I'd love to come up with a snarky headline about Iowa out-Purdueing Purdue or the Boilers lucking into one, and maybe there is some room for jokes like that, but the truth is, the Boilers didn't back into this one. It was a sometimes fun, back-and-forth game between two pretty terrible football teams (sorry...two teams that are struggling) that ended with the Boilers stuffing Iowa on a fourth down try as the Hawkeyes were trying to get into field goal range, followed by Robert Marve leading the Boilers downfield so that Paul Griggs could nail a 46 yard field goal to win the game. Pretty damn exciting and I'm sure it felt as good as it looked like it did to this embattled team.
I also will say I must admit I was wrong. I didn't think the Boilers really had a chance to go on the road to a place they just don't win and beat a team that, while scuffling, features a talented QB, a solid run game and an above-average coach (some might argue with me on the last one). But Iowa proved they're struggling in that way that's almost more frustrating than anything. You see glimpses of the potential and know what some of these guys are capable of -- and have even seen it at times this season -- but they simply can't put it all together anymore. Believe us, OMHR fans, we know the feeling. Not that we feel badly for you because you are, after all, OMHR.
Robert Marve completed 75% of his passes on 25/33 for 266 and two TDs with no INTs. Not bad for a guy with only one functioning knee, if you're into that sort of thing. Robert now has 8 TDs and just two picks on the season. Pretty tidy and efficient if you ask me, plus the team seems to respond to him. In addition, his second TD of the day to Gary Bush in the end zone was the kind of on-the-run, reading-the-openings kind of TD pass that reminds you of Marve's talent.
Ralph Bolden was the Ralph Bolden of old, rushing for 102 yards on 14 carries (7.3 yard average) and making us for a moment wonder what might have been this year had he been health all season.
The defense clamped down this week and while there were a couple of seemingly big plays, the Iowans only had 264 yards of total offense, with only 74 of them coming on the ground. That's pretty damn amazing, even if Iowa is on a slide.
The Boilers also -- amazingly -- turned the ball over three times to Iowa's none. If you lose the turnover battle by three and are playing on the road against a team with a better record than you, I don't know what the odds of winning are, but I imagine they're kind of steep. Marve, Bolden and Griggs wouldn't let it happen.
Gotta say, I love the Iowa helmets.
Kudos also to Patrick Higgins, who is Purdue's wide receivers coach but today served as offensive coordinator, filling in for the injured Gary Nord and making good use of Robert Marve's talents. Higgins has served as an OC before (actually, at UTEP under Nord), so I'd say he should hold the post until he loses. Get well Gary, but don't rush back.
Speaking of that, does this game get you believing again? I know you don't want to, but there's got to be a little part of you saying that hey, if Purdue can win at Iowa, they can surely win at Illinois. And if that happens, a bowl game all comes down to beating IU at home. IU, for their part, got positively shellacked vs Wisconsin today and now needs to win at PSU to wind up in the same position. Which, frankly, I am fine with. Let's have something for the Boilers to play for in that game. We've been saying for years that it would be nice.
Sure, we've said a few times that the season is effectively over -- even winning out only brings them to 6-6 and yet another mediocre bowl. This is not progress, even if it happens. Could it be enough to save Danny Hope's job? Who knows, of course, but I have a hard time seeing Morgan Burke firing a guy on a 4 game winning streak (if you include a bowl). And just like previous years under Hope, it will be just that much more frustrating to see them play well for a stretch and to know how much better it all could have been. But that's the best there is from this point on. We at BS do not agree with Hope that such a finish would constitute a "successful" season and it just serves to underscore our frustrations with Danny that he would even suggest that could possibly be acceptable.
However, as I said, it's all there is at this point. On to Illinois.
*Breaking: Offensive coordinator, Gary Nord will not make the trip due to a back injury.
For those uninitiated, the Big Ten guaranteed certain rivalries across the two divisions and for the Boilers and Hawkeyes, it is each other.
And why not? Such a storied rivalry should not fall victim to divisional realignment that takes these two titans of the gridiron away from one another. So, THANK GOD, we are forever (or at least until they decide to change things again) linked with Our Most Hated Rival (OMHR), the Iowa Stinkeyes. (In your face!)
Iowa is really not good, either, this season and that lack of goodness has translated into Purdue fans along the way somehow holding out hope that Purdue could put this one in the win column. Will that happen? Glad you asked.
J says:
Let's start with spirit. Sure, Iowa may fill their stadium up and actually coordinate their attire in a way that looks pretty cool, but true school spirit can be evaluated by how willing people are to run onto the field carrying flags representing their school. Everyone knows this. So let us compare. First, Iowa:
I count four goobers in their urine-colored pajamas and one guy who was always picked last at kickball struggling to keep up.
