Hazellball: Right Direction So Far

BS was on the scene at one of Coach Hazell's open practices last week and if you haven't read B-dowd's excellent write up on his observations, you should go do that. I'll wait.

Okay, you're back now.

The Spring Game is fast approaching (1 PM on April 13) and will be played rain or shine and will be four quarters. Well, no kidding, you might be thinking, but this sort of info is pertinent, as last year's Spring Game was on a day with lousy weather, so the Danny Hope Gestapo moved the proceedings indoors to Mollenkopf, and then Tom Schott's button men ejected interested parties from the premises. You know, the people who were so devoted to a mediocre program that they had made the trek to campus on a miserable day to get a little bit of a Purdue football fix. As was the norm at the time, solid PR work by the Purdue athletic department.

So Coach Hazell has decreed that the game will go on and will be a complete game. This is good. Click here for more information on the activities of the day surrounding the Spring Game. In addition, BTN has decided to grace the Boilermakers by streaming the game live via their BTN2Go app and the broadcasting it on real, actual television on April 15 at 9 PM. Unless Ohio State hires a new strength and conditioning coach or something, presumably.

You also see the photo above marketing the upcoming season. The marketing folks responsible got this one right, in our opinions. They also did well back when Danny Hope started at Purdue (the "ONE" campaign, which, at 1-5, scared us because, well, what if Purdue went 1-11?), so maybe all it takes to wake up marketing is a new coach. Let's hope winning soon follows and the program markets itself on the football field.

In addition to the Spring Game, this Saturday is another chance to see your Boilers on the field at Ross-Ade, as they'll put on a "Jersey Scrimmage" for all interested parties to attend. Purdue faculty and staff get to come onto the field beforehand with the team and then will be addressed by Morgan Burke and Coach Hazell -- this outreach is another nice touch. You can find the rules to the Jersey Scrimmage here -- it will be offense versus defense and while these rules may a seem a bit cumbersome, you can bet the players will know how to keep score and this will be competitive. Check it out if you have the chance.

One more item to note that you can find on the Purdue football page of Purduesports.com is Purdue Football 212, billed as a "behind the scenes look at Purdue football." I watched the first YouTube video they have up there and I already feel like I've seen more of Purdue football behind the scenes than I did in four years of General Hopeissimo.

Obviously, none of this means much once the games begin. However, it seems clear to us that Darrell Hazell is making the right moves in his early months on campus. There's a discipline and an intense work ethic already coming across, while at the same time welcoming us outsiders in to see what's going on.

The Hazell Era is off to a good start. 

Even Nancy Cross Thinks Carl Bimel is Doing His Part

If you've been dragging your feet on donating to the Purdue athletic department and have been feeling lousy about it, well, Carl Bimel is picking up the slack for you. He just donated $2 million to Purdue football.

Mr. Bimel has been a Purdue fan for almost 85 years. He attended his first game in 1928 (a season in which the Boilers went 5-2-1 with five shutouts) and then attended Purdue in the '40s. Bimel was one of the original 32 members of the John Purdue Club in 1950.

In several stories, Bimel as quoted as follows:

"I have loved Purdue University and Boilermaker Football for as long as I can remember. In my lifetime, I have only had one wife and one football team. My intent with this gift is to do my part to help my team remain competitive in the Big Ten Conference and on the national level. I have full confidence in the leadership of the athletics department and the football program that the money will be used in areas identified within the Purdue Football 'Next Step' initiative to have the greatest impact for my Boilermakers." 

Hey, he's just trying to do his part, everyone! Now, Nancy Cross and Morgan Burke want you to step up and do your part.

I'm also struck by the idea of cheering for any team for over eight decades, let alone one that can be as maddening as Purdue football. This is not to say we won't be cheering for Purdue into our golden years -- it's just that at the rate the team has been aging us, we probably won't make it as long as Mr. Bimel has. Considering he's been cheering for the Boilermakers for that long, he looks pretty spry.  

Boiler Football 2012 Poll: Sound Off, Yo.

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More About Blanketly Rooting For Your Conference

My esteemed co-editor addressed this on Friday, but since more content is always better than less content on a Web site when you're competing for readers with sites linked to Google and SEO, and because...well, I feel like it... here's  little more on our thoughts around being a stooge err, I'm sorry, fan who roots for the Big Ten simply because Purdue is in it.

First off, despite my little dig above, I am in no position to tell you who you can and cannot cheer for in any given sporting contest. If you want to root on Indiana while you attend Purdue, I can't -- and won't -- stop you. I can, however, think it's the wrong approach. It's like America that way: you're not obligated to follow my beliefs on hot button political issues, but you are required to at least respect my right to have such opinions.

We've taken some flak this past week (and other times) for refusing to blanketly root for the Big Ten in games not involving Purdue. We then attempt to explain ourselves (often in 140 character bites on Twitter) and yet the thicker-craniumed among you don't seem to understand. So we'll try again here.

Once again, you're entitled to cheer for whatever team, player or hairdo you like. But let me ask you this...Do we need to be actively rooting for a team in every single game? Can you just watch a basketball game to watch it? To see what happens? To be there for the moment of the tournament if it happens? Why is there this insistence among people that others must choose a side. This isn't the Presidential election. It's not Terminators versus the resistance. It's not ANWR. It's not gun control. It's just a basketball game.

If you're a fan of basketball in general and not really a fan of a team or program and rooting for a team (or against a team) makes it more interesting for you, then fine. But if you need this to keep your attention from wavering to shiny objects in the room, maybe you should just accept your fate as a sports gambler now. You'll love the casino sports books, where everyone is watching games like this.

