Thank You, Seniors: Boilers Keep Bucket, 56-35

Congrats, men.

About a month ago, I, for one, was skeptical that the Boilers would win another game this year. I thought the tent had been folded up and put away neatly in the shed until next season. After the gut-wrencher loss to Ohio State, the Boilers failed to show up in Minneapolis and were downright embarrassed. After that game, Robert Marve -- when asked questions about his team -- just said, "You just gotta go out there and play, man." The undertone we heard was "Let's stop talking about this stuff and just go play better."

The Boilermakers struggled the next week vs Penn State at home, only further cementing their mediocre-at-best season status and likely Coach Hope's fate in front of mere hundreds at Ross-Ade. Many teams, including teams in positions like Purdue was in, would have truly folded it up at that point. As I said, I didn't think they'd necessarily win again.

It's a true testament to the players and especially the seniors that the Boilermakers have won three in a row to become bowl-eligible, culminating in today's guilty pleasure 56-35 win over the Hoosiers. I say guilty pleasure because that was not a "good" game in terms of good football teams playing good football, but it was fun. Shootouts often are and this one had huge swings of three touchdowns at a clip.

Robert Marve and Akeem Shavers had career days on Senior Day, with Marve passing for a 69% completion percentage (imagine how good it would have been if Purdue receivers weren't wearing cement gloves in the second quarter) on 20/29 passing, for a tidy 348 yards and four TDs.

The two-QB system even sort of "worked" today, as Rob Henry passed for a TD and rushed for one. ("See??!!" Gary Nord is shouting right now, before his percocet sandwich).

Shavers carved up the Hoosier defense for 225 total yards -- 126 on the ground and a TD and two catches for 99 yards and two TDs. He also had scoring runs of 71 and 58 yards called back on penalties. Mercy. Not a bad last game in Ross-Ade. Too bad more fans weren't on hand to see it.

Other notable performances included Frankie Williams' impressive interception of Cameron Coffman's long downfield pass and on the other side of the field, junior Stephen Houston rushed for 158 yards and three TDs. The guy was hard to stop.

Speaking of IU, I know the knock on their D all season has been their porous run stopping, but their secondary is positively dreadful as well. I'd love to crow about Purdue rolling up all these points (and I will) but that secondary can't stop anybody. It's not like it was laserlike touchdown passes threading needles all day. The Boilers caught passes in the flat or even at the line of scrimmage (Gary Bush from Henry comes to mind) and then just ran through, around and over the IU defenders. One guy who got particularly worked over was #37, Mark Murphy, a safety for the Hoosiers. 

On Brandon Cottom's 14 yard TD for the first Boiler score, he kind of ran right past Murphy, who made a weak arm-tackle attempt and wound up splayed out on the field watching Cottom rumble into the end zone. And then on Akeem Shavers' 73 yard TD catch-and-run (his first of three straight in the final 10:40 of the game), Murphy had a clear line on Shavers and should certainly have been able to take down the smaller running back. Then Shavers grabbed Murphy by the face and threw up to the ground and this happened:

Mark Murphy (37) is thinking "My girlfriend saw that."

What I don't get is how this team stayed with some of the teams they stayed with this year. I think the fact that Kevin Wilson cobbled a 4-7 season out of these guys (remember, an improvement from one win last year) really is quite an accomplishment. Everyone seems to agree they're going in the right direction, including me, but he has got to get some defenders in there (or a coach who can coach these guys up) who can stop...something. Pass, run, whatever. Because that defense was abominable. (No, I'm not saying Purdue's is phenomenal, before you say something about that.)

Another guy I should mention here is Cody Webster since punters rarely get coverage. This guy has been more of an asset than I think people realize. Cody averages over 45 yards per punt today, notching 275 yards on six kicks. He's only a junior, so next year this will be an asset again and he'll be kicking on Sundays in two years. Good for him.

Crosby Wright, another favorite here at BS, had a game himself. Despite Crosby having two big penalties that resulted in huge gains being brought back (we had to bust your balls, Crosby), Wright had a manly catch and run while carrying IU defenders for over 15 yards in the third quarter. It looked like he dragged three defenders into the end zone but was ruled down a the 1 and Rob Henry punched it in. Crosby had three catches for 81 yards, his best yardage output of the season. Unfortunately, he never made it into the end zone this season, but caught balls in every game but two. 

