Heart of Dallas Bowl Predicto -- Poke the Cowboys!

Cowpokes!

Admit it -- you missed the BS Predicto. The sarcasm, the handsomeness, the information. It's all part of a delicious stew of yumminess that you only get to savor one more time before the Darrell Hazell Era is officially upon us.

What does the interim/lame-duck coaching staff have in store for tomorrow's Heart of Dallas Bowl tilt against the well-rounded, Cowboys of Okie State? Will they come out stiff? Or bouncing all over the place?

That's very hard to say. Hell, it was hard to say when there was a.....normal-duck coaching staff in place.

However, we're firm in our confidence that we have the ability to predict the fun for you. So read on...and get some skin in the game.

zlionsfan sez:

Many years ago, in the days when we took stone textbooks to class and built fires in our dorm caves to keep warm, Purdue football meant disappointment and sadness, and actually watching Purdue in a bowl game was something we had only heard about from our ancestors.

Then this new coach came to town, and he showed us that Purdue could, in fact, beat middle-of-the-pack teams on a regular basis ... and do so often enough to get to a bowl game. In that season, fifteen years ago, Purdue met another program that thought it was experiencing a similar renaissance: Oklahoma State. The Cowboys had endured six(!) miserable seasons under Pat Jones and then two more under Bob Simmons before finally cracking the .500 mark and getting into the Alamo Bowl to face the Boilers.

The 33-20 win marked a turning point for both programs, though not in the same direction. We know Tiller's story: in contrast, Oklahoma State would not break .500 again under Simmons, and they would win just one bowl game in four years under Les Miles (yes, that Les Miles).

But just as Purdue's fortunes changed as Tiller left, so too did Oklahoma State's after Miles. Under Mike Gundy (you know, "I'm 40!"), the Cowboys are making their seventh consecutive bowl appearance. Fortunately for the Boilers, this isn't the same team that was a touchdown away from a perfect season, the one that knocked off Andrew Luck's Stanford team in the Fiesta Bowl.

Unfortunately, they're still a class above Purdue. All five of Oklahoma State's losses came against bowl-bound teams, and two of those five won their bowl games (the other three have yet to play). The Cowboys feature an offense that gets a first down or a touchdown on seven of every nine drives, 11th-best in the country. (The median offense - Northwestern's - does so six times in nine. Purdue's rate is .588, 109th of 124 I-A teams.) They score almost 45 points a game, fourth best in the nation. It'll be a tough test for a team that's allowed 35 or more points in half its games this year.

To be fair, this would be a challenge for any team undergoing a coaching change ... but Hope was never able to get a consistent defensive effort from this team, so it isn't as though keeping him around would have made any difference (and it would likely have cost Purdue any chance at Hazell). Instead, it'll be Patrick Higgins taking one for the team - he'll become the first Purdue coach in 105 years to end his tenure without a win. (Those were dark days indeed: Purdue posted consecutive 0-5 records in 1906 and 1907, both times including a loss to Wabash. Yes, that Wabash.)  

Oklahoma State 44
Purdue 21

J sez:

Who was the best team the Boilers beat this year? That sloppy, thuggish Marshall squad? The reeling Hawkeyes? Could you actually make an argument that their best win was over....IU? I think you might-could.

Eastern Kentucky actually had the best record of any team that Purdue beat this season at 8-3, but they're not even FBS-level. No, folks, Purdue didn't beat a single, bowl-eligible opponent in their 6-6 season that Danny Hope termed "extremely successful" after the Bucket game. And there's yet another example of where the mindset has been within the walls of Purdue football.

We've made no secret of the fact that we're thrilled with the Darrell Hazell hire and truly excited for Purdue football for the first time in a while. (And not just in the Danny Hope "excited" sense.) But for now, there's one more game under the old regime...sort of.

Patrick Higgins has done an admirable job keeping the guys focused and, truth be told, he has been a big improvement over Gary Nord as OC, winning the final three games while using Robert Marve almost exclusively. Higgins should get a look at some head coaching positions, I think, and it appears that even the state-run Purdue athletics media agrees and is trying to pump him up to potential suitors. A UTEP blog was also clumsily trying to say earlier this month that he might/maybe/possibly will come back to the Miners as OC/WR coach, which seems like an odd move, but hey, who knows? Regardless, we appreciate that Coach Higgins has tried to keep the guys focused and is clearly trying to send off the seniors on a high note. The guy deserves a good job somewhere. 

Sadly, I don't think that tomorrow is going to go very well for the good guys. Even if Gary Nord is (hopefully) not even granted a credential to get into the building, the remnants of the Hope/Nord era remain on this team. They don't seem to focus all that well, they don't seem to grasp the tasks at hand and they tend to play up/down to their competition far too often. This will lead to near-misses against ND and OSU, but also far-too-close games against Marshall and Illinois. We've read some deeply concerned quotes from some of the players in recent days that look as though they were written as bulletin-board material by a blog looking to troll a team. As I said, a serious lack of comprehension of what's going on around them.

