers" and people of "low character."

Today, as the game ended, he was seen on the field with his wife who was already in tears. I suppose it's a nice thing that the Hopes enjoyed their time in West Lafayette so much that they're upset that it's ending. Of course, it could also be that they're projecting a bit and blaming everyone else for the fact that Danny is likely on the way out. Sally Hope even started the postgame presser, as per Gold and Black, by lecturing the press who "couldn't wait" for Purdue to lose. Give me a break. That's just poor form. The media in West Lafayette is far from being like a rabid dog.

This kind of embarrasses me as a Purdue fan.

Hope said that it was an "extremely successful season" because they came back from the 3-6 start, and was also put up on his players shoulders. That's nice and all, but let's not celebrate a coach who went 22-27 too much, okay?

It's worth repeating that we would have liked to see this season, with this schedule and this roster of talent, play out under better coaching. There were many times when we found ourselves wondering what things would have been like with Marve in there or better play calling. How different is this season if Marve stays in the game to start the second half against Notre Dame? How about if Purdue is able to get one more first down and run out the clock against Ohio State? Every season has its "what ifs," of course, but some of the ones this year could have significantly altered the trajectory of the football program. Naturally, we'll never know. What we do know, though, is that the Hope/Nord approach has not worked for the past four years.


That said, we hope the seniors get a nice destination for the bowl game and come to play. Crosby Wright was quoted after the game as saying the following:

"I don't know how to describe it. It's tremendous. It's incredible. It's the best feeling of my life. Me and my fellow seniors, we've got one final game to play as Purdue Boilermakers." 

Those are the quotes that are fun to hear. Yes, we wish it was a more meaningful bowl game, but regardless of where it is, we'll be watching and pulling for these guys.

That will never change. We hope other things do, though.  

The Curse of Pizza

Last December, all was right in the world.

The Big 10 had 12 teams, the Big 12 had 10 teams, The Big East didn't stretch to the West Coast and Purdue was preparing to go to a crappy bowl to play a MAC team, as Danny Hope was secure with his new contract.

Now, the B1G is about to become a 14 team conference, the Big East is about to become no conference at all and Purdue's head football coach seems to be scratching and clawing for another day in God's country.

Things change quickly in the college football world.

Around a year ago, Western Michigan boasted of a few NFL-level players and an offense that looked like it could hang with about anyone.  This season, Western Michigan's team was 4-8...so their AD decided it was time to move forward.

WMU's coach, Cubit, had been there 8 seasons and had a record over .500...he was coming off of a bowl season to boot. But all that wasn't enough to save his job...at Western Michigan.  Does anyone catch my drift here?

In this era of college football, winning about half of your games and going to crappy bowls isn't good enough.  It's not good enough for a MAC program, and it surely isn't good enough for Purdue.

The problem with winning around half of your games, to me at least, is it saps all emotion and intensity from the fan base...especially if that's the case season, after season, after season.  Purdue has been stuck in this quagmire for a while...and we've written about it a time or two, I believe.

Even if your sister's a really good kisser, it's not a good practice to lock lips with her time and again, but with a 6-6 record (at best) on the horizon, Purdue's football program's sister has her lip gloss on and is ready to go.

The end of Tiller's time at Purdue wasn't too fun.  Saturday's at Ross-Ade had become shells of what they'd used to be.  If Purdue was playing a crappy defense, the first down chant would be the anthem, but when good defenses came calling, the first down chant became the equivalent of the fight song after a TD- something to savor and enjoy. The same is the case now.

Purdue's offense is a shell of what it's been over Hope's time at Purdue.  When "The Duke" was at QB and Keith Smith was in the game, Purdue might chuck it around or might have had Smith pass it.  When Ralph Bolden was health and Purdue's o-line was consistent, Bolden and Shavers would gash defenses with regularity.  Now, it takes really bad defenses to allow Bolden and Shavers to get loose, not inventive play-calling...and Purdue QBs don't regularly pass for over 200 yards versus anyone.

Please understand, this is no indictment of the guys on the field.  Saturday is a great illustration of that- Marve complete's nearly 3/4 of his passes and his numbers weren't anything to write home about.  He was doing what he could, taking what was given to him...and sticking to the gameplan.  Isn't that what Hope and Nord have always wanted of him?  Good for Marve for being a good soldier.  Very bad for Hope and Nord for not giving Marve a chance to showcase what he can really do.

On defense, things have looked pretty good the last few weeks...but Iowa and Illinois' offenses are offensive.  This week that'll change as IU's offense will surely test Purdue's DBs and front.  Wilson will remind us what innovation on the offensive side of the ball looks like...but his defense is atrocious, so it might not matter.

But IU on Saturday has become a pretty fun place to be- IU fans saw some things they didn't expect this season and have a reason to believe things are getting better. Our Boilers, conversely, were sadly predictable this season...and they'll lose huge chunks of their firepower, on both sides of the ball, to graduation this offseason.  Like Coach Hope told us, this was a team like none other he'd had at Purdue and the potential was there for a good season.  That potential has now been watered down to a mediocre bowl play-in game with IU.

So a few weeks ago when Hope started blaming injuries for the state of things on campus, I couldn't stop my blood from reaching the Boiling point.  This wasn't '10...Purdue wasn't playing a third or fourth string QB and second and third string RBs.  Purdue had the nicks and cuts that the B1G grinder gives you...but in spite of ridiculous rotations in multiple positions, his coaching staff wasn't ready for the adversity.

On top of that, Hope has now badmouthed his coaching mentor on two different occasions to the media...he's also called Purdue fans and ticket holders losers and people of low character.  Now, we always have liked Hope as a person.  Better yet, we've always liked what he's let us see.  In person, he's been gracious and conversational and to the media he always seemed happy to be the head coach.  That's not the same any more. The problems seem to now outweigh the advantages of coaching the B1G for Hope...so, soon, he'll have to lie in the bed he's made.

Coach Nord has always been a bristly guy...but this season, he's coached a stale offense and continued to defend the methodology while telling us that we didn't see what we thought we saw.  I don't wish the man ill...in fact, I hope his back is healthy enough to coach someplace else next season.

Danny Hope saw last season's Little Caesars' Bowl as a stepping stone for his Boilers on the way to greater things.  Turns out, that bowl game might have been a transition for both coaching staffs in the game as they prepared to exit.

Coach Hope's Master Plan Still Developing, Likely To Be A Screen Pass

The always-talented and subtly-hilarious Mike Carmin of the Lafayette J&C has this gem regarding Coach Hope's "master plan" (if ever something deserved to be in quotation marks, it's that) and how it's, well, still in progress.

It starts off with another classic Dannyism, which sounds made up but isn't:

Has Danny Hope had enough time to get Purdue’s program to where he wants it? Asked that question Sunday, the fourth-year coach said, “no in some regards, but yes in some ways.”

So....sort of?

I think it's fair to assume it's not exactly where he wants it, as the Boilers are still searching for an over-.500 regular season under Coach Hope. But the question is whether he's had enough time, so the answer is even more vague. You either have had enough and think four years (plus a year as associate head coach under Tiller, which shouldn't be overlooked -- that allowed him a head start on recruiting for his tenure) is enough to get a program where it should be. I think most of us would argue the program is perilously close to being in a worse place than it's been in years.

