A stunner in Columbus (almost)

The outcome of this game sucked.  After two humiliating losses in a row I definitely though this one would be UGLY (and not the Harry's kind).

Then they had a couple of huge plays and two impressive drives (though one ended with an INT at the end of the first half) and it seemed like Purdue would pull the stunning upset.

Then, unfortunately, we were abruptly brought back to reality.  I saw a tweet that really spoke for me and to me.

"This is why Purdue fans are always pissed off.  This.  Right.  Here."  - @JamesEvens

SUCK!

Ho Hum: Danny Hope Continues Domination of OSU, 26-23

Well, now, that would have been an awesome game in the SEC....amirite?? ESPN would have talked about it for two weeks.

Our Boilers did exactly what we asked of them in our predicto -- they proved us wrong. And we're giddy about it. No matter how you feel about things, it's a hell of a lot more fun to watch wins than losses and beating good teams is also something that gives you, as a fan, a measure of satisfaction. And yes, make no mistake, OSU is a good team. No, they're not field-rush-worthy, but hey, who is anyone to tell the Purdue fans who actually showed up what they should be allowed to do after beating Ohio State...again?

Danny Hope is now 2-0 officially against Ohio State with last year's games being vacated by OSU in the wake of the Tressel/Pryor tattoo nonsense. And he's legitimately undefeated against them at home. What is it about Ohio State that this program game-plans well for? Because over the past six years, Purdue is now 3-3 against the Bucknuts. Not many programs can say that.

The defense did what T-Mill (and all of us, honestly) asked them to do -- they stacked the box and dared OSU to throw. And Braxton Miller tried to oblige. Despite throwing for well under 50% completion percentage, he did manage two TDs through the air and nearly led the Bucks to a last-minute victory. But Bruce Gaston blocked yet another kick for the Boilers to keep the game tied at 20-20.

The Boilers then moved to midfield and I'm sure I wasn't the only one thinking this might finally be the logical time to have Carson Wiggs try a 60+ yard field goal -- and then Robert Marve threw a terrible INT to close regulation. But Robert stood tall and the coaching staff, to their credit, stuck with him. He rewarded their faith by leading the Boilers in for the winning score in OT. I don't care how you feel about the QB situation or who should or should not be starting, but I think you have to feel good for Robert Marve. This guy finally gets his chance to shine and lead these guys and he pulled it off. Good for him.

To that point, we don't see how Marve can't start the next two games -- or at least the Iowa game.  He's earned that much and has looked better leading this team in crunch time, in our opinion.

B-dowd will be along later to provide his on-the-scene report as we were fortunate to have tickets in the high rollers area thanks to generous BS benefactor Ed. But I spoke to him as he was driving down 65 getting back to Indy for a dinner he needs to get to (the BS boys are in high demand -- book early!) and he said on the post-game radio show, they were still looking for Danny Hope 30-45 minutes after the game. They kept saying he was still down on the field with the fans. Our observation there? Danny Hope loves being coach so much and loves this program so much that he wanted to personally thank every one of them that was there. Gotta love him for that.

On that subject, those of you pining for Coach Hope to be replaced, I think you're going to have to get used to him for at the very least another year. This team is now 5-5, with two very winnable games remaining and really now has little excuse not to get to a bowl game. And not to go all H&R on you, but is it so crazy to think that Purdue actually could beat Iowa at home, IU on the road...and the bowl opponent if they got a good draw? That would be eight wins, folks. I don't think it's going to happen, but it's suddenly not complete nonsense. Amazing.

We're done trying to figure out what's going to happen with this team. I said a couple weeks ago that if they beat OSU that they would find a way to lose to Iowa the following week. That wouldn't shock me one bit and Purdue did actually match up well with what OSU's offense does (or doesn't do). But now it at least makes next weekend a game against Our Most Hated Rival with a lot riding on it. This class of seniors could clinch their first bowl game on senior day.

Enjoy it, everyone. Choo choo, muthas.

THE Predicto - Bucknuts

Welcome back to West Lafayette OSU! Wait, who the hell is on that team that Purdue beat two years ago?

After the closets were cleaned and the rats jumped off the ship, OSU looks sluggish returning to Ross Ade, but Purdue hasn't really gotten any better since the last meeting, so....

They said Purdue couldn't do it before... what if they did it again?