This was a bad, 3-6 football team that cobbled together suspect victories over truly bad Iowa and Illinois teams and then had a fun day at home against the hapless Hoosiers. When they played good teams, they were embarrassingly overmatched. Oklahoma State is a good team, make no mistake about that. Their 7-5 record belies the fact that they can score in bunches, have terrific athletes and are well-coached by a man over 40.

I think that Robert Marve will put on his superman pajamas one more time and his heart will keep the Boilers in the game. If you like scoring, this one will have scoring. The Boilermakers just won't have quite enough to keep up with the pokes.

Pokes 48
Boilermakers 35

Not a man, nor is
she 40.

Boilerdowd sez:

I've read everything that's out there about our transitional Boilers...Shorter, more-intense practices, team-building and a ton of positivity...that's all good.  No one (besides Kingsley Ike) who practiced with the Boilers for much of the season has missed bowl prep...another positive.  Sean Robinson has healed faster than many thought he would and has been upgraded to positive- the defense will need all hands on deck...so that's another positive. Even Ralph Bolden looks good to go; a super-positive for me as he's one of my favorite Boilers on the roster.

Gary Nord is still on the mend, Danny Hope has moved out of God's Country...the coaching staff is abridged but focused. Marve is as healthy as a guy with one working ACL can be.  The stable of running backs is hungry, the receivers are dialed in to play an opponent that's much better than any of the teams our Boilers beat this season.

Is this team capable of playing with or beating good teams? Hells yes! They showed that v. aOSU and UND.  Is this team capable of getting dismantled by high powered offense? No diggety, no doubt.

Okie State's 7-5 is deceptive- they beat some very good teams...and still have one of the best coaches in America, in spite of rumors that circled around Coach Gundy just a month ago.

Reading what the players have said both in Purdue outlets and other papers, it seems the players are very confident...that was never good news under Coach Hope.  And in spite of Hope's exit, the remnants of his program remain, and old habits die hard.

Here's to Robert Marve going out on top and proving me very wrong.  I think the Cowboys just have too much firepower for the defense to stop and for the offense to keep up with.

OK St. 52
Purdue 33

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.

Tuesday Gumbo

Nord Nonsense

Gary Nord continued to defend his indefensible play-calling today in GBI's coordinator's corner. Here's what he had to say about his pass plays:

"I'm not sure what anybody wants to see, but we called 60 passes and about half of them were five-step down passes, so I'm not sure what anybody is seeing on that. Probably ought to go back and watch the film again. We threw outs, we threw posts, we threw take-offs, we threw square-ins. We threw every combination route that I know to throw, in the middle of the field, we dropped some, but I'm not sure what they're looking at on that."

I guess me, the 60+ people who came through my brother's house who were watching the game on Sunday all are just seeing things incorrectly.  A few of us played football, another currently coaches high school football...and almost all watch a ton of football...but we're all wrong.  By the way, so was EsPNU's producer who made a fancy graphic that talked about the fact that almost all of Purdue's passes were short and to the outside (late in the second quarter).

I love that Nord keeps digging his heels in deeper and deeper as his offense gets worse and worse.  It makes no sense, but is more entertaining than his play calling.  The offensive line is leaking like a sieve as their spacing, footwork and pick-up are awful.  Marve got hit hard time and again...and the designed rollouts, especially in the end zone to the short side of the field seemed were as nonsensical as Nord's coachspeak the last few weeks.  I do agree with one thing that Nord said one thing that was correct- the receivers have lost a ton of their confidence.  Edison, who has been sure-handed for the last three and one-half seasons dropped two catchable balls...and at least one of the receivers (Bush) looks gunshy as he's getting hit time and again while standing with his back to the defense after yet another one-yard out. (Sorry coach, I'm just telling it as I see it.)

The bright spots for me continue to be the Shavers runs and finishes runs when he gets the chance to get to the second level...and seeing Bolden and Marve playing at all is pretty great.

I have a few early-Christmas wishes for the Purdue offense for next season:
-That Henry is granted a sixth year by the inconsistent NCAA.  I believe we won't know that until after next season though.
-That Henry will be used as a slot, RB, WR, kick returner, wildcat QB and where ever he can make a difference...but I'd rather him not be anything other than an emergency QB.  It's time for the next coach to let Appleby, Etling and Marshall battle for the future as Cottom, Hunt and incoming Frosh Kenyante Green pound the ground game.
-And speaking of ground game, let's not forget that Purdue has a bunch of very good, big Freshman OLmen waiting in the wings.  Hopefully they are coached in a way that they can develop a bit more efficiently than what we've seen the last few seasons.  They'll be bolstered by a few returning starters who are upperclassmen that need to be a part of a better scheme.

Basketball

Losing the top-two leading scorers, top-2 leading rebounders, the top 3-point shooter, top shot blocker and a legend of the program who had become a reliable crutch whenever anything was needed is really tough to replace...so Matty isn't trying to.