Now, Purdue:
Clearly, Purdue's flag-bearer is leading the pack here, demonstrating superior athletic ability, and there are six flag-bearers following him. When you compare, you will see seven Boilermakers, which we all know is far better than five Hawkeyes. Well, we would assume so, but we don't know what the hell a Hawkeye is.
It's all so simple when you break it down scientifically.
As for the actual game, if you think this Purdue team is going to go get their first win in their last 13 tries at Kinnick, well, you must be literally among the most optimistic fans Purdue has ever had. However, that said, there actually are a few wide-eyed (drunk) dreamers who continue to point out that Purdue can "win out" and still go to a shitty bowl. Which, frankly, while I'll never root for my Boilers to lose, might be the absolute worst thing that could happen as it could keep the current coaching regime in West Lafayette.
Iowa may be "bad" in their fans' estimation, but they did beat Michigan State in East Lansing. I know they lost to IU, but I suspect by the end of the season that's not going to look like a horrible loss, especially considering it came on the road. With a win against Purdue, the Hawks would be 5-5 (3-3), which is the kind of "bad" season I would gladly take. They'll be motivated to play, as Purdue is now the team that everybody looks at as what will cure whatever ails them.
The Boilers, if I need to analyze them, are a mess in every way. As with any week under Danny Hope, it's possible that these guys will come out and play with heart and will themselves to a solid performance. It's also possible that the imminent departure of their coach could spur them on to an unexpected victory against a vulnerable foe. But I don't expect it to happen.
Purdue is 0-3 on the road this year and has been outscored 78-37 the past two weeks, against one good team and one pretty marginal one. Iowa is somewhere in the middle.
Iowa 34 Purdue 21
Boilerdowd says:
Self-inflicted pain is sometimes the most funny.
Purdue keeps beating itself...so does Iowa. Purdue can (sometimes) run the ball when it really, really wants to, same for the Hawkeyes. Purdue has a guy that can really sling the ball around the field...but his offensive line's simply-offensive play, along with crappy playcalling has made him look inept at times...same goes for Iowa.
These two teams are not good. While Purdue has struggled getting the car into drive for much of the season, Iowa's car stalls out when it's needed most; in the red zone. The end result has been a ton of field goals. But unlike Purdue's field goal unit, Iowa usually leaves the field with three points, while Purdue leaves the field, often, after tackling the guy on the other team who has just picked up the blocked attempt.
Another big difference between Purdue and OMHR is Iowa typically competes as they're losing...or at least makes it interesting at some point...but their schedule is amazingly-soft for a B1G team this far into the season...and the results don't really show that they were playing bad competition.
They were beaten by a MAC team, nearly beaten by another, played even football for a half versus a D-1AA team before kinda pulling ahead in the second half...and recently, allowed IU to get its second-straight win in conference (I wonder what winning in conference feels like...).
Purdue's lousy kick coverage will surely come into play, if they can manage to score...so as a way to keep that unit out of harm's way, Hope/Nord have devised a plan that Purdue pretty much never scores, when the game is still up for grabs, EXCEPT on the first drive. Brilliant; play to your strength.
I think Purdue will start with a 7 point lead...but I don't see the losing streak at Kinnick ending tomorrow.
Iowa 25 (one TD, six FGs) Purdue 10 (one TD, one FG)
Get your popcorn!
zlionsfan says:
Injuries, a predictable offense,
and a string of losses in conference play have made Saturday's game something
of a must-win. There's a question as to whether or not the season could be
salvaged even with a win on Saturday, but a loss would certainly mean the
beginning of the end. When an opponent is on the ropes and you can't take
advantage of that, you tend to exhaust whatever patience the fans have left,
and I think Ferentz will be more than aware of that.
You thought I meant Purdue? Well, coming into the season, sure, the two teams
had some similarities, although Iowa's injuries came at running back instead of
quarterback (and their leading rusher is likely to miss Saturday's game as
well). And with the Hawkeyes' unexpected stumbles against Iowa State and
Central Michigan, plus a schedule that has them finishing against the two teams
in contention for the West Division title, a loss to Purdue would probably
finish Ferentz's career at Iowa. (A win might not be enough, either -
expectations are high enough in Iowa City that even 7-6 might not be
acceptable.)
To be honest, it's probably a must-win game for Purdue as well, if we take
Morgan Burke's recent comments at face value. "Converting potential into
results" means winning games, and it's possible that winning four straight
games would preserve Hope's job for another season - that would give him
another 7-6 record with a bowl win and a Bucket win. Anything less won't be
good enough ... well, we all knew that, but the question was whether or not
Burke would acknowledge it, and it's possible that a losing record would move
him to make a change.