“Where we were at when I came here and where we’re at now, we made a lot of progress but it takes time,” Hope said. “We really haven’t had time to cash in on some of our efforts in some ways. We’re just now getting some things in place that will impact the program that I wish had been in place many years ago or several years ago.”

What the what? Many years ago... or several years ago. You know, sometimes four weeks feels like a month, know what I'm saying? No? Neither do I.

And what efforts haven't been cashed in? What does that even mean? You haven't had time to cash in on your efforts in some ways.... just dizzying.

But in the end, Coach Hope thinks he hasn't had enough time because arguably the best coach in the history of the program left things a mess for him:

Ultimately, Hope said he’s “not really” had enough time.“Coming in, we were a long ways away in about every phase of the program and we’ve made some progress,” Hope said. “We’re still a long ways away in a lot of key areas and it’s going to take more than three or four years to turn around several years of maybe going in the wrong direction.”

So things were going in the wrong direction before he took over. I don't want to debate this too much, because we, too, felt things were no longer on a proper course under Coach Tiller. HOWEVER... blaming your predecessor for your failings when you've had four years (plus that associate HC year) to make things better is a little bit... desperate.

There is no longer room for debate in our opinion on this fact: the Purdue football program is not on course for success. Whether that's because the previous regime (that went to ten bowls in twelve years) screwed things up so irreversibly or that this group hasn't had enough time yet, I don't know for sure. What I do know is that if Purdue wins Saturday against the Hoosiers, there will likely be another bowl on Coach Hope's resume and he'll be talking successful season. If others in power agree with him, then there will be no longer any doubt that mediocrity is acceptable and will be the apex of Purdue football success for the foreseeable future. 

Staying Alive: Boilers Win in Champaign

They dug deep...they persevered...they fought through boredom and the urge to go to the hardware store.  I'm of course speaking of all of the Purdue fans who stayed awake for watched the throwback first half between an awful Illinois team, on Senior day, and a not-too-great Purdue team in their final stretch.

Danny Hope said that, in spite of being in the building, Gary Nord DID NOT call plays.  But, he was wearing a headset, taking notes and clearly had some effect on the Purdue offense for much of the game. The gameplan we saw versus Iowa was no where to be found...in its place, an array of draw plays, screen passes, and, of course, first down wheel routes were on display in the storied stadium that Red Grange built (not literally).

Sarcastic cheering, even in photos, is pretty funny.

At the end of the first half, it was 6-3 in favor of the good guys...and the game had all of the excitement of a 6-3 game.  But, Purdue was given the gift of two turnovers on Illinois' side of the field and another not too deep in Purdue territory...those three turnovers, of course, led to ZERO points for Purdue.

At the end of the first quarter though, Purdue had one yard passing and eight yards of total offense.  Those stats are absolutely legit.  And on the opposite side of the ball, the fighting Illini had 29 yards of passing and not many yards rushing.  It wasn't that these two defenses were just firing off of the ball and doing everything right.  Oh no, this was an exhibition of two of the least-inventive and most-boring play-callers, not in the nation, but in the history of college football.  We know Illinois' OC was one of them...I'm just not positive who was the guy calling the game for our Boilers.

In the second half, it started out similarly, but a few minutes into the third quarter, Akeem Hunt broke free on a wheel route in which there were no Illinois defenders in the stadium, it seemed.  He scored easily as Purdue's linemen pulled and couldn't find anyone to hit for about 25 yards.

Hunt's 63 yard catch led him to lead all Boilers in receiving for the game...sure, there were a few passes thrown and caught by Hope's squad, but most were for around three or four yards.  Marve finished the game with a solid outing and utilized the gameplan given to him as well as possible while completing nearly 70% of his passes for 173 yards.  But, he kept the first touchdown drive alive with his lone ACL as he scrambled in a pocket that was pretty non-existant all day long.

Badass

One thing the OC did well was feed the RBs, especially in the closing 15 minutes of the game.  Shavers ran hard all game, and finished with 99 yards on 21 carries.  Cottom had a couple hard runs as the change up back after Bolden went down...and Bolden was ripping it up until he was hurt after a 63 yard run. He finished with 93 yards on 7 carries.  But during the big run, it looked like he re-tore the fourth right ACL that he's had.  In fact, I was pretty positive that he had done it.  Thankfully, I was wrong.  He tweaked his hamstring...but instead of running out of bounds after the injury, he hobbled about 45 yards with a bum right wheel.  The dude is a badass...always has been, always will be.

Purdue's defense kept Illinois in front of them for the most part, but Scheelhaase did what he does v. Purdue as he scrambled for a ton of yards as his pocket collapsed time and again.  He led the Illini with 76 yards rushing to go along with his 160 yards passing.  Scheelhaase will graduate this season, but might take advantage of the stupid NCAA rule that allows players to transfer to another school if their current grass isn't green enough school doesn't offer the grad program they want to pursue.  I'm pretty sure Illinois doesn't have what he wants to study.

"Would they fire me
after one season?"

Purdue's defense allowed 17 points on the day, and just 333 yards of total offense.  That's pretty damned respectable in this era of high point totals and mileage, not yardage.  But this Illinois team is unconventional.  They don't like scoring (they've scored 17 or fewer points in all of their B1G games) and they really don't like winning much either...they're now 2-9 (0-7) with an extremely weak schedule that didn't help them out too much.

The Seniors on defense did play big though, it seemed that Maci, Johnson, Ezenwa, Charlot and of course, Short were around the ball all day.

The ST units shined today.  Webster punted well...in fact had a huge 60 yarder late in the game that gave Illinois a very long field after Anthrop downed the Illini on the five.  McCartney was 2-for-2 while kicking field goals and 2-for-2 while kicking points after.  And Hunt averaged a solid 22 yards/return on KO returns. The little things matter...and they especially mattered in this 20-17 victory today.

It's funny, there are some Purdue fans who wished Purdue to lose today in order to insure that Hope would be gone at the end of the season...but we believe the damage is already done regardless of what happens and has happened the last two weeks.  The facts are still the facts, and Iowa, Illinois and IU are three very bad teams...heck, a few of the good teams in the conference that kicked the hell out of our Boilers aren't even that good.  And the season ticket sales have spoken loudly to the Athletic Department.  All of that said, I don't know a Purdue fan, I mean a real Purdue fan that can legitimately say they want to see IU beat Purdue in Ross-Ade on the Senior Day of Short, Marve, Shavers, Johnson, Bolden and others.

My wife and I will be at the game next Saturday.  Like many of you out there, she hasn't been to a game in two years...so I'm hoping she gets to see Purdue beat the hell out of IU for old time's sake.

I don't agree that a 6-6 record in this era of football is at all special or noteworthy, as Hope told us it would be last week. What I do know is that having a losing record, with this talented of a team and this weak of a schedule, would be an abomination.  Plus, a crappy bowl is much better than the Oaken Bucket becoming a quazi bowl game.