Instead, he's decided to build toward a new style of play that relies less on the three pointer and more on points in the paint...and why wouldn't he? Purdue is bigger and stronger than they've been since the mid-90s...but Forces of Good are young.  So, we'll see a lot of what we saw versus Montevallo this season: inconsistency.

Let's remember back to the Baby Boilers Freshman year...Sure, they were extremely impactful, BUT, they lost games to teams they shouldn't have lost to, made horrible mistakes and looked like Freshman, especially JJ, very early in the season.  Simpson might be playing JJ's role this season...because he's not the player he'll be by the time he's a Senior.  I think he'll be similar to MSU's Draymond Green when he graduates...but right now, he looks tired, he's hampered by not being in the best shape.  But, he might also be a microcosm for this team...because he'll improve and do so quickly, I believe.

The three-headed Johnson rotating point guard system run by RonJohn, TJohn and AJ looks pretty solid in its early trials...but Raphael (pronounced Ray-fell...not Raf-ee-ell) Davis' ability to aggressively attack the basket is already proving to be effective...which is a carry-over from Italy.  Sure, that might change a bit this Friday when Purdue plays its first D-1 opponent, but the fact that he relies on driving first and the jumper second will put pressure on defenses to get back and get into position. TJohn and Davis might help create opportunities from the outside for AJ and Byrd (who hasn't gotten into a rhythm just yet).  I'm pretty sure though, that Byrd's hard work in the off-season will pay dividends when the games start to get important.

VOTE!!

Tomorrow is election day...and I think this is the most-important presidential election I've seen in my lifetime.  And while I won't tell you how you should vote, I will suggest you vote on the issues that mean the most to you and your family...and if you don't know the issues or the differences between these two candidates, it shouldn't take too much research for you to figure it out.  Get educated and exercise your freedom to make a difference.

Also, try not to rely too heavily on "fact-checking" sites...most have a bias one way or the other.  Not all sites can be as fair as this, the greatest site in all of the land.

We're blessed to live in a country in which peaceful, fair elections and subsequent smooth transitions of power are the norm.  It's a tremendous waste of freedom and disrespectful to those who continue to fight for our nation, not to care enough to vote.

Gary Nord Is Digging His Heels In

It seems that the Purdue football coaching staff is now digging their heels in, which I think is a very bad sign. In this article by the always excellent Mike Carmin of the J&C, you hear from Coach Nord who seems to be on a perpetual mission to make everyone hate him.

I tweeted a story that had some of these quotes in it, but this is a different one, in which Carmin examines the thoughts of Tim Tibesar and juxtaposes them next to Nord's. Maybe this is Carmin's way of illustrating how far gone Nord is, I don't know. But I do know that it is infuriating.

Tibesar, to his credit, acknowledges there are no real bright spots on defense.

“I wouldn’t say we have a great strength,” the first-year defensive coordinator said about his group. “The last two weeks, we haven’t had something we can hang our hat on. We have to get back to the basics, work our tail off and earn some respect and earn that pride back.”

This is close to what I want to hear. When a team is putting forth an embarrassing product and everyone who looks judges it as awful, you need to eat some humble pie as a coach. You need to acknowledge that it is terrible and then tell us that it's not acceptable to you either, and that you're going to work hard to fix it. And then get back to work. Tibesar pretty much does this, so good for him.

Nord, on the other hand, lives in fantasyland:

“I really believe, and people around here will see what I’m talking about, I think the strength of the football team is the quarterback spot,” the program’s offensive coordinator and assistant head coach said. “I have total confidence in that position. The way they’ve been practicing the last couple of weeks, it hasn’t carried over to the game, but they’ve been practicing very well.”

I don't even understand what "they've been practicing very well" even means. Yes, I know that's because I'm not as smart as Gary Nord. But to say the strength of the football team is the quarterback spot? And we'll see what he's talking about? When, exactly? It's six games into a twelve-game season, TerBush's second as the starter and the last season he will play college football. If he isn't showing it on the field yet, isn't it time to just admit he is what he is?

We've said for a long time that he's a good soldier, he does what he's told and he tries his best to run the offense he's asked to run. His skills are limited, though, and there is a ceiling to what he can do for you. If Caleb had Alabama's defense and running game, being a game manager and completing 61% of his passes would probably suffice. But that's not the situation here.

Nord goes on to try to make your brain hurt more:

“I think Caleb has improved tremendously in the last three weeks on the practice field,” Nord said.

That's just incredible. This is something that losers say...."Hey, on the driving range, I was hitting them so straight!"

Who gives a rat's ass how he did in practice? Does Gary Nord actually think that should translate? When the QB is wearing the green jersey and there is no crowd or opponent, he definitely should look better. Even I know that.

“When you go out there against Michigan and what he threw for in the first half, and then everybody criticizes him,” Nord said. “He was 66 percent and he had three drops. That’s a pretty good day for anybody. (Against Wisconsin), he throws very well on the first 12 throws. We got in a situation where we got behind the chains.

