Friday Gumbo

Purdue: Good for What Ails Ya!

This season, we've seen some slumping teams bust out of their slumps with the help of our Boilers.  Butler couldn't finish against anyone, but found a way to overcome a large deficit to beat our Boilers on a kinda neutral court.  You're welcome, Blue.

PSU hadn't had many reasons to smile at home, or elsewhere this early winter, but Purdue allowed a role player to get into the mid-20s and carry the Lions to their lone victory this B1G season.

Wisconsin was skidding out of control toward a cliff...and Mackey Arena and Painter's squad acted as a softwall for the lumbering Badgers.

Next up, the Boilers will be playing an Iowa squad that will probably on a three game losing streak when it steps foot on Keady Court.

It's Always Nice Seeing IU Lose...But...


Not many Purdue fans enjoy watching IU win games. In fact, we really like seeing them lose; but they haven't been doing much of that this season.

Full Disclosure: if I didn't have to see the red unis, the orangish coach or the fans in the stands, I'd enjoy watching that team play the game.  They do a lot well- they shoot well, rebound well, are athletic and play well as a team...plus, unlike my favorite team, they have a consistent defense and an overwhelming offense.

But, being able to watch an IU game without rooting against them isn't an option for me in this state or on this planet...so last night's B1G nightcap was salve in the most-recent wound left by my Boilers.

But more than just enjoying watching IU lose at home, this one was good for Matty's squad.  Purdue's road win in Minneapolis looks a bit better after tonight.  Will Minny rally and make a run at the dance?  Probably not...but thanks anyway Goldy.

And speaking of boosting the RPI, Illinois' big win over aOSU was really helpful.

Nothing's Official Until They Sign

Signing Day is two and one-half weeks away for college football.  As of right now, Hope's class sits as the 27th-best class in all of the land.  But, there are a few bluechips who are awaiting their bags of cash waiting to sign until the last minute with their favorite school that might change the rankings among the top-10...and of course the dreaded defection is always in the back of the minds Purdue fans.  That's especially true since two or three of Purdue's verbals are still taking visits and sound less-than-solid on their "commitments."


Hopefully most of them stick.

The Black Hole

On the way back from the game tonight, I came up with the nickname "The Black Hole" for the high end seats on Mackey.  Sure, they're comfy and the view is stunning...but about half of the purchasers of these seats might not even know it since they never come to the games.

There's been an ongoing discussion about these seats on Twitter and the Knucklehead board, and some Purdue fans seem bothered that other fans and alums are angered by the sight of so many empties.  I'm more than bothered, I'm embarrassed.

Packed Mackey Arena: 1967-2011 (RIP)

Mackey was pretty full tonight in spite of lousy conditions outside...but those seats weren't.  And they haven't been for most of the season.  In all seriousness, if you're a rich guy who bought some of those seats and it's too much trouble for you to go to the games, e-mail us at boiledsports@gmail.com.

We'll find a Purdue fan to sit in your seats- guaranteed.

While your financial commitment to the program and the university is inspiring and important, your lack of commitment on game nights is a black eye on one of the best venues and programs in America...and the empty gold seats send an even worse and more obvious message.

RPI Stupid-ness (and notes)

I've been trumpeting a composite computer ranking as a relatively-fair and level-headed way of looking at rankings. BUT, has anyone checked out the RPI recently? I know that it's unbiased, which is good, but in my opinion, the formula doesn't, nor has ever really matched reality. It's a good tool at the end of the year, along with other factors, to try to figure out if a team is a top-68 team, but, it shouldn't be given the stand-alone respect it receives.

For instance:

-Duke, which to me seems to be the best team in America, currently stands at 10th. aOSU, the clear second-best team in the land at this point, is 15th.

-4-loss G'Town is third, 3-loss Kentucky is eighth, 4-loss St. John's is 11th, 4-loss WVU is 13th and 3-loss Florida is 14th. My eyes simply don't agree with with the formula...but it should come out in the wash in the next few weeks.

-The Forces of Good dropped after their 23-point drubbing of Iowa, to 12th.

Purdue's current CCR is 7th.

Eerie Parallel?

As you all know, my first and foremost passion in football is our Boilers. Of course my alma mater is my priority, plus, I just like the college game more than the pro game. But, I root for the Colts, albeit more casually, but I like to see the team I grew up on win.

But, for many seasons my Boilers and the horse have had some pretty unusual similarities. Years ago, Manning and Painter (when he was a Boiler) were torching their competition, until they reached the elite...then they would kinda wet the bed. Both teams had prolific offenses and no defense to speak of. It's not a coincidence that they both lost big games, mind you.