My 64 year old mother was surprised to hear I was happy Indiana was losing to Kentucky over the weekend. "You're not rooting for the Big Ten?" she asked, aghast. So yeah, that's who is in the same boat as you folks who think you're somehow obligated to root for your conference out of some misplaced loyalty that even the schools themselves don't have.

Don't get me wrong. I don't want to see Kentucky win, either. But if Kentucky wins, as B-dowd pointed out, it's only a matter of time until they have to roll up the banner and put it in a storage closet. And more to the point -- and less snarkily -- what does Kentucky winning do to Purdue? I mean, if you want to relate the outcome of these games to your own favorite program, what does a Wildcats national championship do to you? Everyone knows they're the most talented team. Everybody knows they're the favorite. If they win, it's almost expected. Almost a, "well, we knew this was coming." If IU won it all or made the Final Four? You'd have to hear about it forevah!

"How's that feel??"

Okay, you might say, but what about BS' distaste for supporting brethren from MSU or OSU? Let me ask you this -- do you think the braindead media who incessantly refer to the Big Ten as slow, plodding, mediocre, etc., will ever stop doing that? Does it matter that the Big Ten is the best conference by any objective measure? Anyone who knows college basketball knows that and yet there's still a dumbass notion that the SEC is "quicker" or the Big East is "more competitive."  It's all nonsense, made up by lazy-ass sportswriters who are too terrible at their jobs to do even the tiniest bit of research. So does MSU/OSU winning a title or going to a FF change that? Of course it doesn't. It doesn't make Purdue look any better, if that's what you think. And beyond that.... I don't know what you think it does that's positive. Tom Izzo getting another banner and slipping further into the slippery muck that he's now comfortable in? Thad Matta -- a coach nobody has ever accused of being a good X's and O's guy -- getting an even stronger foothold in Big Ten country? Do you guys somehow think that OSU going to the Final Four and/or winning a national title is somehow good for your favorite program? Because it isn't.

The analogy I've used a number of times when dealing with SEC braindeads is that of pro sports. I'm a Yankee fan (yes, yes, I know -- just go with it for a moment), but do you think I cheer for the Red Sox to win if the Yankees are out (I know, this is fiction, but go with me here -- hey-yo!)? Why would anyone want to cheer on one of their rivals? One of the teams they see their boys do battle with usually multiple times a year? Because we don't want, what.... the Big 12 to win a championship? Who cares? I'd rather see the teams/programs that I hate with regularity suffer. Even the cynical and curmudgeonly among us -- what do we get out of seeing North Carolina or Kansas lose? We don't deal with those fan bases on a regular basis. OSU, MSU, IU, UM...those we do.

The best way I think I can explain our approach -- and I think B-dowd and I are similar in this way -- is each game is taken individually and evaluated. Could there be a scenario where we find ourselves actively rooting for IU? I suppose... like if the Soviet Union reformed and IU was playing for the honor of America and to stop communist aggression. That sort of thing.

Truth is, we've both found ourselves rooting for IU in football. When Coach Gum Throwy was there, you bet your ass we wanted to see them beat programs like Michigan. Yet if they were one win from a bowl season and were playing Michigan, it might be a different story.

Back to basketball, though. As the matchups are determined and often as the games draw closer, that's when we find ourselves gravitating to a side. And when the battles are between two truly unlikable characters or programs, well, I go back to what I said earlier: Why do we have to root for either? Can't we just see how the game goes? Maybe Rick Pitino will collide with Anthony Davis coming out of the tunnel, break his (Pitino's) nose and get blood all over this $3,000 suit and then the scoreboard will fall on Calipari. Who knows.

Our allegiance is to our alma mater. After that, it's all just noise.

To your call once more - would you freakin' rally?!

I'm disgusted. That's the way some of us put it, just matter-of-factly.

Today, we saw a drubbing on the field of Ross-Ade that for once played in our favor. While the team lit up the scoreboards, the stands were strangely quiet. Why, on earth, would you not be singing, cheering, screaming and almost crying from excitement as your team nabs the 8th touchdown of the game? Why wouldn't you root and holler for your team as they return from a last second loss?

The BS student writer is livid. THuff is sounding off.

Attendance Figures Tell A Story

When people feel a program is in decline, they quite simply stop spending their money. Whether you call it voting with your feet or with your wallet, the point is, when something isn't worth the cash to you anymore, you stop doing it. This can happen with magazine subscriptions (like THuff's Playboy stash or B-Dowd's Playgirl collection), it can happen with television (Tim still pays for Cinemax, but only for the documentaries) and, obviously, it can happen with sports teams.

Going to any sporting event at the collegiate or pro level is expensive. Even when tickets seem "reasonable," you still have to get there, which for alums can mean long drives (with $4/gallon gasoline) or flights, hotel rooms, meals, etc. This is to say nothing of the multiple days not at home and the resulting foot-tapping from the spouse.

So we think these attendance figures are startling, despite the fact that they shouldn't be surprising. Below are attendance figures for the past eight seasons plus the athletic department's fantasyland estimate for 2011.

2003 -- 58,000
2004 -- 63,000
2005 -- 63,000
2006 -- 55,000
2007 -- 59,000
2008 -- 56,000
2009 -- 50,000
2010 -- 48,000
2011 -- 42,000

That's a precipitous drop in recent years. I would hazard a guess that 2011's average will be a lot lower than 42,000 if things continue in this scary direction, and if it gets down to 40,000 then that's a 20% drop in just two years. And a 37% drop in just six years! Even if the average ticket in Ross-Ade is $20, an assumption of 23,000 fewer seats would equal lost revenue of $460,000 per game or more than $3.2 million over the course of the season's seven home games. And, obviously, this is to say nothing of lost concession sales, team apparel, parking fees, the influx of dollars spent in the community, etc.