I'm looking forward to sending the Seniors off with a win...and if IU's QB passes for 600 yards, I really don't give a damn.  As we saw today in Happy Valley, and a few years ago in Ross-Ade, eye-popping passing stats are worth little when they lead to a loss.

Go Boilers, beat little sister like a rented mule.

Send them home sad, Seniors.

Final Stretch Handsomeness is Upon Us.

With our Boilers fighting for their post-season lives and Coach Hope trying to scheme and plan his way out of a corner, the hamn dandsomest pair in the universe decided to weigh in.

Listen to these two losers of low character...

Now!

Listen to internet radio with Boiled Sports on Blog Talk Radio

Boilers Leave No Doubt v. PSU

According to Purdue players and coaches alike, this afternoon's game v. PSU was an important one.

The high expectations of camp and the early season weren't completely out of reach as Purdue could still take a step forward for the program, by winning out.  Seven wins for this team would be pretty solid...A bowl in Texas instead of Detroit wasn't out of the question, and Purdue's player's coach would surely earn another extension by leading his squad to a 7-5 season.  So our Boilers were playing for their coach...playing for pride, and playing for this Senior class.  All of those motivators seemed to matter little this afternoon in God's country.

Robert Marve's speech earlier this week was the stuff of legends...but Purdue's subsequent play was not.  It wouldn't matter if Marve was at QB or Drew Brees was behind center...Nord and Hope's gameplan and play-calling was uninventive, uninspiring and flat.  The game crept along at a snail's pace (at least for Purdue fans).

Purdue wasn't behind by much...then was behind by a few scores...then was completely out of the game.  Lousy spacing, defensive schematic breakdowns, poor tackling, awful execution and vanilla, predictable play-calling put Purdue in a position that we're all familiar with: the prone position.

Make no mistake, this PSU team is just OK.  They're not great...but Purdue made them look like a juggernaut this afternoon.  I was looking for a spry JoePa on the sidelines...and KiJana Carter to break the huddle...but all I found was a mediocre QB and a slow, plodding RB...who kicked Purdue's ass time and time again.  The end result was another thrashing: Purdue 9 PSU 34.

Purdue's defense couldn't get a stop when they needed it...and the offense was no better.  At one point, our Boilers were averaging under 3 yards/pass attempt...that number swelled to 4.6 with TerBush's strong effort in relief of #9.

Back when J and I were students, we just waited for the moment when Purdue would be out of the game...today, that moment came pretty early in the game as Purdue didn't put up much of a fight after midway through the second quarter.  The familiar two yard out was back in force on offense...and on the other side of the ball, Purdue looked like they were trying to catch a jack rabbit, but to no avail.

I still believe that these players are capable of much more than what we're seeing...and we have proof: UND is still undefeated and Purdue took them to the edge of defeat.  Same goes for anOSU. But games like last week, this week and both the Wisky and UM games make even the most-faithful Boiler doubt that anything's left in the tank.

Shavers averaged 8.1 yards/carry...but Hunt was the guy that Nord went to as the game was slipping away. Edison had a couple uncharacteristic drops, but still finished with 93 yard receiving and a TD...but he was forced to catch the ball with his back to the defense and his feet in cement...not by his design, mind you.

The sad thing is, Nord, Tibesar, Gibbony, Hope and company probably haven't reached the bottom yet.  Purdue travels to Iowa next week.  Iowa is not good...they're sub-.500 and they lost to IU today...plus, Purdue hasn't won at Kinnick since I was in high school...and many of Purdue's players weren't born, at that point.  What I'm saying is that I'm not counting on things to change next week, or for the remainder of this season, sadly.

Watching college football for me is tough right now.  As I type, Oregon is scoring with regularity...K State is enjoying a resurgence under a guy that looks like my grandpa...and college football is still fun for some fan bases.  But, it's not much fun for Boilers right now.  In fact, it looks like Purdue isn't even playing the same game that many teams, like Sumlin's Aggies and others, are playing right now.

Mercy.

One of Purdue's really good fans came up from Texas this weekend to watch the game in the nice seats in Ross-Ade.  He didn't buy the seats from a scalper, but he purchased these years ago...and due to work and life, he doesn't get to go to many, but keeps supporting his Boilers with his time and wallet.  The reward for his long trip was his Boilers laying a gigantic egg on the RA prescription athletic turf.  Fans like this guy I'm talking about, our pal, deserve better...hell, Purdue fans in general deserve better than what we saw today...and what we've seen this season.

The coaches didn't give the players the tools to win today, and the players repaid them with a lackluster effort, especially after the first quarter. This putrid blend of lousy effort and worse planning has helped create a nearly-unwatchable product clad in vegas gold and black this season.

37,500 seats were sold for the game today...and by the middle of the third quarter, about 25,000 die hards remained in their seats...I wasn't one of them.

My brother, a fellow Purdue grad, turned 35 yesterday.  We celebrated his birthday at his home with an open house...during a four or five our span, 20-25 Purdue grads, along with their spouses and kids came through his house...and none of them seemed to indicate that they were too bothered by missing the game.  Some even left their seats in RA empty while celebrating my brother surviving another year.  Most of these men and women graduated during the Tiller era...But, the early oughts are a distant memory at this point, and in their place, the late-80s seem to have taken their place.

Perhaps I've figured out the problem?

Just let 'em play.

In Hope's second year at Purdue, his team was decimated with injuries in a way that many coaches never have to deal with...no one can argue that point.  Losses to quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers were the toughest to swallow...and I believe Hope didn't ever want to see that happen again.  In the wake of that, he instituted his now infamous two or three QB system...last year, he signed an additional 100 quarterbacks* and he and Coach Nord seemed to change their overall philosophy.

Hope's inability to decide who is the quarterback is definitely one of his problems as a head coach.  I think that he really believes all three of his QBs can do the job...so much so that he won't let one do it effectively...and this is the issue across the board really.

When was the last time Hope/Nord's offense just rode a hot hand? I think I can give you two examples...on opposite sides of the ball.

The first comes versus Toledo in Hope's debut- Nord and Hope allowed Bolden to run and run and run...to the tune of 234 yards and two TDs.  The sizable effort by Purdue's Pocket Hercules helped our Boilers snatch victory and strangle it with a constrictor's grip.  The second time we saw a guy just take over a game for Hope was the same year when Ryan Kerrigan terrified Terrell Pryor and the Bucknuts into submission (granted, Brandon King also played a sizable role in that defensive effort).

Now, Purdue does everything by platoon...mass subs, on both sides of the ball are commonplace.  And the effort to develop the young guys seems to have stunted the growth of everybody.

A good example of this idea is within the ranks of Purdue's wide receivers.  Purdue spreads the wealth (if you will) around, so no one's getting rich.  In fact, Purdue hardly ever has a receiver go over the century mark.  Part of that can be blamed on the fact that Purdue's passing game just isn't very proficient these days...but another piece of the puzzle is that guys don't get into the groove because they can't.

The play calling hurts this immensely as well.  Nord's vanilla brand of plays give TerBush a wide array of 2 and 3 yard outs to choose from...these passess essentially waste downs and don't allow speedy receivers to show anything but their ability to get hit in the back.  Sidebar: do you think Coach Nord knows that the throwback across the field is supposed to be a play that's set up, not a bread and butter go-to play? There's a reason no one is ever surprised when our Boilers run it.

