Friday Gumbo

Everybody knows by now that Calvin Smith has transferred from New Mexico to Purdue. Smith's road to UNM is actually more circuitous than just Florida to Purdue via Albuquerque.

Smith verballed to Lane Kiffin and Tennessee during his Senior year in high school, decommitted when Kiffin decided to go to USC, then went to UNM. Before deciding on the Vols, he had offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Mississippi, Purdue, Notre Dame, Arkansas and others.

Out of high school, we wanted to go some place where he'd get playing time and would make an impact right away. Before committing to UT, he talked about how he liked UND, Florida and FSU quite a bit. But, Florida got two DT commits and I don't know what happened to FSU, UND and others, but the offers were probably filled by other recruits. UNM's Mike Locksly was able to sell the idea of instant playing time to Smith, and UNM's coach lived up to his promise.

As a 6'4" 270 lb. true Freshman, Smith played in all 12 games and had 13 tackles, one a sack. Being a part of UNM's rotation right away surprised no one...signing at UNM surprised everyone...and he shocked a lot of people again by transferring to Purdue.

There's a lot of ways to look at this- You could be cautiously optimistic just because you don't really understand why he's at Purdue. A good answer might be that he'll have two fellow Hialeah teammates in God's country next season...more than anyone else. Or maybe, he's just a guy that likes to do things differently.

Twitter and the message boards has some dancing in the street just because this plays like bolstering next year's recruiting class...and he'll have a year to be around the team, practice and learn.

I lean toward being a bit more cynical just because this one doesn't make a ton of sense to me. He was never really high on Purdue coming out of high school...but unlike Marve, who went through visits again prior to his transfer, the Smith thing just kind of happened.

My opinion matters little at this point, because he's a Boiler now. So obviously, I hope he thrives at Purdue and am glad he's on campus. In high school, he was a prolific pass-rushing tackle- Think Mike Neal more than KK Short.

Boilers on BTN

Joe Tiller will be working for the BTN this fall and I'm looking forward to it. If you ever had the chance to hear the Ol' Purdue Coach talk outside of a press conference, you know how entertaining he could be. I'm pretty sure that his combo of knowledge of the game and storytelling ability will make him an enjoyable person to listen to on the network...Plus, it's never bad to have another Boiler there.

I had the chance to talk to Rosevelt Colvin last week and he told me that he will be on the BTN more than last fall as well...if you got a chance to see him in studio in 2010, you could see he was already better than some of the guys on the panels as he was comfortable in front of the camera and came off as smart without being smug. His increased role should be good for everybody involved.

Matty's Magic

Painter is in China coaching the US team in the World University Games. His squad won in an exhibition v. a professional Chinese team and begins official play tomorrow. His assistant coaches are two of the best in the college game; Cuonzo Martin and Brad Stevens.

Matty's coaching a few players he coached against in the last few years- MSU's Draymond Green, Bama's JaMychal Green and Mbakwe from Minny.

Wilson Goes Off

IU's Coach Wilson, who was one of the stars of the B1G media day a few weeks ago saw a different side of the media yesterday on Fox Sports Radio's Zakk & Jack Show.

I've heard Wilson has a pretty bad temper from IU students who have gotten the business end of the guy...but I really liked his appearance on this crappy show.

I don't listen to the show regularly...because it stinks. But I've listened enough to know that Trudeau comes off as a complete bag and Zakk seems to be a blowhard whose voice is pretty tough to stomach. Prior to putting Wilson on the air, they both were making fun of IU...which might be OK on a different day, but isn't very smart business right before you welcome their coach onto the show. You can hear it here.

Wilson probably could have showed a bit more discipline in the way he handled it, but he wasn't that out of line...the clowns who get paid to talk on the radio for a living were though.

A lot of Purdue fans were saying Wilson was out of line via Twitter and on the message boards, but let's be honest for a moment- if this happened to Hope, wouldn't you want him to defend himself and his program and be at least a little pissed? I would.

I Don't Think Joe Tiller Reads Boiled Sports

I know, crazy talk, right? But I don't think he's paying attention to us. As evidence, let's take a look at this quote from today on ESPN.com's Big Ten "blog":

"I haven't heard anybody say, 'You've got to be crazy if you're not [starting Siller]!'" Tiller said. "Mind you, it's only Tuesday."

Ahem. Joe, you've got to be crazy if you're not starting Siller. Does that change anything?

Also from that same post:

Backup quarterback Justin Siller won Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors for his impressive performance against Michigan, but Painter's experience could be beneficial against No. 18 Michigan State.

Really? Beneficial how? You mean all his experience beating ranked teams? Because I think Siller guiding the Boilers to 48 points was beneficial and that sort of firepower might also be beneficial against Sparty.