As has been discussed, some programs can handle a down year or two, or a "rebuilding" phase. And Purdue actually was a program like that -- look at the numbers as recently as '07-'08. Those weren't world-beaters, but the fans had seen enough success and near-success that they wanted to come out to see the team to be there when the fun happened. That is no longer the case, quite clearly.

The answer is not new unis, it's not fun taglines for the billboards and it's not even "we gotta get five star recruits!" No, the answer -- at least for now -- is to make the product on the field exciting. Until it is that -- and not infuriating -- the fans will continue to vote with their wallets.

Support The Players; The Season Is Not Over

As the new week begins and we look towards the rest of the season, I know things are bleak right now. And I'm not here to suggest that you all buck up because things are going to get better. They could, I suppose, but the scales are probably tipping more towards the not-so-good season direction right now. My point here?

Keep supporting these guys.

I know, it probably sounds counterintuitive. I know a lot of you are seriously pissed right now. I know many of you are simply done with this current iteration of Purdue football. There were some who were done with Danny Hope last year, there were some who said he deserved another chance but the leash was short; and then there was the camp that said he deserved more time, period. As of now, I think most of those who were on the fence are now in agreement that the direction is not showing positive signs -- to say the least.

I understand that many of you may want to express your displeasure by not showing up, not making the effort to get to games and so forth. And if that is how you wish to do it, I cannot stop you and, frankly, I don't have the right to try to.

That said, I want to implore you to reconsider.

Purdue does not have many advantages in the Big Ten. Home field is not all that intimidating, we don't "look the other way" on violations and getting prime talent to Purdue can be a challenge. To add a downright poor atmosphere will certainly not help things. The commit Purdue got after the MTSU game said it felt like a family atmosphere -- that's a good thing. And it's something we can all contribute to.

However, more important (to me, at least) is supporting the current players. You may not like the coaching staff, you may not agree with the athletic department's direction, BUT...these guys chose to come to Purdue, to wear the black and old gold (or, you know, all white) and to play in front of all of us. They are our guys. And they've been working towards this season for many months -- and in the case of the upperclassmen, many years.

They lift, they train, the practice in the spring, they practice in the Indiana August heat, they study film, they learn game plans, they try to follow game plans, they put forth effort.... and they go to school. And the seniors are now in danger of not going to a bowl game in their entire time at Purdue -- something else that hasn't happened to a class since the bad ole days of the early '90s. These guys work hard, whether the record winds up reflecting it or not. Abandoning them with ten games to go seems unreasonable to me. But again, that's just one fella's opinion.

If you want to go to Ross-Ade and boo the coaches or Morgan Burke, I say have at it. Those guys are paid (handsomely, in some cases) and are big boys and deserve to be held to a higher standard. But the players? They're still giving effort as far as I can tell and the difficult parts of the season haven't even begun yet. In my humble opinion, they still deserve your support and to hear encouragement and cheers. No, they're not children, but they are your guys.

I think we should all let them know we still support them.

Fan Reactions Are Funny...and Sometimes Unhinged

While I tend to not think it's worth giving a lot of pub to crazy people, sometimes I just feel the need to weigh in a little bit on some things.

Last week, on the Handsome Hour, both Boilerdowd and I predicted a 4-8 season. Some people told us we were too close to the ledge, and that's fine. Others got belligerent and nasty and implied that our "negative" attitude and mindset were to blame for Purdue football's lack of recent success. Okay, that's nonsensical enough, but we'll continue.

As we tried to articulate -- and continue to try to -- we never, under any circumstances, root for Purdue to fail. Even if we disliked Coach Hope (which we do not), we wouldn't want to see him fail. We want success for our alma mater and would like nothing more than to see Coach Hope lifting trophies and hugging his players.

However, we've felt for more than a few years now that football program has been heading in the wrong direction. Maybe it started with the apex in 2004 vs Wisconsin, maybe it was sooner than that... or maybe it was later. Nobody knows for sure, of course. But things have not been heading in a positive direction in number of years now. Losses have been of the painful variety on many occasions, either because of sheer curb-stompings at the hands of OSUs and Illinois of the world, or because of losing to lesser-league foes like Toledo and Northern Illinois.

My prediction for the MTSU game was that Purdue would lose because, quite simply, recent years and experience levels in this game suggested that to me. And as we often say, we hope we're wrong with predictions like that, but until the final minute of the fourth, I didn't think I was going to be incorrect.

Which leads us to the terrific finish and the aftermath. On Twitter, there was a LOAD of Boiler-on-Boiler hate crimes.... mainly people who purport to be Purdue fans absolutely destroying us for being happy with the win. As B-Dowd noted earlier, we don't think this was a good game. In fact, it is worrisome that Purdue had the kinds of troubles they did.... but was it all that surprising? It shouldn't have been if you've been watching for the past few years.

We were told that you have to blow out teams like MTSU. MTSU has gone to two straight bowls, folks. They're not a bad team. Yes, Purdue should beat them like a drum, we agree.... but when was the last time Purdue steamrolled teams? You might have to go all the way back to the Kyle Orton days. That's a long time, people.

In perhaps the most insane thing we've ever seen on Twitter (at least directed at us), we were also likened to the holocaust for telling one supposed Purdue fan that she should support her school -- she replied and said isn't that what the Nazis said when they were killing people -- to support the government. (This exchange seriously happened.) Yes, a very lucid, rational comparison. As you might imagine, she got the rarely-used Twitter Banhammer.