This is the kind of thing that makes people (rightfully) mock your program. As was mentioned to us on Twitter, the whole "Hey, he did great except for some drops and some high throws" kind of remark is just so hollow. He did not have a "pretty good day" against Michigan. 16 of 25 for 105, with a TD and a pick-6 is not really good. Sure, it could be worse, but if that's this team's definition of "a pretty good day," then there are some serious misunderstandings about what constitutes good football in West Lafayette.

And then Wisconsin, Nord is even arrogant enough to suggest TerBush threw "very well"?? The line there was 7/16 (43%) for 80 yards, zero TDs and one pick.

Again, I am not putting the recent disappointments at the feet of Caleb TerBush. He does what he's asked and does his best. I've said for a long time that it's the coaching staff that I have zero faith in. And Gary Nord is digging his heels in:

Support from outside the program to start and play Marve grows every week. Nord said there’s only one person qualified to make the quarterback decision.


“I’ve committed my life to this thing for 32 years, and I’ve been coaching quarterbacks for 28 years and I’ve had these quarterbacks in the system for three years,” Nord said. “There’s nobody more qualified to say who should be playing on the field than I am. I don’t listen to the critics. They don’t see anything except a few plays. I see them every day.

“I’m in the meeting room with them three hours a day, I’m on the practice field with them two hours a day. I don’t know what they’re saying. I don’t read it, I don’t watch it and I don’t care. I know in my heart that we have a quarterback that can get it done, and I have total confidence in him. Everybody will see that as time goes on.”

 So just to be clear, Nord doesn't care one bit that people are restless and unsatisfied. He's the only one qualified to know who should be playing and how they should be playing. I mean, look at his track record of success!

And the critics "don't see anything except a few plays"? Really? That's not a solid argument, Gary. Because the plays that all of us see are the absolutely most important plays of the season -- the ones on the field during the games! Those are the plays that actually matter! Not the way he throws a ball in Mollenkopf on Wednesday afternoon, you jack!

And once again, Gary knows "in his heart" that they have a QB who can get it done and, you know, as time goes on you'll all begin to see that.

Awesome. Can't wait.
 

Gary Nord Says You Should All Zip It About Playing Multiple QBs

Many of us have had issues with the QB rotation we've seen at Purdue over the past year, especially since it sounds like it's simply going to continue unabated this year. While there were some differing opinions over who should be the starter last year, one thing I think we all realized was that shuttling QBs in and out with little predictability or apparent strategy was not a good thing.

At the center of some of this nonsense is offensive coordinator Gary Nord. Nord is frequently labeled as an exciting OC ("Gary Nord will never allow a defense to get comfortable." -- GBI), yet I know that we have often felt frustration at the vanilla nature of things. Sure, I know there have been injuries, such as two years ago when the QB position was a mess and Rob Henry had certain passing limitations and Sean Robinson simply wasn't ready. And then last year, Caleb was thrust into the starting role after Rob's knee was injured and Marve wasn't completely recovered. HOWEVER, at some point, you need to show us why you're a supposedly clever and offensive-minded OC. Don't you? I think this season there are absolutely zero excuses to not open things up, at least in the sense of mixing it up and catching defenses off-guard. If opposing D's can begin to accurately predict what Purdue is going to do and capitalize on those predictions, then Nord has failed in my eyes. This is a team with seniors and a team with more returning starters than anyone in the conference. It's time to deliver. But I'm digressing.

More concerning to me than Gary's unimpressive tenure thus far were some comments he made recently in GBI's season preview issue. On the subject of using multiple quarterbacks, Nord got a bit prickly at Neubert's continuing pressing him on the issue, ultimately suggesting that a) the other players probably don't care who is under center and b) that rotating QBs in and out is no different than any other position. I sincerely hope he does not believe this. But let's look at the quotes.

"We practice them the way we are going to play them and they know what their roles are, so there should not be any change of momentum and there shouldn't be any trouble. I don't believe the other ten guys in the huddle even give a damn which one is in there. I really don't."

Wow. Just.... wow. I'd love to hear from people who have played organized football at almost any level on this. But from my uneducated opinion (I never played organized football), it would seem that stability at the QB position would be desirable by most players. Like any sport, you learn tendencies, you get comfortable, you begin to be able to communicate non-verbally, etc. I would think the guys even care about the punter, since the more reliable and better he is, the better your field position will be. So if you could argue that even kickers are important to the other guys, it would seem a bit disingenuous to say nobody cares which QB is in there.

Coach Nord continued...

"No one said anything about it when we rolled Ralph (Bolden) and (Akeem) Shavers in there last year. No one even made a stink about it at all. No one said anything when Gabe (Holmes) and Crosby (Wright) rolled in and out at tight end. It gave us some different momentum and gave us a different personality, but it is one of the 11 positions. It's just the one that gets the most publicity, the one that gets the most talked about."