Ghosts and Zombies of the Grid Iron

There's this guy who visits our site regularly who defends Tiller and really refuses to say how bad things have become...yet, he will fully admit that IU's football team is not good and is poorly coached. Our pals over at the Lafayette J & C printed an article that might be of note to the shrinking group of people that keep telling us everything's fine.

Make no mistake, the situations that both Purdue and IU are in are deplorable...and they both can be attributed to poor coaching and preparation. Last year, Lynch used the memory of a former coach to motivate the players...it took the same deceased coach's wife to help the Hoosiers get the win versus our Boilers back in November. Now, they're unmotivated...

In the same way, Purdue's head man has lost motivation...his team can see it, heck, about anybody can read it in his quotes and inconsistent answers given to the media. On one hand, Tiller is given credit for being an offensive genius...on the other hand, he refuses to call plays when his offensive coordinator doesn't call the game to his liking. One one hand, he says his team's effort has been lacking, on the other, he won't make personnel changes when they seem to be an absolute must.

Both IU and Purdue's fanbases thought at least a low-level bowl would be in their futures coming into this season. Now, just past the midway point, neither Purdue's once-feared, Senior-laden offense nor IU's Charmin-soft schedule could help either team to a winning record. In fact, they're both well-under .500 and seem to be on their way to a date with destiny...or a date with a trip back in time anyway. At the end of the season at Ross Ade, it looks like we'll all party like it's 1996...The only difference is, neither fanbase is as accepting of the sub-prime* efforts their respective teams have been showing this season.

Now, both teams will welcome two programs on the rise to their stadiums on Saturday for Homecoming...both opponents are ranked and both seem to be unworthy of being mentioned with the other 23 teams in the top-25. It seems like the opportunity is ripe for IU and Purdue to shake the cobwebs loose and remind the fans why they believed not-too-long ago. But they probably won't. Afterall, Lynch no longer can motivate his young men with the ghost of a leader of men, and Tiller seems to be a Zombie version of the man who used to inspire never-say-die effort from the Boilers...Kind of fitting in this ghoulish season, don't you think?

There is a silver lining, at least up North...While Purdue has looked like dogmeat this season, there is a definite change coming next year...and, our basketball team provides a diversion reminiscent of the mid-90s as well. Conversely, IU's football team is in a no-win sitation as firing Lynch seems imminent, but a buyout will once again cost the Hoosier athletic department...something they don't need as they continue to build the 10,000 additional perpetually-empty seats**...and we won't get into a lot of detail about the state of their basketball program. I will say this though, the NCAA has still not ruled about the punishment of the Candy Stripers in the wake of Kelvin's antics...Oh well.

The really bad news, if you're a sucker for Purdue football as I am, is not only will it be cool on Saturday in West Lafayette...it's also going to be rainy. I guess it's fitting though- the gray skies are a fitting backdrop for a horror story.

*yes, I just paralleled the crash of the market with the crash of Purdue's program

**except for games in which the Hoosiers host aOSU, aka photo day

Defend That, Tiller Defenders

Go ahead, you short-sighted, easily-pleased, easily-satisfied jacks. I dare you. Justify that performance and tell us again that we are out of line in questioning the preparation and coaching of this team. Do you think our talent is that bad? And even if it was... whose fault is bad talent? Perhaps those who recruit them? Nahhhhh, can't be Joe's fault! He's a good guy!

Whose fault is it when the team gets steamrolled, yet again, only this time by a team with not nearly the talent of a PSU or an OSU? We were told to lighten up. We were asked things like, "Did you really expect them to beat OSU/PSU?"

While that pussy mentality many Purdue "supporters" exhibit is inexcusable in itself (yes, I do think we should be beating those teams... sometimes), let's for sake of argument accept it. It's ludicrous, but okay.... poor old Joe. He just wants to retire and go fishing. We can't expect him to compete against the class of the conference! Not even at home! So okay, then, what's the excuse this week? Come on, I want to hear it. What's the reason that we shouldn't be coming down on the program -- and specifically, the coaches -- this week?

Do you find this acceptable? Or do you think Joe has "earned" this? I've heard that phrase a lot. He's "earned" the right to go out how he wants. Folks, he already went out. He's gone. Today's game was just one more indication of that.

And nobody earns the right to torpedo a program, no matter what he's done for it. Sorry, I don't agree. I'm f-cking furious and you should be, too. This is embarrassing. No, not that we lost to Northwestern on the road... but once again, it's HOW this team loses. Giving up 48 points?? To that team? All due respect to the Purple Warriors, but they still haven't played much of anybody and the one team they did play (and who beat them -- MSU) is getting dump-trucked by OSU as I write this. So why do the Boilers put up another listless performance?