The point of all this? It's okay to enjoy an exciting win. Did you see Auburn's fans and players enjoying their comeback versus Utah State? Yes, you have to keep things in perspective and understand that there's a lot to work on...and yes, maybe some of the excitement was relief. But so what? Your team won and that's what matters. Given the two positions Purdue could be in today, 1-0 sure feels a lot better than 0-1. This is not to say there isn't a lot to work on -- there is. And it's not to say they're now going to have a good season -- they might not. But you saw Caleb TerBush grow up in that fourth quarter and you saw a comeback win with the kind of passing play that, as B-Dowd alluded to, we haven't seen from a Purdue QB in a very long time.

So yes, retain your concerns. Yes, curb your optimism with caution. But also, enjoy wins when they happen. It's okay to like your school.

Herr J says so.

Being a Purdue Fan

The recent debate (on Twitter and elsewhere) about whether or not Purdue fans can pull off the Black and Gold color scheme plan for the Notre Dame game on October 1 has made me think, once again, about what it means to be a Purdue fan. Yes, many schools, teams, etc., think they are unique, but here’s why I actually think Purdue fans are.

There's a reason it's hard to imagine Purdue fans color-coding the entire stadium and wearing the shirts they're told to wear. It's because the typical Purdue fan seems to be a 60 year old wearing an old sweatshirt ("Purdue Mom!" "Purdue Dad!") who graduated from Purdue in the '70s. Or he might be an old man in an argyle sweater, or a 1980s style baseball cap with the flat brim and the hat high.

It's never been TRENDY to be a Purdue fan. People don't leap on board because it's an easy team to root for. Not a lot of people back Purdue and claim to have been a fan "forever." Even fewer say, "Oh, uh, I grew up in Indiana so I'm a big Purdue fan," the way people do who grew up in Texas, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, etc. The people who are Purdue fans are the people who actually went to Purdue. The people who know what it's like to be there and experience how great a place it is.

The sycophants living 50 miles from Columbus who have their truck painted “scarlet” (OOOOH, scarlet! It makes me feel so naughty when I wear scarlet!) and a picture of Jim Tressel over their mantle and who never went to college, let alone OSU, will never comprehend it. (Of course, they won’t comprehend the alphabet, either, but that’s neither here nor there.)  Cheering for a school like it’s a pro team because you, uh, lived near it, is so far from the same as being a fan who LIVED IT that it’s hardly worth explaining.

Purdue fans are people who spend years on campus. They ate at the campus grills. They had beers at Harry’s. They went to Breakfast Club. They ran through the fountain. They remember the Good Earth Market. They know that the windiest place in the Midwest is under the Math building in February. They’ve been to, or have friends who’ve been to, mass at St. Tom’s. They’ve lost their voice in Mackey. They’ve walked what feels like ten miles – uphill – to get to a football game. They’ve gotten sunburned and frost-bitten at Ross-Ade in the same season. They have driven around blocks for 45 minutes waiting for a parking spot to open up. They’ve enjoyed the “Drew Brees” or the “Duane Purvis” at Triple XXX. They know Triple XXX is spelled just that way, even though that’s kind of redundant. They’ve almost been run over in the Chauncey parking lot. They’ve mumbled to themselves about the irony of some of the engineering decisions on the campus of a school known for engineering. They know what “on the hill, but on the level” means. They’re aware of Purdue’s proud astronaut history. They’ve rubbed Abe’s nose for luck in the Union. They beam with pride whenever they hear a mention of Sully Sullenberger. They’ve attended or participated in the Nude Olympics. They know who Rube Goldberg is. They know the history of the tables with names and details carved into them in the Knight Spot Grill under Cary. They have, or know people who have, their names on an engraved plate nailed to a door in one of the dorms – and they know why those plates are there. They remember when the top floors of Cary weren’t considered a fire hazard. They know nobody at Purdue gets their number retired. They know it’s just called the “Co-Rec.” They’ve played pickup games at the Co-Rec instead of studying. They know where the “hello walk” is. They remember someone riding a unicycle to class when they went to Purdue. They know the significance of The Fumble. They know what “lofts” refer to in the dorms. They know how to assemble a loft. They know the mascot is the Special, not Pete. They never, ever forget the athletes who clearly LOVED representing Purdue. They’ve studied in the “stacks” and heard the legendary sex rumors. They got hit in the head with a plastic cup after a score while sitting in the student section. They went to a party at halftime. They’ve been awakened by the AAMB thundering past their dorm. They’ve been on a run out to Lafayette and been stuck at a train crossing for what feels like the whole night. They’ve been awakened on the first Saturday of a month to the test blast of the tornado siren and for a second freaked that they needed to take cover. They remember that the area between Owen and Cary – now a massive mess hall – used to be a field referred to by many as the “DMZ.” They called Hillenbrandt “the Hilton” when it was new and scoffed at how soft the people were who lived there. They remember the dry “nightclub” at Purdue West. They remember “Kazoos.” They remember Alfano’s stuffed breadsticks. They’ve walked to the levee to play basketball under the lights. And that’s just a few things that make Boilermakers….Boilermakers.

But do you know what being a Purdue fan pretty much never requires you to do? Apologize. Or make justifications for a hero coach who cheated and covered up rule-breaking. I’d like to sit here and be all high and mighty and say that if a Purdue coach broke the rules and was fired and embarrassed the program and the University that I would blast them and never support them again…but I can’t do that. And do you know why? Because Purdue coaches don't do that. I'm not in a position where my alma mater wins all the time and does so at all costs. And that's fine with me. And, I suspect, fine with all of us.