What the what?

Do I really need to address this like a lucid human being said it? Okay, fine.

Ralph Bolden had a history of injuries and getting banged up easily. Also, you always rotate RBs. Unless you have an absolutely workhorse like Mike Alstott, you have multiple options at RB. Sometimes one guy just needs a breather.

And TE is the same as QB? Just "one of the 11 positions"? Are you fricking serious? This entire line of thinking makes me actually angry, because it just sounds belligerent for the sake of being belligerent. It also sounds ignorant. If you're a football coach at the Big Ten level and you think a QB is no different from the RBs or the TEs, then, frankly, I have serious concerns about your competence.

That said... I'm not a coach. I am not qualified to pass judgment as an expert. But I am qualified to pass judgment as a fan and a witness to mediocre season after mediocre season.

If Gary Nord was doing great things here and his offenses were always clicking and he was always doing innovative things... well, then, fine. In that case, he would have earned the right to a) be different and b) be cranky when his methods are questioned. However, he has most assuredly not produced good results at Purdue.

I don't like what I've seen from Coach Nord and I don't like his attitude when he's questioned. As we've been saying for a while, this is a big year all around at Purdue -- mainly because continued futility will not be tolerated. I'm not saying Morgan Burke or Danny Hope have the stones to can this guy, but the fans have spoken over the course of the past 5 or 6 years as attendance has taken a nosedive. Another year of boring, predictable offenses run by indecisive coaches and QBs who don't know where they stand will push this program further towards the brink of complete irrelevance.

Prove me wrong, Coach Nord.

Coach Hope Wants More Discipline, Dammit

Mike Carmin of the J&C has a story up with the latest nuggets and notes from Boilermaker football practice. One of the current themes coming from Danny Hope is that the team needs to be better about penalties, which I think we can all agree is a welcome approach. Not that any team wants to take penalties, but Coach Hope is having officials at practice more frequently thus far in August to hopefully work towards that goal. Whether it will work or not is anyone's guess, but I like the attempt. Here was Coach Hope on the subject:

“There are no excuses for this football team. It’s a veteran football team,” he said. “They’ve played, they know better. I can’t be an enabler. We’re going to be a more disciplined football team.”

I just shared that because it's an example of one of my favorite nonsensical trends among anyone who works in or around football -- to overuse terms like "football team." You know, just in case you were distracted by NBC and thought he was talking about synchronized diving.

We also learn that Rob Henry was fielding punts yesterday. I'm not a doctor, but I wonder if among the best ways to utilize a QB who is recovering from a torn ACL tear is to put him in a position known to sustain blinding hits and require lots of sudden cutbacks.

Hope referred to both Henry volunteering to do this as well as QB Robert Gregory moving to RB as examples of guys "volunteering for active duty" and being "enlisted." I guess with a Big Ten opening schedule of Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio State, it might well feel like an infantry assignment.

Carmin wraps up his article with a sneaky Gary Nord quote under the heading "Clip and Save."

“With the experience at the quarterback spot, we’re going to go out and lay our ears back and do what we want to do when we want to do it instead of them dictating what we need to do.”

Carmin either means we should save that quote to see if Nord actually does open things up a bit this year....or maybe, like me, Mike noticed that Nord chose to go with the far lesser known "lay" our ears back rather than "pin" them back.

Yeah, I need football back soon, too, so I stop spending time on things like that.

Monday Gumbo (basketball and football notes)

Did it Work?
The worst-kept secret in the past few weeks around Purdue sports has been Bolden's ACL.  The Tuesday after the IU game, local radio shows talked about it...but Purdue's sports information department and head coach were mum on Bolden's injury.

Methinks they played it close to the vest to not let bowl committees know that Purdue would be without its leading rusher and probably its best offensive weapon.  So controlling information like a former Soviet state works out as well as Communism-  It always ends up failing.

As I said after I saw the injury, I'm saddened for Bolden. I haven't heard if he'll petition the NCAA for another redshirt season or just play next season as he gets healthy (which will probably be just over a half season). Regardless of his decision, I feel awful for Ralph.

From what I understand, this is Bolden's third tear to the same knee.

Kinda-Wanted Man
Last week, there was a buzz on GBI that Gary Nord was one of the final candidates for the Florida Atlantic head coaching job.  After deliberation, FAU decided to go another direction, and some Purdue fans weren't too happy with the owls decision.

I think Nord has been so worried about keeping other teams off balance and out of rhythm this season that he hasn't let his team get into a rhythm.  He and Hope have made decisions like throwing to 10-12 receivers in a game, running 3-5 running backs regularly and playing two quarterbacks in most contests.  The end result seems to be a very balanced, decidedly-mediocre offense that doesn't let a hot hand dominate a game. This system instead settles for surprise while sacrificing power and punch.

Don't get me wrong here- I think there is plenty of talent on the offensive side of the ball- guys like Bolden, Siller, Edison, Shavers, Holmes, Hunt, Mostert, Bush and Ross (when he's focused) could play about anywhere, in my opinion...but they're not given enough opportunities.