Purdue's running backs are no different.  Typically a team that runs the ball well will give the ball to the hot hand again and again and again.  Most teams will allow that guy to run the ball 18-25 times/game.  Not Purdue.  In fact, in spite of averaging 6, 9 or 12 yards/pop, Purdue backs will carry the ball a max of 11 times/game...and most games it'll be in the single digits.  The only game in which wasn't the case was against Marshal...whose rugged front four held Shavers to 2.3 yards/carry on 25 carries.  Sadly, Purdue's 150 yard rushing game is about 100 yards below what Marshall typically allows on the ground...and Shavers' 2.3 yards/carry is around 3 yards below their average allowed.  I don't blame Shavers- the guy runs hard and finishes runs well...but when his opportunities include delay draw after delay draw on second and third and long, it's tough sledding.

At the QB position, Hope has refused to completely hand the controls to one quarterback.  As a result, TerBush seems to play the game scared and hasn't developed...and Henry has not developed at all as Marve's injury has kept him from the field (we guess...still can't figure this conundrum out).

Look on the other side of the ball, the same situation is happening. Purdue's search for the perfect safety has kept them from having a good one...and the linebackers are in a similar situation as well...as is the offensive line...at least this is what I'd like to believe.

Let's all remember that Hope said this season had the potential to be a special one during camp as he believed Purdue had the right parts in place to make some noise in the conference. They've made a ton of noise...but that's generally been similar to that of a Hoover product.

My eyes continue to tell me that what Hope saw in practice isn't really that far off-base.  Let me clarify- Purdue has talent and speed...I agree with him there.  I think many opposing coaches would agree with him.  But if you take speedy receivers and never run routes in which they catch the ball on the run, can they display their speed? If a running back is great at hitting holes quickly, but there are never any holes, is he being utilized? If you don't allow a QB with a big arm to throw anything but out routes, how can you be sure? If a strong and sizable front 3 or 4 is never in the position to make tackles because of their scheme, how can we really judge their stoutness? And if that same front can't every get to the quarterback, how can ball hawks change the momentum of a game?

Hope said that his team played hard, but played scared and tight on Saturday...He's right again.  They've been playing scared for weeks.  Players typically reflect their coach.  Joe Tiller teams, at least in his first five or six seasons, never believed they were out of a game...and they stole a ton of improbably victories because of Cowboy Joe's mentality. Danny Hope coaches like a guy who's not quite confident in his ability to lead his squad in many situations...and his team displays a similar lack of confidence.

In everyone's defense, it's tough to be confident when you play/coach as they did on Saturday.  But I do still believe the tools are in the shed, if they're used correctly.

As Robert Marve said on Saturday afternoon, "You just gotta play."  It's as simple as that. Now, Hope and company have to let the playmakers play.


*might or might not be exactly right about this number

Uh Oh

As J wrote about earlier this week, we've seen some pretty lousy games in the last four seasons under Coach Hope...but I believe that earlier today we saw the lowest point for the program under his direction.

Getting hammered by good teams is lousy...especially when our Boilers are supposed to be one of the better teams in league. In earlier seasons, getting beaten by Northern Illinois and Toledo was disappointing as they weren't great teams. Losing a close one to Rice was pretty embarrassing, no bones about it.  But getting smoked by a really bad team with no offensive or defensive identity might be the bottom of the barrel...right?

We've stated our case, time and again, that Hope is in over his head. In a conference full of great coaches and extremely-talented players, Hope-coached teams can't consistently compete.  But, Hope used to be able to beat the bottom of the conference. But perhaps the problem is, Purdue is the very bottom of the conference.

0-4 in the conference...and really this team has only competed once in those four games and the cellar dwellers now look tough to our Boilers. IU just won a road game...but the good news is Purdue is hosted by that very Illini squad in just a few weeks. The bad news is IU is a much better team than Purdue right now...and their upside is pretty sizable.

Confused by the outcome.

As little as I want to do this, let's look back at Minneapolis for a moment.

Purdue's back to getting flagged with regularity...like the last few seasons. And the defense that got made the last two DCs lose their jobs seems to be back, yet again. It almost seems like the defensive problems are bigger than just the defensive coordinator.  In fact, Purdue allowed Minnesota's offense to get nearly their season average in yardage...in a half.  Atop that, Purdue let Goldy score almost exactly double their points average for the season. And to pile on, Minny had scored exactly 13 points in each of their first three Big Ten games -- and then hung 44 on the Boilers today.

Young DBs got burnt for easy TDs...solid veterans got burnt just as easily.  The defensive scheme was deplorable today...and put none of Purdue's players in the position to make plays; plain and simple.

On the other side of the ball, TerBush's solid game v. aOSU was followed up by a dog. He panicked under Minny's pressure and made slow decisions and poor throws. And once Purdue was down by a couple touchdowns...which was very early in the game, TerBush couldn't stretch the field. Purdue ran the ball well- Bolden, Hunt and Shavers all averaged over 6 yards/carry...but since TerBush doesn't run the hurry-up well, Purdue was forced to pass on nearly every down; not good.

Marve came in, for some reason, after Purdue was already down 44-7. I'm not going to tell you that Purdue would have won the game had Marve started. Neither Marve nor TerBush nor Henry, who also played QB, by the way, could have stopped Tibesar from having no one further from the line of scrimmage than 4 yards...time and again.

Some offensive positives of this team might get lost by the fact that Purdue's defense played so poorly.  Macarthy continues to become a big time receiver as Edison continues to be consistent.  Shavers ran hard and finished runs well as did Hunt and Bolden (who I just love to see running the ball).  And Henry was very sharp passing the ball...even over the middle (*gasp*) in relief of TerBush, then Marve.

We've gone from high expectations (division/conference championship)...to OK expectations (solid bowl)...to low expectations (Little Caesars Bowl)...to where we are now- hoping and praying for another win. Sure, there are plenty of opportunities left, and our Boilers aren't mathematically eliminated, but with the way this team is playing now, what have any of you seen that makes you believe this team can win another game?  Help me out; I haven't seen it.

Our Boilers lost 44-28...but the score is really not indicative of how badly Minnesota beat Purdue.  Let that flow over you for a moment...

In spite of that...in spite of losing week after week after week after week, in a season that was supposed to be special (according to the coach himself), Hope still thinks the program is going in the right direction (according to his post-game comments).

Short summed it up well after the game- he said Purdue wasn't as well-prepared as they were for aOSU...and while a 6-6 season is still well within Purdue's reach, it's not at all acceptable.

Gut Punching-est Hits of the Danny Hope Era

As the fanbase gets less and less tolerant of the Danny Hope era coaching staff, it begins to feel as though all of the Hope era games are gut-punch losses. So I took a look back to see how many of his games are the kinds that make you curse and kick the cat. Turns out...a lot of 'em.

Let's hit the wayback machine.