So if you’re a hater, you can go on bashing Purdue or calling us boring or mocking whatever it is about us that strikes your fancy. Because we know why it’s a source of great pride to be a Boilermaker and, frankly, we’re glad you don’t.

Purdue has risen before. And will rise again.

Choo-choo, muthas.

An Outside Source Confirms Purdue Alumni at Ross-Ade Kind of Suck

Okay, well, there's more to it than that. Paul at Stadium Journey visited Ross-Ade for the debacle against Toledo. Here is his report.

Kudos to the students, band, tailgaters (even the alums) for giving Paul a good showing and helping him come away with an overall very positive impression of Purdue. These are the things we like to hear:

Purdue, and Ross-Ade Stadium may not be on most college football fans must see list, but there is a great value to be found here. This may be a basketball state, but northern Indiana definitely appreciates its football too. If you have the opportunity, don’t miss out on a great experience: Ross-Ade Stadium.


And I find it very interesting that Paul also noted what we've all been observing for years now:

The Purdue student section is something special. Seeing the thousands of young men and women cheering and gesturing “Boiler-Up!” in unison, is really an impressive sight. The alumni, on the other hand, are rather tame, and sure seem to have a penchant to give up on their team quickly if things don’t go well. I think they love Purdue, and being on campus, I just don’t think football is all that important to them.


Obviously, we all know there are many Purdue alums who love the football program and want nothing more than for it to succeed. But there is a signifcant portion of alums -- who we still can't figured out why they even go to games to sit on their hands and shoot dirty looks at fellow Boilermakers -- who have sullied the name of Purdue fans. So congratulations, miserable old people. You're now being noticed for how pathetic you really are. Thanks for that.

Chirp Chirp Chirp (Ball U recap)

It was kind of an odd day today at Ross-Ade for me. A friend of mine who is a BSU alum took me...so I sat with the enemy. He's a good dude, so it wasn't bothersome at all. In fact, I was more surprised about Purdue's first two fluid scoring drives than he was. He was pretty positive Purdue would win by 40 or so. I told him to just wait and he'd see some evidence of Purdue's youth, lack of focus and inconsistency. I was correct.

But, unlike last week, I feel a few positive steps were taken.

Solid
-I really enjoyed seeing a Purdue offense with good rhythm, slightly-faster pace and the ability to finish drives...that was all in the first quarter too.

-Carson Wiggs was crushing the ball well into the end zone for much of the day.

-Marve looked great, some might go as far as to say, marvelous, for much of the first half...all while battling stomach flu-like symptoms...according to GBI he threw up about 5 times before the game.

-Antavian Edison ran the ball very well...and we got to see why the coaches are so excited about his athleticism.

-OJ Ross had his first college TD...more coming.

-Ross, Siller and Edison were used in a variety of formations/positions due to Purdue's shockingly-thin RB corps.

-Nord lined Henry and Marve up in the same backfield finally. The possession yielded nothing, but might have been effective had Marve not been gimpy at that point.

-Kawaan Short was a handful and nearly made another very athletic interception at the line of scrimmage.

-Purdue had its first interception of the season (finally)...Werner pulled one down after a couple of dropped gimmies earlier in the season.

-Beckford had 11 tackles and was involved in a ton of plays.

-The defense was gang-tackling quite a bit.

-Rob Henry got some good reps, still doesn't look real comfortable throwing the ball...but ran a very limited playbook as well as could be expected.

-Purdue rotated a ton of defensive backs, specifically corners into the game.

-Purdue averaged a composite 4.4 yds on the ground and mixed up the runs pretty well (until late in the game).

-The Henry-to BSU defender-to Cortez Smith TD was one of the luckiest plays I've seen in a while...it padded the stats and put some much-needed (at the time) space between Purdue and BSU on the scoreboard.

-Kevin Pamphile returned from injury to play quite a few downs and looked pretty solid.

-BSU clearly game planned to avoid 94 as much as possible...it worked for much of the game. But, Kerrigan eventually had a sack, a couple nice run stops and slapped a BSU RB out of the way before knocking their first-string QB out of the game late in the second half.

Shaky
-Marve was injured yet again...this time, his surgically-repaired left knee. He tried to play through it, but his stats following the injury showed his lack of confidence in it...and during halftime warm-ups, he simply didn't step into his throws. During scrambles it looked like he simply couldn't slow himself down...he was pulled shortly after.

-Henry's accuracy as a passer was inconsistent.

-Marve's decision-making ability looked suspect again. He had a very athletic, but odd scramble in which he couldn't make his mind up about what to do before finally throwing an incomplete pass. The play in which he tweaked his knee was his call...and a lousy one at that.

-Marve missed on two long passes...one by quite a bit. This is a large hole in Purdue's offense that needs to be figured out.

-Webster and Wiggs combined for two of the worst punts, on two consecutive possessions that I've seen in a while- Webster shanked left, Wiggs shanked right.

-On one of Wiggs booming kickoffs, the coverage seemingly took a play off and allowed a 60 yard return. Wiggs along with someone else (can't remember who now) forced the BSU returner out of bounds.

-The offense seemingly-fell asleep for the middle two quarters as they couldn't do much of anything. BSU was killing Purdue in the field position battle at that point...but couldn't capitalize due to poor field goal kicking (two missed).

-Ball State had way too much success running the ball up the middle in the second half.

-Injuries continue to mount:
RB- Bolden out for season, Carlos still out with stress fracture, ATM out with turf toe, Dierking limited with bruised ribs
WR- K. Smith out for season
QB- Marve left shoulder stinger (WIU), left knee minor sprain (BSU)
DT- Brandon Taylor out (still not sure of injury)

-Gotta say it- I hated seeing Robinson warming up on the sidelines after Marve went down...I really want this guy to RS, as I'm sure everyone else does.