A Quick Look Ahead at the QB Log Jam of 2012

Danny Hope seems to be loyal and legitimately loves the guys he coaches.  But, he also struggles mightily with making difficult personnel decisions-

"Should Carson or Cody punt here?"
"Who will play QB today...and for how long?"
"Who is going to return kicks & punts?"
"Who will be the featured RB?"
"How can I find a way to play 30 receivers in today's game?"

When it gets right down to it, making tough decisions might be one of the most-important roles of a head coach in college football...and these tough decisions are clearly Hope's achilles heel- from timeouts, play-calling after time-outs, adjustments at halftime and who to play, Purdue's third-year head coach struggles when making large decisions.

Next year, Hope might have his hardest personnel decisions while at Purdue in front of him, depending on a few variables.

At quarterback, many believe Robert Marve will be granted a sixth year by the NCAA (I'm not in agreement with that assessment). If that's the case, the stable will be absolutely busting at the seams with horses.

A completely healthy Robert Marve, Caleb TerBush and Sean Robinson would all be available for the Spring game in this scenario...and in the fall, it gets more confusing.

Former starters and fellow Seniors, Marve and TerBush will both be available and chomping at the bit to play. RS Sophomores and former starters, Sean Robinson and Rob Henry will both be available...and let's not forget, Henry was called the future at QB and was a team captain, prior to going down to a busted ACL.  On top of four good, experienced options, Austin Appleby will be coming in.  Appleby seems to be the best true drop-back option of all of them.  Sure, Appleby should be a no-brainer redshirt candidate.

But...

If Marve isn't granted the extra year of eligibility and Henry's knee has minor setbacks, I can definitely see a scenario in which Appleby burns his redshirt early in the season as Hope gets nervous about being in the situation he was in back in 2010.

One would think this is the best problem to have.  But if the adage of having two quarterbacks really meaning you have zero.  What does it mean to have three...or four that play???

I think every coach in the nation wants this type of problem. But, my fear is that without choosing one starter, the quality of play will be watered down. As a result, Hope's Boilers might once again be left with an offense, that while balanced, is not great nor overpowering in any one aspect of the game.  And if the past few defenses are any indicator, Purdue's offense will need to put up points to be anything more than a soundly-mediocre program.

Ugly Play Yields Yet Another Ugly Loss on Senior Day

Seven days ago, an inspired Purdue team played a physical and talented aOSU team even before putting the 'Nuts away in overtime.  After a week of (presumed) smiles, praise, sunshine, lollipops, flowers, fresh-baked cookies and sunshine being blown up their collective backsides, Bad Purdue showed up to lay an egg this week.

Iowa was already bowl eligible (somehow), but my eyes told me that this Hawkeye team wasn't very good. They made stupid plays like fumbling the ball inside the Purdue 10 after receiving a gift from the Boilers, giving Purdue a cheap TD, dropping interceptions that were in their chests, dropping open passes and were generally as sloppy as the weather around the game.

It was a chilly day in the high-40s/low-50s with intermittent spits of rain and gusty wind.  The wind affected the play on the field pushing Purdue to not kick or pass when going into the wind and forcing an attempted pooch by Wiggs to net 7 yards.  Wiggs also had an ill-advised near-fake in which he kicked the ball right into an Iowa defender. On top of that, Purdue had a botched fair catch kickoff that gave Iowa the ball.  So what had been rock solid for a few weeks, special teams, simply was awful...but they weren't the only ones.

If McNutt was Superman yesterday, Purdue left the kryptonite back in Mollenkopf

Last week, Purdue was sure-tackling and did a good job pressuring aOSU's mediocre Frosh QB.  This week, they gave Vanderberg weeks (it seemed) to sit back and find McNutt as he tormented Purdue's highly-touted, but seldom-productive corners.  But in their defense, how can you hold coverage for 5, 6, 7 seconds as one of the nation's best receivers just runs around the defensive backfield as if playing in the backyard.  But when they did pressure him, get this, it worked.

One of the few plays in which the front got to Iowa's QB, he kind of wet himself, fumbled the ball and Purdue got a gift of a TD as he was standing in his own endzone.  At the end of the half, it was 21-14, and it felt and looked like it should have been 28-7.

After watching Marve on this day in the first half, it was clear he was the better quarterback.  He was quicker on his feet, both literally and figuratively, he was shooting darts and playing with a chip on his shoulder.  Make no mistake about this- I like TerBus as a kid, but just don't think of him as a very capable quarterback...and I don't blame him for being what he is.  He's been out of high school for four years and has only shown he can manage a game an not screw up too badly...that's not a bad thing if the defense looks like aOSU's or Penn States...but this defense doesn't.  Thus you need a gun slinger.

But Hope came into the game with the idea that he hadn't seen anything in the previous contest that would make him switch starters.  Hmmm...guess I saw a different game last week.