Recently, I've watched the Colts flounder as injuries plagued them to the point that they were almost unrecognizable. Granted, Manning was still playing and Purdue no longer has a sure-fire signal caller, even before injuries, but stick with me.

Special teams were a problem for both teams all season, specifically kickoff returns. Also, both teams had big problems with stupid penalties at bad times. Atop that, Danny Hope was prone to calling asinine timeouts this season.

All three of the problems killed the Colts on Saturday. From a dumb running into the kicker penalty, to a massive 47-yard kickoff return at the end of the game by the Jets, to an unbelievable timeout called by Caldwell in the Jets final possession. It was probably a combination of these factors and the injuries that killed the Colts. And like the Boilers, the margin for error was just too slim for the Colts for them to overcome fundamental errors.

Like Hope, I think Caldwell deserves a season of healthy players before he can be evaluated. But both have a ton of self-induced scrutiny on them after this season.

Perhaps I'm being overly-analytical and the comparison between the black and gold and the Colts isn't warranted...but I'm already looking forward to Spring ball...especially with Brees no longer in the playoffs.

Good Get

Danny Hope looks like he's done it again. Purdue has gotten a solid verbal, late in the recruiting season from a defensive player that a ton of good programs really wanted. Just as Bruce Gaston was a highly-sought after player who decided to commit to playing to hope late last year, Armstead Williams chose Purdue over a lot of very good offers.

Williams, from Pennsylvania, had offers from Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin and others. He might see the field right away, especially on special teams, depending on what type of shape he's in when he arrives on campus...but at linebacker there will be competition as four former starters return and a ton of young talent is already on campus.

I like Hope's class quite a bit- a lot of solid players with good offers from other schools. With the defections of Reese and Melton after the first semester, Hope has one or two more spots available...so this class could be as big as 16 signees. I'd like to see a non-JuCo safety or a true offensive lineman, if I had a vote.

The jewels of this class (along with Williams of course), in my opinion are:

-RB Marcus Caffey (offers from Arkansas, Ole Miss, WVU, others)

-QB Russell Bellomy (offers from Boise State, Minnesota, South Florida, others)

-WR A.J. King (offers from Iowa, Ole Miss, WVU, others)

A few guys that are a bit off the beaten path that I like are:

-WR Shane Mikesky

-CB Taylor Richards

The biggest question mark is definitely DE Randy Gregory. With the off-the-field issue, academic concerns, he might not make it on campus...but, if you've seen him play football or basketball, you know he has a ton of athleticism...Hopefully he can get his head and heart into what he's doing.

We've been saying that Danny Hope deserves a season in which his team is mostly-healthy...I think he'll get that next year. And his team will be loaded with speed and depth almost everywhere.

Seth Davis is a Jack

Sure, PSU and IllinoiS did the Big Ten no favors last night with their awesome display of awesomeness in Champagne (maybe I caused this by bashing women's basketball last week?), but I'm still tired of the Big Ten taking shots from people who should know better.

This morning, Seth Davis was on the Dan Patrick Show and he was first asked about the 38-33 Naismith-esque game between the Kittens and the Illini. His response? Why, to take a shot at the Big Ten in general, of course:

"When I saw that, I wondered if they had gone back to the old rules where you had to have a jump ball at center court after every basket. Although that would have maybe been an improvement in the Big Ten this year."

The hell? Frick you, Seth Davis. You and your haughty, ACC-leaning self. He also went on to talk about how those in "lesser" conferences are sometimes in better position for the tourney because they're not grinding out tough games like those teams "in the ACC and Big East."

One of the things I recently discussed with Boilerdowd was how the mass media don't have any clue WHY the scores are generally lower in the Big Ten. It's not that it's weaker -- it's that our conference does this little thing called DEFENSE.

Did anyone watch Duke-UNC last week? There wasn't any defense in that game. They just ran up and down the court, nobody was even getting their hands up on defense, and when you have two teams full of all-American shooters, well, you KNOW they're going to score. And then -- presto! -- you've got a 90-80 kind of game. It's not rocket science.

Oh, and if you still think (and I know none of you do) the Big Ten is "weak," let's take a look at the conference RPI ratings.

Huh. That's funny. It looks to me -- and I'm no Seth Davis-level genius -- like the Big Ten is ranked the #2 conference... ahead of the Big (L)East and mere thousands of a point behind the ACC.

Do you know how long it took me to do that research? Four seconds. Sure, I'm biased, too, but I don't get paid to be knowledgeable on the subject.