-They showed the Keith Smith "Boilermaker" commercial a few times during the game on the jumbotron...and the second time, showed Smith in sweats on the sidelines right after it. That made me kinda sad to see it.

Damn
Old, crotchety Purdue fans still drive me nuts.

I sat in Section 128 today and the woman next to me didn't like all of the noise I was making. That never bothers me. But, after Evans dropped an INT late in the first half, I yelled, "Come on, Al, catch the frickin' ball." Yes, I said frickin'. She turned to me and said, my language was horrible and that this was supposed to be a family atmosphere. Huh?

I have two kids...they've heard the word frickin' before. Pretty sure that's not a dirty word.

Later, I said "damn". She chastised me again. I apologized for that word and begged her to actually cheer for one, just one play. She of course didn't...but did stand for the high school bands (not the fight song, mind you) and "Shout". Then left shortly after.

Boo. Boo to everyone in the stadium who refuses to cheer for the football team, but gets excited about that milquetoast tradition between the third and fourth quarters. Booooooo to every Purdue fan who would rather tell another Boiler to be quiet rather than cheer themselves. You guys are why Purdue fans are perpetually mocked. You clowns are why Purdue only has a homefield advantage near the student section.

Do everyone a favor: Stay at home for the rest of the season.

10,000 good fans are better than 60,000 cardboard cut-outs.

Can The '10-'11 Season Start Now, Please?

A pretty likable group...

The sun has risen just fine the past couple of mornings, and I'm still damn proud to be a Boilermaker. As mentioned on this site, it's never a good feeling when your season ends. And, really, there's only one way for it to end where you feel really, really good. And Purdue is closer to that than it's been in a while. The tournament effort to get to the Sweet 16 and then play Duke tighter than they were played to that point was significant (remember, this is a Duke team that was up 30 on UNC in the first half in their late-season matchup). As the clock wound down on Friday night, I found myself immediately feeling and saying, "I'm really proud of these guys."

Oh, but what might have been.

Never A Complete Unit

At the start of the season, a Sweet 16 appearance would have been viewed as a disappointment. We all know how high expectations were. The Boilers had a chance to almost come home for the Final Four, as they did in 1980, and this is all the more driven home now for Boilermakers as we get to watch Butler have those stories written about them. It's hard to have anything but good feelings for Butler, as their students and loyal fans deserve this as much as anyone, but I did say to Boilerdowd this weekend that I'm truly jealous of the Bulldogs. I can't imagine how good this feels for them today.

But getting back to the Boilers, one point that I think is very interesting to ponder is the "what could have been," not from the simple, obvious Final Four perspective, but from what was expected or counted on for this season.


For one thing, Sandi Marcius was expected to be another big body Coach Matty could count on to at least clog the lane a bit, grab some boards, commit some Zoubeks (another word for fouls) and simply spell JJ when Johnson was in foul trouble or just needed some rest. But Sandi broke his foot and it made no sense to burn his redshirt when word was that he wasn't ready.

But let's leave that one alone. How about the fact that the Boilers essentially had the rotation they expected to have for a total of seven games? Seven. And even then it wasn't at full strength, since I'm talking about the games where LewJack was just coming back. The preseason #6 team in the nation wound up not having their regular rotation for almost the entire season. This got obscured by the fact that the Boilers played inspired, focused ball and got out to that 14-0 start. However, many of us saw the need for Lewis Jackson to get back this year, as the team could not handle the press well at all, even from mediocre teams. They needed their PG back.

LewJack returned on January 28 versus Wisconsin, but only played 20 minutes in a game twice before February 24. On that day, Purdue started their game at Minnesota looking, honestly, like they'd figured it out. Jackson was back and was beginning to play significant minutes again, the Big 3 looked comfortable, Moore was on a nice steady run, etc. Things looked good. During that first half, B-dowd and I even commented on how solid they looked in nearly all facets -- something that could not have been said too many times this year up to that point. And then, of course, Rob's knee went, and his teammates looked like they'd seen their puppy get run over.

To their credit, as we all know, they pulled themselves together and went 6-3 (including that Minny game) without Rob. Nothing groundbreaking, but they learned to play without him and they showed resolve and commitment that made us all proud. I've not heard one fan say they felt like the Boilers folded the tent. And think about that, because it's significant.

Lewis Jackson was finally getting up to speed.....and Rob was gone.

We've often said that things have to line up for you to go to a Final Four. Butler had everyone playing their system perfectly (and you can now see why Matt Painter really wanted Gordon Hayward). MSU didn't have to beat anyone higher than a 4-seed. Duke had a bracket full of shorthanded, inexperienced teams to get through. Point is, it has to line up. You need some breaks. I'd say this isn't being a Purdue homer: Purdue got few breaks this year. In fact, the breaks truly went against them.

Was Progress Made?

Have the boys matured further? B-dowd and I discussed this last night and it's unfortunate to think that while they clearly are a good team, they weren't quite emotionally mature enough to handle some things this year. Nobody can fault their effort or, as mentioned, the Sweet 16 appearance. But the way they reacted to losing Rob in the immediate aftermath (curling up into the fetal position for a lot of the rest of the Minnesota game and all of the MSU game) was disconcerting. However, when you compare the way they began the 2008-2009 season, another season considered promising, they did indeed take strides.

In December 2008, we all know how poor the boys looked against Duke. We also all remember the 0-2 start in conference play. The Boilers opened this season solidly, taking down Tennessee in the Virgin Islands, coming back from down 16 in the second half against Alabama, and simply outclassing Wake and WVU at home. But the hiccups remain, including an 0-3 stretch in January, only putting up 44 against MSU at home (Rob or no Rob, that's ridiculous) and being simply embarrassed on a national scale in the Big Ten Tourney against Minnesota. The point? There's a lot of maturing still to be done.