2009

We should be used to this sort of nonsense by now, because by my count, Danny Hope gave us four straight such games early in his tenure and five overall in a particularly painful 2009. Of course, at the time, we liked how much spirit a team showed that was a year removed from a dismal 4-8 campaign under Joe Tiller. But let's look closer.

9/12/09, Oregon 38, Purdue 36

A year after blowing a 17 point lead at home by playing uber-conservative in the second half against the Duckies, the Boilers headed to Eugene for a late start (in the East) under the lights in front of Oregon's "hippie lettuce fans, who were lucky to be able to find the stadium," as b-dowd hilariously told me via text. The Boilers promptly came out and hit Oregon in the mouth, playing an exciting, back-and-forth game that included Danny Hope doing the hand to the ear "I can't hear you" gesture to the Oregon student section.

The Boilers had a 24-17 lead in the third quarter, then fell behind by a TD and then marched right back down to score on Ralph Bolden's third TD of the game, giving Purdue fans everywhere serious hope. Then the Boilers missed the extra point, gave up another TD, came back to score with a minute to go... but were unable to convert for two and lost.

9/19/09, NIU 28, Purdue 21

Following their heartbreaker at Oregon, the Boilers put on perhaps the most listless performance of Hope's tenure (which is saying a lot) in falling behind -- at home -- 28-7, before Joey Elliott finally comes to and scores two rushing TDs to make the score respectable, if not the result. This is the first of the annual Danny Hope letdown games, in which there is no other explanation than that the team was not adequately prepared to play.

9/26/09, Notre Dame 24, Purdue 21

Purdue is outplayed into the second half and trails 17-7, yet somehow grinds out a couple of scores to take a 21-17 lead on one of Gary Nord's favorite plays (seriously, you'll see this every game). The Boiler crowd is going bananas as a victory under the lights against the Domers (come from behind, no less) seems to be happening. The the Purdue coaching staff goes into its patented play-not-to-lose defense and is picked apart by an injured Pickles Claussen, even going so far as to call a head-scratcher time out when ND was about to have to make a fourth down decision.

Pickles finds his man Kyle Rudolph in the end zone on fourth down with 25 seconds to go to rip the Boilermaker hearts out yet again.

10/3/09, Northwestern 27, Purdue 21

Three minutes into the second quarter, Joey Elliott throws his third TD pass of the game and the Boilers go up 21-3, clearly asserting their dominance and taking out the frustrations of their previous three weeks and two near-misses against quality opponents.

Then the Boilers have their customary pasta halftime meal, go to sleep, and give up 24 unanswered points to the Mildcats.

11/14/09, MSU 40, Purdue 37

With the Boilers needing to win out to have a shot at a bowl game, the players come to play against Sparty. Purdue leads -- again -- at halftime, 20-17, and expands their lead to 11 points (34-23) with under twelve minutes to play in the game.

MSU then goes on a 17-3 run to close the game -- in Ross-Ade -- despite Kirk Cousins going 11/25 for a 44% completion percentage.

2010

The Boilers scaled back their hearbreakers in 2010 by simply being a worse football team and leaving a lot less up in the air. This was not a good year. Sure, injuries played a huge part, but a four-win Boilermakers squad still left these tasty morsels on the table that could have made 2010 a season of optimism in the face of adversity.

9/25/10, Toledo 31, Purdue 20

The Boilers come out apparently still affected by the season-ending knee injury suffered by Keith Smith the week before and look even more dazed after Robert Marve's knee folds and Rob Henry is thrust into the QB role. Purdue, down 17-0 by the second quarter and 24-3 by the midpoint of the third, simply can't recover. Toledo plays a smart, aggressive game and in what is now a trend that continues to this day, the Purdue coaching staff fails to -- or simply cannot -- adjust. The Boilers are again humbled in their home stadium by a MAC team.

11/20/10, MSU 35, Purdue 31

The Boilermakers head into East Lansing against the 9-1 Spartans and hit them in the mouth. Rob Henry leads Purdue to a 28-13 lead after three quarters. Fans of the 4-6 Boilermakers begin to dream of an improbable bowl appearance, as a win here would make them one win away, with only IU at home remaining.

Alas, in a script that is by now common, the Boilermakers can't hold a sizable lead and go into scared mode, losing the fourth quarter 21-3 and the game 35-31. For a second straight season, 75% dominant effort against the Spartans turns into a bowl-hopes-dashing loss.

11/27/10, IU 34, Purdue 31

Stop me if you've heard this before. Purdue steadily climbs to a 21-7 lead in the second quarter against a poor Indiana team. However, the soup and turkey legs in the locker room were delicious as the Boilers sleep through the second half, being outscored 27-10 from the late second quarter onward and losing the Bucket on home soil.

2011

In Danny Hope's best season to date, the Boilers went 7-6, including their bowl victory. There were plenty of games to choose from if you're talking about frustrations, but in terms of the ones that slipped through their fingers, only one hugely egregious one stands out.

9/10/11, Rice 24, Purdue 22

With a rare boisterous road Purdue contingent on hand in Houston, the Boilers piss away the opportunity for a road win and a potential 3-0 start by having a game-winning kick blocked in the final seconds after coughing up yet another lead (17-10). This one stings for a long time as the Boilers prove they are an improving squad with good talent. Winding up with a 7-5 regular season record instead of 6-6 meant the difference between Detroit and somewhere appealling during bowl season.

2012

And then there was last Saturday.

10/20/12, OSU 29, Purdue 22

Purdue surprises everyone with a concerted, aggressive, creative approach to the game plan coupled with spirited, emotional effort from the guys. For three quarters, at least. Then the coaching went into the tank again, from play calling to being overly conservative to time out usage. Basically, they hit all the pain points in letting this one slip away, as Purdue blows an eight point lead with under three minutes to play. Or, in fact, they blow an eight-point lead with 45 seconds to play as that's when OSU got the ball back with no time outs.

--------------------------------------------------------------

The point of all this? That it isn't a one-off occurrence. And it doesn't matter which players are on the field for the Boilermakers...which brings us to the question of what has been the constant in all of this? I think you know the answer to that one.

Coach Hope is 19-25 in his tenure and his teams have given away perhaps ten games that should have been lockdown wins. I don't think it's a stretch to say that. These aren't games where they were long shots and lost by three TDs and would have had to be different humans to win. These were games that were either:

1) Matchups the Boilers were far superior in talent;
2) Games Purdue held commanding leads in that a good team with good coaches should not relinquish; or
3) Games affected by poor coaching, poor adjustments and poor in-game management.

So again, if it feels like this happens all the time to these Boilermakers....it's because it does.

Our Number One Candidate

Just to review, we still don't necessarily think Hope is a dead man walking.  There are a few reasons behind that- Burke doesn't have a history of firing coaches and Hope can still salvage the season.  Sure, the signature win(s), if Hope can correct things, would be against depleted Penn State and Iowa squads, but a 7-win regular season is pretty respectable...and there is no way Hope could/should be fired with that record heading into a bowl.