Because the team has given up. I don't want to hear specific guys pointed out that you think were playing hard.... it doesn't matter. Overall, the team is seeing the record and the effort being put in from the top down -- and hearing the comments about the limitations of how good they can be -- and they're checking out.

As Tim says below, look at the way Matt Painter runs things and contrast that fire to the lazy-ass, disinterested, unemotional way Tiller is running things. And then he has the audacity to say those who would dare to question him are "low IQ." You want to talk about a lack of class, there it is.

Once again, I do appreciate what Joe did to put Purdue football on the map and to turn around a dormant and long-dismal program.

HOWEVER... This is unacceptable. I am pissed and disgusted. And you Tiller apologists should be, too. This is nothing to be proud of.

Purple Predicto: Purdue v. Northwestern

It's that time, ladies and gentlemen...Time for three low-IQ bloggers to make their prediction of how their alma mater's football team will fare in this weeks contest...

Tim says:
I think after two good defensive weeks, the D lets up against a weaker opponent. Until Painter gets pulled, I don't think the offense is going to do anything worthwhile either.

Northwestern - 20
Purdue - 10

J says:

After many of us giving up on the Boilers in recent weeks, the defense has honestly really shown up and played tough. Are they doing enough? No, and not just because the offense can't score at all anymore. They need to do more in terms of pressuring QBs and creating turnovers. I don't care if they need to make their girlfriends run through the house greased up and carrying a loaf of bread while they tackle and try to "strip" them. They need to do something -- more than they're doing. I know it sounds demanding but, honestly, if they'd had a couple of takeaways here and there and maybe one big play on defense (or special teams, for that matter) then they're truly IN both the PSU and OSU games with a legit shot to win them. It sounds like crazy talk but it's not. So yes, I'm pleased the defense still appears to be coming to work every day. The same cannot be said for the offense, but there are those out there who say "I expected us to be 2-4 at this point." Well, good-for-effing-you. Expect mediocrity, that's fine. But even if you did "expect" this, did you also expect Curtis' game to go into the can so badly? I bet you did not.

So Curtis and the Curtisettes need to get back on track. Tardy and Orton can be men among boys out there and Kory has repeatedly shown his explosiveness and is being wasted. Let's hope that Northwestern's porous D is enough to get the boys back on track. I think it might be. It's homecoming in Evanston and I have a feeling Cats fans are chalking this one in the win column, at least as much as they chalk anything into the win column in advance. Let's ruin their homecoming and maybe, just maybe, get the Purdue season sort of back on track. A win here gives at least a glimmer of hope for some fun the rest of the way. A loss here and there's the serious risk of only 1-2 more wins all season.

I'll switch it up and go back to being a positive thinker this week.

Purdue 27

Northwestern 24

boilerdowd says:
I've said it all along, I think Northwestern is a pretender. I've also said over and over that Purdue's team is flat- out not good at this point. It's a damned shame too...I think there is talent in the stable; this Senior class deserves more than a Motor City Bowl-type of season...but much better, at this point seems like pie-in-the sky.

My gut says Purdue loses and Sutton runs wild as Purdue's defense lets down and the offense finally gets clicking.

My head, ironically, says something completely different. It could be my lack of IQ talking, but I think Purdue is going to win handily. I've said it all along, Painter hasn't forgotten how to play the game...he may be poorly coached and ill-prepared, but the guy could sling it for 3 seasons...I doubt he's regressed so far that he no longer knows how to complete 60% of his passes.

The last two losses came at the hands of very good, very well-coached teams...their DBs are fast and smother receivers. I'm not as impressed with NU's corners as I was with PSU's and aOSU's...I am impressed with Purdue's receivers as I've said over and over. I think Painter will actually hit them quite often to the dismay of the 5,000-or-so NU screaming homecoming fans at Ryan Field. I also see Sheets busting at least one big run for a touch...perhaps Coach Z can help him by not calling draw plays on first down??? Or maybe, the coaches will try to get him in space? I know it's a whacky idea, but it might work.

Purdue's defense seems to have its feet under it...so I'm looking for big things from Kerrigan and Baker, specifically. If the three linebackers can do their job by keeping an eye on Bacher and Sutton, those guys will be able to contain the slippery Cat offense.

While Fitzgerald looks a lot like the handsome Drew Brees (I'm OK admitting I have a crush on a man), I don't believe he thinks Purdue's team is as good as he's been telling the press...Much like J, I think he and the rest of the Purdple nation think the Boilers will play dead for them tomorrow.

The ole formula of Tiller-coached teams scoring 30+ points comes into play Saturday...and the Boilers win the 5 game v. a ranked opponent in the last 4.5 seasons...

Purdue 35
Northwestern 24

What you said:
Just over 87% of you, the BS reader thinks Purdue wins this contest...