"Help Is On The Way"

Someone on ESPN's cast of misfits said, in the wake of UNC getting absolutely dismantled by Duke at the end of the season, that "help is on the way" for Roy Williams. Not sure how many five-stars he needs to, you know, make the tournament, but it's kind of a silly statement. However, for the Boilers, help is indeed on the way in a number of forms, with the overall theme being depth.

For one, Sandi Marcius should be healthy and ready to bang next year. Patrick Bade will be a sophomore and hopefully will practice rebounding over the summer so he doesn't look like he thinks basketballs are live grenades. And coming to the mix is Travis Carroll, another center to give JJ some rest. You'll never want JaJuan in foul trouble or playing soft as he does from time to time, but if it happens at least Matty will have a multitude of options. And with this size, it will be rare that an opponent will have the definitive upper hand in the post.

Boilerdowd's lust for the Johnson boys is hard to describe. No, I'm being silly, but b-dowd is very excited about Terone and Anthony coming aboard next year, and he's right to be. Both four-star players (for what that's worth), these guys are difference-makers and the thinking here is Terone could (and maybe should) see some time in the starting lineup. He's a thick kid who can play the point or score the ball (hate that term, I sound like Hubert Davis).

Donnie Hale is a power forward coming on board without a scholarship as of right now. He agreed to come to Purdue over his other finalist, Xavier, with no guarantee of a schollie for next season. So unless someone goes pro or transfers, Donnie might be paying his own way for a little while. We'll see how this goes.

One More Year, JJ

Which leads us to a sidebar about going pro. According to Neubert, JJ hasn't ruled it out as of now. Which, I think we can agree, might be a bit silly. We think he'll be back, but if he was a

first round projected pick, we couldn't blame him for going.

However, NBA Draft Express doesn't have JaJuan projected as even a second round pick as of now. In fact, they have him as a second round pick in 2011. So he clearly has work to do. As Neubert puts it so well:

"When he gets the ball around the rim, he's got to be able to score or get fouled 90 percent of the time, rather than getting stripped or tied up."

More Reasons For Excitement About The Immediate Future

Getting back to next year, I know I was thrilled to see the minutes some of the younger guys got in the tournament. Ryne Smith developed some confidence and has now hit some big shots on the biggest stage possible. But even bigger to us was DJ Byrd's postseason. DJ was a DNP as recently as the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Think about that. This is a guy who didn't have double-digit minutes from Dec 22 until the Big Ten Tournament.

He played a total of five minutes from Jan 31 until that Minnesota game in the BTT, including six DNPs. But then he came alive, having his two best offensive days since the first game of the season against CS Northridge, scoring 11 in the crushing against Minnesota and putting up 10 HUGE points (including 2 of 2 from three-land) against A&M.

DJ also played strong defense, never looked out of position or overwhelmed and was even barking at teammates on the floor -- in a good way. If you're looking for an intensity leader to replace CK3, we think you might have him in DJ. (And he needs to keep the intense haircut look; we love it.)

Thanks, But No Thanks, Media-Types

Purdue has the tenth-ranked recruiting class in the nation for 2010. Oh, but only fourth in the Big Ten. Yeah, you read that right. So let's shut your pie-holes, national media, about what the Big Ten lacks. It's pretty effing rugged.

In addition, several scribes were venturing well into douchey territory and seemed to be working hard at alienating college basketball fans. A very smart move when you're a.....college basketball writer. Wait, what?

One of these clowns is Gary Parrish, of whom there is not a single photo in existence where he doesn't look like a complete buffoon. He's now saying the Boilers are going to the Final Four next year, but Gary felt the Boilers barely deserved a top 20 ranking as the season wound down -- not because they were losing games (they weren't), but because he felt Rob Hummel being out made them...a below-average team.... I guess? Hard to understand. We emailed him politely and were given the condescending pat-on-the-head treatment. He's one of the many who can kiss off next year -- as stated before, we don't want your positive remarks, either. You've denigraded Purdue enough that we don't care anymore. You're a lost cause. We know Purdue's not as sexy as slimy Calipari's Cats, and that's fine. We like our program clean.

Keep It Up, Students

There have been periods in Purdue sports history of which we're not especially proud, when students seem to not care at all. While it's perfectly fine to not be a sports fan, it still grates on us because we take this stuff way too serious, by our own admission. But seeing the Paint Crew and their massive numbers honoring the team as often as they do is simply wonderful for two old guys like us.

Camping out in the cold, being creatively supportive during games, singling out guys to thank as the season winds down, road tripping through the night on buses.... we can't possibly name all the ways in which we think the students do an amazing job acting as the 6th man and doing us alums proud. You guys are doing great things and you'll look back fondly on this time in your lives. Keep doing it.

Want proof of how awesome the fans/students are? Here they are at the airport at 2 AM on a cold February night welcoming the Boilers home from Minnesota, where the season took a crushing turn.



That video really gets me. The guys had won a hard-fought game and lost Rob for the season. We didn't know it for sure at that moment but it didn't look good. And yet the screaming for the guys and the chanting for Rob is just terrific. Seeing that smile that Hummel can't conceal is all part of the greatness of it.

Yes, we're going to focus on football in the very near future.... but we keep saying we wish next basketball season could start in maybe a week. Eight months can't pass fast enough.

Choo-choo.

Changing the thinking at Purdue

Every athletic department and subsequent fanbase has a culture. The culture is often shaped by records and can be changed by the mentality of coaches. For this reason, I'm excited about what's going on around the football/basketball complex in West Lafayette.