I feel like when we write, some people read the headline, the first sentence and the last sentence...then respond via Twitter.  For those people, nothing that's written matters anyway.  For others of you that are reading this and trying to figure out the back story for this post, here are the posts that led to this:

Don't Hire These Guys

Affordable Options

Wish List

The Way Things Are

Even though the first list posted was slightly more-pricey, we think there are some pretty good names on these lists...and if Burke's hand was forced and he needed to seek candidates for this job, this would be a great final three:

Rutgers HC, Kyle Flood

Northern Illinois HC, Dave Doeren

...and finally, without further ado...

Louisiana Tech HC, Sonny Dykes

A few of you also think Dykes is a great candidate, but we think he might be the best candidate.

First off, if there's one consistent opinion within the majority of the Purdue fanbase, it's that Purdue's heritage as a program lies in the passing game...and Purdue should have an offense that is built around passing the football.  Plus, if there's any chance to keep Purdue's QBs that are on the roster and on the way in, a new offense would have to be sold to them.  Sonny Dykes pedigree and current offense would be attractive to most quarterbacks, we believe...and Hope's focus on speed in the skilled positions would play quite well in Dykes system as his offenses are a bit more balanced than Tiller's early teams were. What Dykes' teams really do is just score and move the ball up and down the field.  In fact, his offense might make Cowboy Joe Tiller of 1997 blush a bit.

They're currently 1st in points scored, 8th in passing yards and 12th in rushing yards.  Before coaching for LaTech, he was OC in Arizona, but he really learned what he knows in his previous 6 seasons coaching under Mike Leach at Texas Tech.

Those jobs are another reason that we like Dykes.  Coaching in the state of Texas, but not for UT or A&M is a challenge...same goes for coaching in Louisiana and not wearing purple and yellow.  The recruiting and resource situation at Purdue will be similar to two of his previous jobs...the one thing Dykes doesn't seem to know too well is colder weather...but we think that isn't a deal breaker.

Dykes turns 43 in a few weeks, makes 3/4 of a million dollars right now, and his buyout is about what Hope's is right now (estimated; can't find the exact number).

From what I've read, Arkansas fans have also noticed Dykes resume and ability to recruit the state of Texas...something that Purdue fans can appreciate as well.  The point is, if Burke waits long on Dykes, he won't be available either...like the other two names on the list, he's a great candidate and would be a pretty solid fit for Purdue.

Like many of you, I'm still hoping Purdue wins out, including the bowl, then there'd be no doubt that no change is warranted.

The apathy that seems to have settled within the Purdue fanbase is noteworthy and widespread...it'll take something like a five or six game winning streak to awaken us from our early hibernation.

Hope Snatches Defeat out of the Jaws of Victory in Columbus

If you didn't watch the game today you missed one that was at least entertaining...and you missed a nearly-fun game.  Purdue had a long TD pass on their first offensive play from TerBush to Shavers, a 100 yard kickoff return for TD by Hunt, a few sustained drives and some solid defense versus an offense that was scoring like J when a Sade CD is playing...at least before today.

Antavian Edison had big catches and YAC when Purdue needed them.  Josh Johnson played large along with Frankie Williams as Allen was unavailable for play. Dolapo Macarthy continued his emergence as a capable and clutch receiver.  Purdue's front made noise and big stops and was in Braxton Miller's face all day...until his day ended as a Josh Johnson tackle sent the Heisman contender to the hospital with head/neck injuries (which is horrible to see, obviously).  Purdue's defense caused four turnovers while the offense only gave the ball up once...Purdue seemed to be hitting and playing harder than the Bucknuts all day as aOSU players leaving the field all day due to injury.

We wanted to see the Boilers fight...we wanted to see them compete...and they did that today.  The players did their job for 58 minutes this afternoon as they went toe-to-toe with one of the better teams in the nation.  The problem of course is after two weeks of getting their arses handed to them, a moral victory is worth nothing...especially the way this one played out.

Key moments in the game:

-After Purdue's first touchdown the PAT was blocked...score 6-0. (one point left on the field)

-2nd quarter, with Purdue up 13-7 on the 2 yard line, Purdue comes away with zero points as TerBush tries to force a pass into double coverage.  The possession resulted in an interception, and aOSU ball. (at least three points left on the field)

-20-14 2:58 left in the 3rd qtr Purdue gets the ball on the aOSU 37.
Purdue could have all but put the game away.  After a big runt by Akeem Hunt Purdue was inside the 20 with a fresh set of downs.  After conservative play calling and a busted play, Purdue attempted and a field goal...and it was blocked.  (three more points left on the field)

-With Miller out of the game, Guyton took over for the entire fourth quarter and really couldn't move the aOSU offense.

-20-14 11:50 remaining
Purdue just in aOSU territory with a fresh set of downs.  after two busted plays, Purdue is forced to punt.

-20-14 10:51 remaining
Webster's pooch pins aOSU on the one yard line.  After a hold on aOSU in the end zone on second down, aOSU gave Purdue two points in the form of a safety.

-22-14 2:40 remaining
Feichter's interception of Guyton gave Purdue the ball.  Purdue's offense promptly went three-and-out after a possession that took just 47 seconds off of the clock.  The possession included a false start, a befuddled-looking Purdue offense and a hair-brained scheme that included Purdue calling two time outs...in order to save the clock.  This strategery of course allowed aOSU to avoid using their timeouts.  Yeah, the rest of the football world doesn't get it either...but Hope is that much of a revolutionary.

After this mess, Purdue's defense joined the lying down party and allowed a previously-inept offense led by a green QB to find life versus a prevent-to-win defense.  After scoring a TD to put them down by two, Guyton once again looked like a veteran, as a broken-down play led to Gaston being forced to guarda  TE...it didn't end well for Gaston (shockingly), as aOSU tied the game.

With the wind out of their sails, Purdue's defense allowed aOSU to go up by seven in OT...and the offense responded by not moving the ball and being forced to throw a desperation heave that ended the game.

I felt like if Purdue had won, it would have changed the trajectory of the season.  A win today and a few more wins this season and this season might have been universally viewed as a success.  So in a way, Hope was coaching for his job today.

So how did he and his assistants coach as they looked to make a statement and a mark on the program's direction? They coached scared.  The defense lost its teeth, the offense lost its lower-intestinal fortitude, and of course, Purdue left Columbus with a loss.

I'm proud of the players for fighting and playing in the way they're capable of playing for much of the contest...but this game still crashes down loudly and painfully in the right hand column.  Plus, the coaches seemingly wiped away all momentum created in 58 minutes by throwing this one away.

Purdue stole a game last year versus aOSU in Ross Ade as two mediocre teams battled into bonus football...Today, our Boilers gave one away that they had all but wrapped-up.  If nothing else, balance remains in the universe.

The Cycle of Perpetual Youth

I've got a brother who is a pretty smart guy...he also watches a ton of college football. Since he's generally-cerebral, he thinks a lot about what makes a team good or bad, why they're succeeding and why they're not.  One of his best statements or observations on bad football teams is that they never come of age.  At the same time, it seems that good teams have guys on the roster for 6 or 7* seasons that competitors just can't wait to see graduate.  Granted, a guy like Gary Nord wouldn't care what my brother has to say about Purdue's football team...but hey, you win some, you lose some.

This idea of perpetual youth...and always being a year away, seems to be a fact of life right now in God's country...and it's odd since there seem to be so many veterans in key roles on the roster this season.