The game itself should be winnable: Iowa's offense is bad, particularly its
passing game, so they're not exactly the type of team to jump on the Boilers in
the second half ... but then every embarrassing loss in Big Ten play has
been to a team with obvious and significant flaws, and somehow Hope and his
staff managed to make Purdue the cure for what was ailing those other teams.
I'm afraid we'll see the same thing on Saturday.
No, this isn't the schizophrenic edition of Boiled Sports, but instead it's a recap of the Boilers home victory over their most hated rival in yet another competitive performance by the Hawkeyes.
Iowa has shown repeatedly this season that they are quite simply no longer doormats and will not be pushovers no matter what. Fran McCaffery has them playing chair-slammingly improved basketball and we've taken notice. Which is just my way of saying that I value this sweep over a team that has taken down two ranked foes, Michigan and Wisconsin (the latter at their house), so far in the Big Ten season. With a win tonight, Iowa would have been ahead of Purdue in the Big Ten standings by a half game. We cannot have that now, can we?
Rob Hummel and the Hummellettes agreed tonight, to the tune of five guys getting into double figures. It makes sense, too, since those five guys were the only ones to get significant minutes tonight.
Rob led the way with 17 and 11, LewJack followed with 14 (including 8-11 from the line), Ryne came next with 12 (including 3-6 from three, the only guy to look keyed in at all from out there; Rob, by comparison, was 1-6), Kelsey Barlow had a tidy 11 and 7; and Terone made the lone significant bench contribution with ten in 28 minutes.
And on the subject of minutes, outside of those five guys plus Travis Carroll (who played 31 mins and arguably looked the best he has all season), there were a total of 28 minutes of playing time doled out among John Hart, DJ Byrd, Sandi Marcius, AJ and Lawson. Is this a sign of Painter shortening his bench as he tends to do as the seasons drag along? It could very well be, though I'll be surprised if DJ Byrd and Jacob Lawson aren't part of that and Travis Carroll is.
Tonight, there were chunks of the second half that featured this fivesome out there for the Boilers: Hummel, Jackson, Smith, Carroll, Terone Johnson. Not a whole lot of post presence there, huh? And it showed, as the Boilers did not box out and allowed Iowa to get the ball down low over and over for layup attempts, some of which even went in. I joke, obviously, but Iowa put up a fight, even leading by as much as (I believe) 17 in the first half.
Zach McCabe had a career night this evening, pouring in 20 -- easily his best game of the season -- and looking a bit better than he maybe is. Poor defense by the Boilers or just a good night for McCabe? I never like to only ding my team when a guy has a good night. McCabe looked good, shooting over 50% from the field and it could have been even more damage, but he went only 3-7 at the line.
Marble is impressed by
Micah's head for basketball.
Back to Travis Carroll, he had perhaps his most confident performance of his Purdue career, as his rebounding a tipping in of balls seemed more controlled and deft. He seemed to me like a guy who was sure of himself and perhaps wasn't fearing being yanked out of the game. His 31 minutes was by far a season high and his 8 points was one off his high for the year. If this is the direction Travis is heading, I like it...and I will admit I didn't think there was any way I would say that this year.
Kelsey Barlow was strong off the dribble tonight and created as he is often capable of doing. He was only 4-10 from the floor but his points were needed and his seven rebounds (including five offensive) were obviously critical.
Lewis Jackson continues to be a favorite of ours. Lew gives his body up every time out there and also continues to grab far-bouncing rebounds, make his way to the FT line, and also do the little things that make you love a hard worker. One thing in particular that I noticed was late in the second half when Lew took a 17 footer and it rattled off the rim...who was slicing through the lane to snag the rebound? Lewis himself. I note this particularly because I was at the Rutgers-ND game last night and witnessed former Boiler Scott Martin's lazy fundamentals (learned under Mike Brey's tutelage, one assumes) manifest themselves in him taking a three and then drifting backwards to admire it as it bounced hard off the back of the rim and back out to where he easily should have been, had he followed his shot. That's the sort of thing Matt Painter would never have let him get away with. But hey, hope you don't still miss your girlfriend, Scott.
As we've seen over and over, everybody has to pitch in for Purdue to be successful this season. And as we've also seen, the Boilers are prone to lapses in scoring for stretches that become alarming as we see leads shrink away. However, tonight was a welcome change as the Boilers recovered from a fairly deep first half hole to go on to win the game and look fairly dominant in the second half doing so.