A young Gene Keady and a younger Joe Tiller both believed that championships were a possibility each season at Purdue. But as their time on campus drew to a close, both had significantly changed their outlook. Complaints about facilities, problems with recruiting big-time talent, competition for those players and the fanbase all became themes for both coaches.

I think these complaints set the fanbase back as well. There were clear divides among the fans whether Tiller and Keady should stay or leave during their closing seasons at Ross Ade and Mackey, respectively. No one wanted to disrespect what these men had done for the athletic department, but many, myself included, thought they were both dismantling what they had built as they began losing more and more games that they wouldn't have lost in seasons prior...And the resulting recruiting classes left both programs in difficult positions.

Matt Painter is not Gene Keady...we all know that. He might have been picked with the help of Keady to succeed him, and he played and coached under Keady, he's his own guy. He's not as animated on the court, he runs a different offense, he goes after different types of players...but like Keady years before, he has his team in the position to win conference championships...and maybe do something Keady never could- win a national title. The media certainly believes Matty's team should be in the pre-season conversations.

Like Painter, Danny Hope is not his predecessor...Granted, he has a handsome mustache like the guy before him and he coached under Tiller, but it might stop there. With Hope, we still don't know a lot about what's coming down the shoot. But what we do know, is he's a bit of a bulldog- he scowls when he's angry, gets after officials, is demonstrative in practice and has an idea of what his team should be...I think speed is his number one focus, and if the talent level can steadily rise with each recruiting class, Hope's teams, like Painter's might soon be in the talk for conference titles or better each season...time will tell.
I just watched a video detailing the facilities around Mackey Arena that are being built...I'm excited about the changes. But, I've heard some of the Purdue family saying that a new arena was the answer, not a change to the existing facility.

I don't agree. I like Mackey and like the fact that it's a loud place and the fans are close to the action while having a good view from about any seat in the arena. Many new arenas have the fans set further away from the court and have boxy designs that don't give the sight lines that the in-the-round arenas have.

The attached practice facility and other student athlete facilities will help all sports and will provide an instant big-time look as fans and athletes alike head toward the complex while driving down Northwestern. Painter believes these facilities will help recruiting...they might already be doing so...but the average 17/18 year old will be more impressed with the real thing than they will with sketches and computer models.

On the football side, the medical facilities in the new buildings will help out and the offices, study and training rooms will aide Hope's recruiting in a season-or-two. Plus, there's still talk about changing Ross-Ade, and it'll probably happen before Burke's time as AD is over at Purdue. I don't think any of those plans are set just yet, but I don't know if stadium expansion makes much sense unless the fanbase and the market demands it. The improvements to Ross-Ade a few seasons ago were a big step forward, but the fans really hold the keys to what comes next, it seems.

This is where the mentality of the fanbase comes into the equation of changing the future of Purdue athletics. This is an issue from the 50 year alum down to the Freshman who just stepped onto campus this fall.

Purdue has around 400,000 alums...I'd have to guess that 200,000 are within three hours of West Lafayette. Yet, Ross-Ade wasn't close to full for the Toledo home opener. Sure, some have been de-energized by the last few seasons, and the economy is still pretty horrible, but empty seats send a loud message to recruits...and there were plenty of them two Saturdays ago.

I don't think a sold-out Ross-Ade stadium each Saturday is going to happen any time soon, but at minimum, I'd like to see and ravenous, vociferous and consistent student section...there's no reason this can't happen. The tickets are price well for the students, and the student base is large while the stadium is easy to get to.

On the alum side, if more seats can't be filled, is it too much to ask for more energy and enthusiasm? It probably is for many of the old guys...but there are plenty of people who graduated in the 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s that are in the seats who have let the crappy culture of Ross-Ade take the moxy out of the crowd.

It should never be a negative for a fan to stand up and yell during defensive stands...but, both at Mackey and Ross-Ade, I've been told to sit down numerous times just for cheering on the defense. To me, that's inexcusable...And until it changes in West Lafayette, the homefield advantage for our Boilers will not exist as it should.

My commission is simple- if you only make it to one game this season, make it worth while and get up every time you feel like cheering...and leave without a voice. If you've got season tickets, you should be well-trained by the time the Big Ten season starts to yell each time the defense is on the field and the Kafka tries to check out of the play initially sent in by the Wildcat coaches.

If you're sitting between the 30s, especially on the press box side, you might get a hard time...but there's strength in numbers...and an old dog can learn new tricks...even one who graduated 40 years ago and is set in the idea that he only stands during halftime. These people in the seats that I can't afford are paramount in equation of making RA a formidable place to play again.

I really believe Hope will do his part in the coming seasons as he wins more and more games...especially if he's able to pay his staff their market value, but if you don't think crowds are important, read some comments by various recruits during the past few weeks. These young kids can have their minds changed by the support, or lack thereof, in the crowd around the field...Let's start the three-game homestand off the right way this week.

There are supposed to be a good amount of recruits at the game...a couple DBs from Florida might help sure up the defensive backfield in '10 and after. And even though Northern Illinois isn't aOSU or UND, they're still a solid bowl team...the Huskies are pretty good. Here's to NIU's team feeling uncomfortable all Saturday afternoon. Let me just say that gaining homefield advantage doesn't mean hurling curse words and insults at the opposition or, especially, visiting fans. Leave the classless behavior to Wisconsin and Iowa fans...and the stuck-up bitchiness to the Domers.

The paradigm shift to the thinking around Purdue's athletic department can start this week...and Ross-Ade can once-again become a tough place to play for opponents.