When Hope took over, Joey Elliott took over at QB.  And while Elliott did exactly what was asked, I think many viewed him as a gapstop until Hope could get his guy in at the helm.  The next season, Robert Marve transferred in...and many, ourselves included, thought he would be able to start for Purdue for three seasons and would be great, not good, once he got healthy (as he was coming off of a knee surgery).  Those plans were quickly quashed as he tore his ACL yet again...and Henry and Robinson, two true Freshman were thrust into action.  Neither set the world on fire, but many Purdue fans loved what they saw out of Henry's leadership style even though he wasn't a great passer.

Now after a few more injuries and a season and one-half later, this season isn't going as we had hoped and the QB position is one which we're forced to look to the future.  I like the prospect of Austin Appleby or Danny Etling running the show for the gold and black...both have big arms, seem smart and seem like Purdue-type guys...So next year, Purdue will start to find its way at QB, right?

Purdue's offensive line, the guys who protect the QBs have had a similar road- When Elliott was the QB, ex-DT Jared Zwilling anchored a solid, but under-talented Oline.  Next, Nick Mondek moved across the ball to try to shore up the Oline...but the unit couldn't quite get into rhythm.  Now, Kitchens and Pamphile came across the ball to make an impact...and they've both become important parts of the rotation...but injuries have plagued this unit in key parts.  The good news is, they've got a crop of offensive line talent that is legit...but they're all Freshman.  So after a redshirt year, these guys will be ready to plug and play.  Plus, this is Coach Hope's expertise as he is an old OLine coach, so we should trust his plan.

The running back position has been pretty solid for Purdue, right? In Hope's first season, I was excited to watch a healthy Ralph Bolden tear up opponents...and he did just that as he gashed Toledo for over 200 yards rushing in his first game as a starter back in 2009.  But as the year wore on, he was nicked up and lost some productivity...it happens when guys are injured. Rising special teams star, Al-Terek McBurse played a few solid games as a Freshman after Bolden was injured again...but we knew  McBurse would be tough to stop once he got a grasp of the offense and added a few pounds. McBurse transferred at the end of his Sophomore season to Florida A&M...and Bolden came back and split carries with JuCo transfer, Akeem Shavers.  But we saw a glimpse of the youth movement- Cottom, Hunt, Mostert, Pegram and company all showed us that Purdue would be great in the backfield in the next few years. It looked like Pegram would be the guy in '12 following his big performance in the Little Pizza Bowl...but Pegram transferred.  Mostert hasn't been given a ton of carries and Hunt has thrived when given the chances.  Hunt and Cottom are going to be a great one-two punch next season...no doubt about that after Shavers' time in the metallic beige and black is over.

At WR, Bush, Edison and Ross are all pretty solid, but their growth as players has been hampered by inconsistent QB play and the fact that there's no big go-to receiver at the moment.  If only these speedy WRs would have had the chance to play with Siller, Smith and Valentin a couple season ago (*sigh*).  When Appleby and Etling are running things, Anthrop, Macarthy, Mikesky and co. will do big things.  Speaking of big targets, is it me or is there just a ton of good talent on the roster at TE- It's too bad Wright graduates after this season, but Holmes would be killing it this year if he could find a bit of consistency and Marve, TerBush and Henry looked for him...but he'd better watch his back- Carvajal will be breathing down his neck next season when he gets healthy!

On the defensive side of the ball, it's been tough for Purdue to find a DE to continue the Den of Defensive Ends...But after a few years of searching and trying to find an identity, Ryan Russell looks like he might be the guy next year...if he can stay healthy. Plus, Kingsley Ike will be the guy across from him wreaking havoc next season; should be fun.

At the DT spot, no one can contest how good KK Short really is, but opposite him, Bruce Gaston has shown flashes of greatness...but a bum hamstring has hampered his development a bit. Next year, he should play his first completely-healthy season...and rising star, Ryan Watson will grow into a full-time DT (after splitting time at DE in HS).  Along with them, Isaac should shore up the middle rotation, and Purdue's DLine will be solid in '13.

At LB, Purdue's going through some growing pains- Will Lucas is the lone returning starter.  Injuries and run-ins with the law have kept this unit from being a really respectable piece of a good defense.  But Armstead Williams and Joe Gillium should anchor a rock-solid core next year and for the subsequent seasons.  Sean Robinson's position switch from QB has helped settle things down a bit in the meantime.

Purdue's cornerbacks have been rock solid...no need to look to the future there.  But, the safeties are pretty young with the exception of a walk-on and JuCo transfer that play significant roles.  But once Frankie Williams, EJ Johnson, Taylor Richards and company are handed the reigns, watch out B1G QBs...it'll be like the second coming of Stu Schweigert and Ralph Turner. Can't wait 'til '13!!!

This year was supposed to be one that helped Hope's program turn the corner...the more I think of it, and the more I look at the roster, I can't help thinking that we were just a few seasons early on that prognostication...should be fun down the road.

*eg- Stu Schweigert, Tim Stratton, John Standeford, Taylor Stubblefield, Drew Brees, Dorien Bryant...it works in basketball too- Robbie Hummel, Chris Kramer, Smooge, etc...

Quick Hitter: Coaches not on our list

Jim Chaney made our list...but not by much, honestly.

In hindsight, Mark Hagan might have been better at that spot...or maybe Greg Olson, but both have pimp slapped Purdue at one time or another with their career choices, so they're disqualified.

That said, there is still a contingent of Purdue fans that want to see a Purdue-tied coach become the next HC...I do too, but only one guy, really...so since Sumlin isn't available, both J and I think it's probably best for the program to start fresh.

In the wake of that statement, here are some guys with Purdue ties that I hope Burke doesn't call:

No more mustaches.

-Brock Spack...his defenses were last in the nation during multiple seasons as DC at Purdue.  Seems like a good guy and the players like him...but I don't think that hire would make any sense.  Plus, Burke passed over him already, I'm sure he remembers that.

-Doug Downing played QB for Purdue in the 80s and is now the running backs coach at EMU.

-Taylor Stubblefield should be coaching at Purdue eventually under whomever is the next coach...but he's too green...Same goes for Rod Woodson, who might not ever want to coach again after his year in Oakland.

-Tim Brewster, Minny's ex-HC was a GA at Purdue in the mid-80s...he proved he's a bad HC at Minnesota already.

-Bill Doba coached for four years under Burtnett at Purdue...later, was HC at Washington state.  After his first very successful season (10-3), Doba couldn't crack .500...was fired in '07 and hasn't worked since.  Doba is retired and two years older than Joe Tiller.

-Bill Legg was co-OC under Tiller in the last few seasons.  He's currently OC at Marshall...and they can score (as we saw in RA a few weeks ago)...but I get the feeling that a Legg-coached team would be a lot like Marshall in the fact that defense would merely be optional, and offense would be the primary focus.

All this is for entertainment purposes at this point...no wagering, please.