One more time please

Predicto starts right now -- long before Terrelle Pryor gets his first NFL start.

The BS Q&A With the BBC

Teach me how to Brutus!

If you're expecting pipes, roaring fires, ascots and haughty British accents... well, we don't mean that BBC.

We're talking to the Buckeye Battle Cry this week, who asked if we'd be interested in doing a Q&A as we did last year. Twice. (It's okay, we're used to others having a crush on us.)

You can see our answers to their questions over yonder. Much like the 11W boys, they are decent folks. I know, I know. Why are all these OSU sites trying to be our friends? It makes us feel dirty. Then again, sometimes we like to be dirty... ah, where was I?

Oh yes, our questions for the lads at the BBC. Cheerio!

They Are Who We Thought They Were (OSU wrap)

Coach Rock: "See, Curtis, a progression is what we call it when you look at multiple receivers instead of staring down one guy starting from the snap count until you fire it at him.

Curtis: "Hold on...pro-what-now?"

Sorry to use a hoary cliched line that ESPN would use (thanks, Dennis Green), but it's kind of appropriate here. The Boilers are, as we've said before, nothing if not predictable. Sure, sometimes they throw a little variety into the way they consistently lose to ranked opponents -- such as, you know, inspired defensive efforts and sudden impotence on offense -- but in the end, they're still our Boilermakers.

Random thought: I especially enjoyed the caption on this photograph -- Curtis Painter "throws for yardage." As opposed to, you know, throwing for cookies or throwing for a hamburger or something.

Anyway, I have to admit, I am less "down" on the team right now... not because I'm not still disgusted with the team and the coaching staff, but because for two weeks now, the defense has come to play. And they've come to play hard... despite everyone in the stadium knowing there was a loss coming. I think it says a lot that these guys are continuing to compete. Last week's defensive effort against Penn State looks even more significant now after seeing how badly Penn State dismantled Wisconsin, at Wisconsin this weekend.

But the frustration continues and, as I said, it's always in new ways!

Amazingly, Brock Spack has gotten good game plans together and, frankly, these game plans have been MORE than good enough. I hold Brock completely unaccountable and normally I think he's the problem. This offense, as Peyton says, is offensive.

What the hell? That's about all I can say. I watched, sadly, most of this game -- yes, I wasn't able to pull myself away as Boilerdowd and Travis were able to do. No, as I heard on my XM Radio that the Boilers defense was hanging tough, I had a shred of hope that maybe something could happen.... something like an interception, a fumble, a punt block. Oh, no, that's right, that's what OSU did.

But even if they hadn't gotten that blocked punt, we'd still have lost 9-3, thanks to our poor offense. And I don't know where to turn at this point. I just need one of you to hold me and tell me everything is going to be alright.

Where's the Joe Tiller of 1997? Where's a trick play or two? Where's a consistent offensive scheme? Or is it not the play-calling? I mean, I don't think the play-calling, honestly, was all that bad. It was the execution.... and as we've discussed, that goes back to preparation and practicing. And as commenter dozer pointed out in the comments of the below post, even Kory Sheets is now leaking comments about how practice is where it all starts.

I don't know where we go from here, but as some have pointed out, we might not have expected to win against PSU or OSU anyway, even if we were having a good season. But, again, the frustrating part is that if we had the offense we've had in recent years -- that is, if we could hit on a couple of deep balls per game -- we might well have not only been in those games... we could have -GASP- won those games. I know, it's crazy talk... but what can we possibly expect when we score 9 points combined in two games? And not only that, if someone had told you we'd allow 36 points combined to PSU and OSU, wouldn't you have thought to youself, "Self, we might go 1-1 in those games"? I think you might have thought that. I know I would have.

So where do we go from here? Well, we hope that the defensive unit continues their inspired play and perhaps creates a few turnovers in the coming games (yes, I'm asking for even more from them) and the offense returns from their midseason hibernation slumber. There are indeed winnable games coming up, with the next three @ Northwestern, vs. Minny, and vs. Michigan. No, I'm not saying we should be favored in any of those games. But if we can keep it close against some of the nation's elite, then we should be able to also hang with -- and, frankly, beat -- these teams.

Thanks for the comments in the post down below from during and after the game. You guys rule. It's making me consider doing a "live blog," as overdone as that has now become in the blogosphere. But I think you guys would make it fun.

Anyway, your thoughts are, as always, welcome.