No matter, even with the wind at their back, Nord was baking up a blend of screen passes, poorly-timed quarterback draws and ill-advised runs inside the tackle when Bolden was very effective on the outside, yet again.  Purdue didn't use any of its advantages of quickness by putting Bolden, Edison and Bush in one-on-one situations, but instead seemed stubborn and bull-headed to the point of never checking out of obvious bad play calls OR making any adjustments at half time that might have yielded results.

At the end of the day, Purdue had lost a 31-21. Furthermore, Purdue was not bowl eligible as they squandered the opportunity that was presented to them on a gleaming silver platter. So now, they're facing an unenviable situation of heading South to their rival who will be playing in their bowl game next week as they have only one win.  Sounds like an easy thing to do, right? Just beat one of the worst teams in the nation, and they'll put a choke hold on their only bowl bid in the last four years.  But, a home game versus a mediocre opponent after coming off of a big win would seem like a pretty good situation to be in too, right??

Purdue will play the depleted Hoosiers in Bloomington at 3:30 on BTN.  I can guarantee that Wilson will have a Santa-sized satchel full of tricks, treats and toys for the Purdue defense. And on the other side, who the hell knows what Hope, Nord and Emanuel will have prepared for the only team in the FBS without a win versus another FBS foe. But, after watching this week's game, I feel this coaching staff might be fighting to keep its job...actually, I hope so.  If not, Burke can put himself on the list, along with Hope, of employees on the athletic department's payroll who simply are not doing what they were hired to do.

Although I thought Purdue would lose this game, I was still in a foul mood afterwards, in spite of my BS counterpart being in town for his only game of the season.  Thanks Coach Hope for ruining my pal J's visit back to his alma mater.

Don't Read This Nord Quote If You Don't Want To Be Angry

GoldandBlack.com:

On your second-to-last possession, you had a fourth-and-1 from your own 25, and eventually decided to punt after a timeout. Take me through that decision.

Gary Nord:

"Well, when the scenario played out, it was third-and-8 and we were running a screen pass. Coach (Danny) Hope asked me, 'What do you want to do if we don't get it?' There was 4:05 left on the clock and I said 'Let's wait and see what we get.' I wish I wouldn't have said that because we got to fourth-and-1 and then we had to make a decision. We were down to 3:55 on the clock. I wish I would have just said 'If we don't make it, we're going to punt it.' If we make it, we don't have to worry about it. But I put ourselves in a position where we had to make a decision. The decision was well deserved that we had to make because it was fourth-and-1 and you've got less than four minutes left. Two first downs (by the opponent) and the game is over. We had to rely on the defense to stop them to one first down, so we had to make a decision. We tried to get them to jump off-sides, then they didn't jump off-sides. There was still 25 seconds left on the play clock, so we called timeout. We could have just gotten the penalty and punted it away. But we thought that 25 seconds was more valuable to us than letting it burn out.”

Boiled Sports:

Wait, what? Who is in charge here? And there was really that much consternation over a call that a pee wee coach could have made?

Wisconsin Wrap Up

For two weeks, it was pretty hard to find a silver lining.

Versus both aOSU and Illinois, our Boilers seemed out-of-sync, over-powered and under-prepared. The gameplans seemed non-existent, the passion and fire wasn't obvious from the players and the games weren't close to competitive.

This week was different.

The offense showed a ton of improvement...especially right out of the gate in the first half. And the core of that was probably in the game plan and play-calling. Nord used misdirection often and effectively. Robinson played like a Freshman...but one with a bright future. His option reads weren't always right. But, his biggest problem seemed to be that he tended to throw the ball high. A couple of these errant passes had horrible & game-changing results. But, much like Henry, he looked very poised as the pocket collapsed. He bought time and escaped Wisconsin's front four time and time again. His receiving corps was inconsistent and didn't do him a ton of favors as a lot of catchable balls were dropped...hopefully, Siller will be healthy enough to play next week as his services, at many positions will surely be welcomed.

Edison continues to show glimmers of what he might be in the coming seasons. Both he and McBurse were able to change direction in traffic as if they were connected to an R1/L1 button. Dierking and Carlos both ran hard and finished their runs well. Plus, the offensive line gave them space to do their jobs. And while Purdue only mustered 13 points, this effort gives everyone reason to believe a decent output might be possible...especially verus UM's questionable defense.

The Special Teams units were solid- Gravesande had a couple good runs...if not gutsy, while returning punts. ATM showed some flashes of his ability while returning kickoffs. Wiggs hit two field goals and Webster was solid punting the while the coverage was very good, with the exception of one return where Purdue's spacing wasn't great.