The Second BS Coach List

I love J's list of coaching candidates- experienced guys who have had success...and most have dealt with cultures like Purdue's in which resources are tough to come by and the fan base is less-than-ravenous.  I think most of those guys are still on the upswing as well...and the time would be now to snatch up nearly every name on that list. But we're not even sure Burke is interested in changing directions at the end of the season...we merely think an investigation needs to begin.

So since we're already Morgan Burke's homepage (good morning, by the way, sir), we thought we'd give him a few more suggestions to help his search along...if it's going to occur.

Here are a few things we know about Purdue's athletic department- Burke has made running the program in the black an absolute priority.  So, Purdue will probably go, once again, on the cheaper end of the spectrum.  As J and I both said in a sidebar conversation, $1,000,000 is a ton of money to schmoes like he and I...But, in the world of BCS football, it's a pittance.  Then again, it's a huge sum of money to pay someone whose teams get shellacked by good, not great teams, time and again.

One of the issues that I have with J's list is that multiple high-dollar buyouts would be involved in the equation totaling around $2 million.  That's not gonna fly for Burke; I'm pretty sure of that.  Hope's buyout at the end of this season will be $500,000...next year, it'd be $400,000...and so on. So it seems to me, if Burke makes the unprecedented (by his standards) move of canning his head football coach, he's not going to want to spend more dough on a buyout for the guy he hires.  As a result, I've come up with a list of coaches that have sub-7-figure buyouts, if none at all...yet they'd still be good candidates, in my opinion.

One more issue that must be solved for Purdue to be competitive is the same issue that Painter fought for a year ago- assistant coach's salaries.  Top programs will pay their assistant coaches $3 million-plus...That's not going to happen at Purdue.  But, Burke can't realistically believe that a staff that gets paid one-third of the salary of its competitors will be any competition at all.  Plus, if he expects ticket sales to get back to where they need to be, he's going to need to have a team on the field that is more than just a punching bag for the top-4 or 5 teams of the conference.

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Away we go...

First we'll start with the most-affordable options...assistant coaches at other programs:

The one Purdue connection we've got on our list is that of Tennessee's offensive coordinator, Jim Chaney.

While at Purdue, his offenses were in the top-10 in the nation 6 times; you don't luck into that.  He knows this place and the culture and would know what he's getting into.  Burke could probably get him for around what Hope is making now.

He's 50 years old, has a resume that includes time in the NFL and, while coaching high-scoring offenses, has the ability to adapt.  Currently, his offense runs the ball a lot...while at Purdue, as we all know, the Boilers were extremely pass-happy.

Another offensive coordinator is only two degrees removed from Purdue...but never played in West Lafayette or coached in God's country. Texas A&M's offensive coordinator, Kliff Kingsbury ha such a  good offensive mind that former Boiler, Kevin Sumlin gladly hands his offense over to Kingsbury.  He was OC of the year while at Houston and many magazines call him a rising star in the coaching ranks.

He's not the most experienced coach as he's only been doing it for three years...before that he was a journeyman pro QB who played in a few different leagues.  Since I still wish Sumlin was at the helm and that ship has sailed, hiring Kingsbury might scratch that itch.  Plus, since I thought Sumlin was the guy, it'd make sense for me to say I back up his choice for OC.

That said, I believe hiring him would be akin to hiring Fitzgerald at NU (without the obvious alma mater tie-in); he'd need a season or two to figure out his system...but his offenses would be fun to watch...and Burke would love his pricetag.

The next two candidates are pretty attractive to me for a number of reasons.

Here are a few current HCs that I believe would be affordable-enough for Burke to pull away from their current jobs.  Plus, they're D-1A coaches and have shown me reason to believe they would do well at West Laffy.

WKU's HC Willie Taggart inherited a lousy situation. His team had just been brought up from D-1AA two seasons prior to his hiring...and the previous season, they didn't win a game.  Understandably, the first year was tough; just two wins.  But, last season, they went 7-5...7-1 in conference.  And this season, they're 5-1...with the lone loss coming at the hands of Alabama.

I'd be lying to you if I told you his race didn't matter to me- I've wanted to see a qualified, capable black coach at Purdue in one of the two revenue generators for a few years...Cuonzo Martin (before Painter was hired), Kevin Sumlin (before Hope was hired) and others in both sports. I think it'd be good for the program and good for the school.

Taggart currently gets paid less than Jim Chaney...and his buyout looks to be similar to that of Hope (actually a bit over a half million).

My favorite candidate on my list is probably Dave Doeren from NIU.   While I love exciting offense, I've been craving a Purdue football team with great, hard-nosed defense for nearly a decade.

Honestly, we haven't seen but two or three good defenses as Purdue fans in last 30 years...that stinks.

NIU's current HC has been successful at every level...his first HC job was for D-1AA Montana.  While there, he was 28-3, and won a national title. Next, he was Wisconsin's DC from '06-'10...and since taking over for Jerry Kill at NIU, he's gone 17-4 in the last season and one-half. It's tough to be defensive-minded in the MAC, but Doeren is; at least a bit.  Like Taggart, he's young and has big upside. Unlike everybody else, I can't find a reason why I wouldn't want him to be coaching at Purdue...and I don't think Burke can either.

Purdue's thrifty AD could double his current salary...and still have around $150,000 left over to reach Hope's current pay.  His buyout is $750,000 if hired away from NIU during this off-season.

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Just for fun, I went back and looked at the guys I wanted to see as candidates for the job when Hope was hired.  In hindsight, most were, like J's list- pie-in-the-sky, simply because Burke wouldn't be willing to pay most of these guys what the market demands...nor would he want to deal with their hefty buyouts.

But one of the I liked 5 years ago is still available...I still like him and he's done nothing but win since the last time he made our illustrious list.

Northern Iowa's Mark Farley is consistently successful.  His teams make noise nearly every season in the D-IAA tournament, coming in second a few years ago.  Plus, he's had only one losing season during his 12 seasons at the post. He's had six double-digit winning seasons...and his overall record is 100-44 (69.4%).  He's not yet 50 years old, so that's another positive...but I'm not sure I want Burke to look to the lower division for candidates this time (not that my opinion matters).

For comparison's sake, Hope never won over nine games as a D-1AA coach and won 61.4% of his games, only making the post-season once.

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Keep in mind, we don't think Hope would be, nor should be fired if he were to lead our Boilers to seven wins prior to December.  But we're both extremely-unconfident in the possibility of that happening.  Now, another 6-6 season will leave Purdue and Burke in a foul-smelling quagmire- lousy ticket sales and a fanbase that's growing more apathetic with each season, and a team that simply doesn't win important games; that's college football purgatory.  If this season is sub-.500, I'm almost-positive we'll see Burke fire him as he would have only a $500,000 buyout as the reason to not do it.

The last two posts were actually quite cathartic as they remind us that there are very good and affordable options out there right now, if the situation arises.  But, we held back one name from both lists as we think he might be the best candidate for Purdue. Actually, if the final three were the guy we're going to talk about (our collective favorite), Dave Doeren (my favorite) and Kyle Flood (J's favorite, I believe), Purdue couldn't help itself but winning in the very near future...and not just versus MAC and lower tier in-conference foes.

You'll have to stay tuned to find out just who completes our list.
(And thanks, as always, for reading the site, Morgan!)