Ahead of this train is a nasty little five game stretch that includes four ranked teams, with the one non-ranked opponent being Northwestern on the road. I would take 3-2, I would be thrilled with 4-1 and I would do cartwheels and post the video of it if they go 5-0.
Shovel in some more coal and let's get up a head of steam.
Sometimes it's easy to remember what you don't like about an opponent. Other times it's harder. Wherever you fall on the spectrum, BS is here to help. In a new feature (and you know how well we stick to new features), we'll help you figger out why you should hate Purdue's next opponent, mainly using third grade playground insults and other such high-brow stuff you've come to love BS for.
Up today: The Iowa Hawkeyes.
They're OMHR. You're mandated by Jim Delaney to hate them. At least in football. Does that extend to basketball? I can't remember.
They marred the end of JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore's regular season careers at Purdue by failing to respect their farewell tour and beating the Boilers 67-65 on the Island of Iowa.
Quite simply, you should never trust a man with a girl's first name.
Their fight song commands Iowa youth to pledge blind allegiance to the Hawkeye regime "until the walls and rafters ring." This sounds unsafe. Also, does their football stadium have rafters?
Have you ever been to Iowa?
Why are the numbers on their jerseys italicized? To make them look faster? You're not fooling anyone, boys, you're Iowans. You move as fast as the combine harvester will take you.
Feel free to share your reasons to dislike the Hawkeyes below.
Teddy Sez:
Teddy's dad suffered a health ailment this week so he's in our thoughts. As such, Teddy for now is only submitting his prediction and no analysis. Get well, Mr. Huff.
Boilers by 7.
Tim sez:
Who knows what's going to happen this game? There are four realistic outcomes. First, Iowa 42 - Purdue 17. Second, Iowa 5 - Purdue 3. Third, Purdue 59 - Iowa 4. Fourth, Purdue 11 - Iowa 10.
Which defense will show up? Which offense will show up? How many fans will show up? Will Iowa get lost and even make it to the game? We'll just have to wait and see.
What I've taken away from the team lately is if they can start fast on both sides of the ball then they stay engaged the entire game and can win. If they start slowly on either side then it's going to be a long day. Iowa is nearly as bi-polar as Purdue. They lost to a dreadful Minnesota team but beat a pretty good Michigan team. They're good at home and winless on the road.
The Hawkeyes have some undeniable talent. Marvin McNutt is a stud and Ricardo Allen will definitely have his hands full. There's no stopping McNutt, the only way to have any measure of success against him is to jam him and limit his touches. Hopefully, their terrible play on the road continues.
Interesting factoid (courtesy of EsPN): Purdue has seen 17 different players rush with the ball this season and not a single runner has lost a fumble on 388 carries. Two of the Boilers' three lost fumbles this season have come after receptions; the other was on a punt return.
Purdue 24 THE University of Iowa 21
J sez:
I remember thinking (and saying to B-dowd on the side) that if Purdue did pull off the win over OSU that they would almost certainly lose to Iowa the following week, mainly because that's what this team seems to do, right? Purdue has yet to win two games in a row but here we are, all hoping/expecting Purdue to win back to back games against OSU and Iowa.
Of these last three games, this one is actually the one that concerns me the most because I think Iowa presents a balanced offense and Purdue struggles with balanced offenses when they can't focus on one feature of an offense. Sad to write that, but it's true.
Amazingly, Purdue has a legitimate shot at winning eight games this year if they can close things out the way we hope they will. Regardless, though, we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. We do not want Purdue going to Bloomington needing to win that game to be bowl-eligible, so this one becomes very important.
Despite some of the concerns I outlined above, I think Purdue comes out ready on senior day and plays one of their best games of the season.
Iowa 20 Purdue 34
Boilerdowd says:
The emotion of Senior Day isn't really needed as Danny Hope is pretty good at having his team emotionally charged...so I don't really think it's helpful this week. Remember last Senior Day? On his show this week, he spoke about how he did not like the pre-game Senior festivities...but the Seniors voted to keep it as is, so he kept it.
But more than what happens right before the game, I'm concerned about what's been happening in practice in the days before the game. I get the impression that Hope loved the game last week to the point that he felt like a proud papa afterward...and there's the rub. When Purdue's coaches light a fire under the players, they have looked motivated (Illinois & aOSU specifically). And when the staff is enjoying the afterglow of a victory, motivation has been lacking (Purdue hasn't won two-straight all season).
On top of that, the Purdue defense has struggled against balanced offenses...and Iowa is very balanced.
Purdue is 5-1 at home...Iowa is 0-3 on the road. Is Iowa just due to win or are they just lousy on the road? Can Purdue finish with one of the best home records in the last decade? We'll see.