Finally, the D showed the most improvement. They played like they did versus Northwestern- with purpose, at a high speed. Like Kerrigan said after the game, Purdue's defense didn't wait for Wisconsin, but instead took the contact to the Badgers. The front four made it hard on Tolzein as he was sacked more today (3 times) than he had been in any previous game. The DBs were hawkish and jumped routes and didn't give up a ton of space as we had seen the previous two weeks. The linebackers were in position to make plays a lot more often than they had been recently. And while the score looks like the defense's effort yielded similar results to last years butt kicking in Madison, one of the scores was the result of a pick 6, another was nearly the same and a fumble by Edison was returned deep into Purdue territory...but the defense held Wisconsin to a field goal on that possession.

Toward the end of the game, Wisconsin was able to blow open larger holes as the BT's largest OLine wore down Purdue's front four. In fact, both Taylor and Isaac saw more action late in the game than I had noticed previously in the season.

You hear the phrase all the time, but the 34-13 score wasn't really a fair indicator of the game. While it looked like UW was taking control in the fourth quarter, especially in the trenches, it didn't seem like they were going to beat Purdue this badly...but isn't just amazing how accurate Vegas is?!? (20 point spread)

Upcoming Dilemma?

With Robinson and Henry both showing similar promise and Henry becoming available in the next week to two, Hope might have a difficult decision to make. Robinson took the majority of the snaps with the first team last week, for the first time in his Purdue career...and his preparation helped him look much more calm and capable. If nothing else, I think Hope will use both quarterbacks when Henry becomes available...and that might be soon.

Shut It

Wisconsin fans did what Wisconsin fans do at RA today- annoy everyone who's not clad in red & white hill jack overalls. From the goofy dances they do when their orgy-hungry band plays, to the way they seem to embrace the kitschy taste, their fan base is tough to like. What doesn't help them is that they almost always live up to their reputation as a foul-mouthed group. There are exceptions to the stereotype, but I didn't see a ton of them today.

Low Angle View

Thanks to one of our pals, I got to spend a little time on the field during the game. Being down there gave me a chance to talk for a moment to Robert Marve. Our brief exchange reminded me how hard this season must be to watch for Marve, Smith, Bolden and others. Both Smith and Marve looked pretty pained to not be able to play...Get healthy, fellas!

Also, I got to watch Charissa Thompson doing her job...that's not a horrible thing.

Looking Ahead
Michigan was just involved in the highest-scoring game in BT football history...so we know they can score. But we also know their defense is very suspect...especially their defensive backfield. So while winning two of the final three games is still not likely, the possibility still exists...and it's definitely more realistic than it was a week ago. Everything hinges on the play of Purdue's defense...and if good Don or bad Don is controlling it.

Hope Playing Poker with Lightning's Digit

Earlier in the week, we took umbrage as Adam Rittenberg, or one of his interns called out Purdue for not making the quarterbacks available to the media via their Twitter feed. Honestly, we weren't angry with that sentiment, but the idea that Purdue should genuflect at the altar of EsPN and other media outlets all in the name of coverage for lil' tiny Purdue.

Before we dive into that, let me make something clear. As Purdue fans and alums, we absolutely have the right to be pissed when a member of the media condescends about our alma mater. Furthermore, don't we as people have the right be angry about whatever we want? As long as our anger doesn't manifest itself in a way that hurts anyone, how is it their business to tell us how to react to anything, especially something that is "ours"? Regardless of their opinion of what happened earlier in the week, I really don't care. I've lived much of my life with a chip on my shoulder, and I likes it that way.

But the root of the disagreement comes from Danny Hope's choice of not having a quarterback available at the Tuesday presser. I'm not a big fan of the way he controls info...but if it helps him prepare for an opponent in an effective manner, I think that's OK.

The latest from Hope and Co. is that Henry might be able to go, but the trainers and Henry are trying to keep the wound from becoming infected as that would only prolong the recovery. Who knows, other than Rob and the team, what's really going on. But, since there are no NFL-like rules in place, I think it's good for the Coach to play this close to the vest. This game is critical for both teams, so you take every possible advantage at hand.

As many of you have noted, Henry's throwing hand had little to do with the defense's poor play...and I'd surmise that if the defense plays anything like it did versus Ohio State or Toledo in the first half, the offense becomes all but a moot point. Will Lucas was one of the only bright points versus the Bucks. And while he's on the two-deeps, he might be on the field more than some of the starters due to the way he was finishing plays and getting to the ball.

Linebacker and Safety play must be leagues better this week in order for Purdue to expect victory...heck, so must the front four and corner play. You have to go back two decades as a Purdue fan to recall a half of football like what we saw in Columbus for our Boilers. Just as Toledo served as a wake-up call, hopefully the last contest will do the same...it simply must.

I'm not positive if a week is enough to make Sean Robinson comfortable as a starting quarterback or if a laceration to a throwing hand can heal in a matter of 6 days...but Hope, Nord and Landholm must find a way to bring a large amount of improvement and consistency into Purdue's play in order to gameplan in the coming weeks for their opponents. Regardless of the reason for poor play- whether it be injury, youth, lack of depth or poor execution, I think everyone agrees that if a bowl is still a goal, Purdue still has a ton of work left to do.