Boilermaker

Back on Robert Marve, I don't think we can say enough about this guy. I know he's had a troubled past in some ways but if you believe in second chances and that young guys sometimes make poor decisions and then straighten themselves out, then you should also love this guy. There are few examples in recent Purdue history of guys who just wanted to be a Boilermaker and be out on that field with his teammates more than Robert Marve. Much like Rob Hummel, this is a guy who could lament his spot in life and his three ACL injuries and how things just have not worked out for him they way they could have, but then you see his dad during the game saying that Robert is so "blessed" to be a Boilermaker and you can see how happy the whole family is that he's playing football in the black and gold. If you're like us, it just makes you proud of him. And thankful to him, because those are the guys we love to see in Purdue uniforms.

As for his play on the field, we also couldn't be happier that he had his career day on Senior Day. But the play many of us will surely remember for a while was after he threw a hard luck interception that rattled around among a few players and was snagged by junior cornerback, Greg Heban of the Hoosiers. Heban took off the other way and had the running head start on Marve, who was closer to the center of the field while Heban was streaking down the hashmarks. Marve turned on the jets and reminded us all that he's still one of the best athletes on the Purdue roster. Marve took the correct angle and -- on a torn ACL, remember -- caught Heban and, as I said to b-dowd after the game, made a tackle with better form than many of Purdue's defensive players of the past five years. Now that's a guy who wants to play football for the Boilers. How many QBs would have shown that hustle? And don't tell me many, because we've all seen guys coast out of the frame and give up on the play. The tackle occurred 70 yards after the interception. It still resulted in an IU TD, but that's not the point here. Robert Marve made us proud during his time at Purdue, especially this season. Marve-lous, indeed. Thank you, Robert.

*             *             *

As we mentioned on Friday, we heard from a number of sources within the athletic department that Coach Hope is done. While we've always liked him as a person, we've never felt he was a very good coach. We've tried to stay off the "Fire Hope!" bandwagon as we never like to call for a guy's job and we don't know what good it does. Plus, he has been the coach, so until he isn't, we always felt we should do our best to stay objective and not personal. However, Danny Hope has made it personal in recent weeks, referring to those who question this team and how it could possibly have looked so bad as "losers" and people of "low character."

Today, as the game ended, he was seen on the field with his wife who was already in tears. I suppose it's a nice thing that the Hopes enjoyed their time in West Lafayette so much that they're upset that it's ending. Of course, it could also be that they're projecting a bit and blaming everyone else for the fact that Danny is likely on the way out. Sally Hope even started the postgame presser, as per Gold and Black, by lecturing the press who "couldn't wait" for Purdue to lose. Give me a break. That's just poor form. The media in West Lafayette is far from being like a rabid dog.

This kind of embarrasses me as a Purdue fan.

Hope said that it was an "extremely successful season" because they came back from the 3-6 start, and was also put up on his players shoulders. That's nice and all, but let's not celebrate a coach who went 22-27 too much, okay?

It's worth repeating that we would have liked to see this season, with this schedule and this roster of talent, play out under better coaching. There were many times when we found ourselves wondering what things would have been like with Marve in there or better play calling. How different is this season if Marve stays in the game to start the second half against Notre Dame? How about if Purdue is able to get one more first down and run out the clock against Ohio State? Every season has its "what ifs," of course, but some of the ones this year could have significantly altered the trajectory of the football program. Naturally, we'll never know. What we do know, though, is that the Hope/Nord approach has not worked for the past four years.


That said, we hope the seniors get a nice destination for the bowl game and come to play. Crosby Wright was quoted after the game as saying the following:

"I don't know how to describe it. It's tremendous. It's incredible. It's the best feeling of my life. Me and my fellow seniors, we've got one final game to play as Purdue Boilermakers." 

Those are the quotes that are fun to hear. Yes, we wish it was a more meaningful bowl game, but regardless of where it is, we'll be watching and pulling for these guys.

That will never change. We hope other things do, though.  

Day 1: Winners and Losers

I love the NCAA tournament more than any sports events...even during days like yesterday. Don't get me wrong, I don't have to have explosions and car chases in everything I watch...but the first day didn't have one game-winning last shot.  There were a couple close games, but very few back-and-forth contests.

One of the only contests that went unexpectedly was UNC Asheville holding the lead for most of the game...and in spite of sleep walking through about 3/4 of the game 'Cuse had the lead in the closing minutes.  But, instead of letting the game run its course, two horrible officials took any chance of winning away from UNCA...it was a sham.  But, so was the play of most of the BE teams.

Jobbed.

'Cuse looked like they'd be the first 1 to lose to a 16, UConn did what UConn do; simply didn't try for the entire first half of the game before waking up and making it a contest...just to lose by 13 to The Mayor's Cyclones.  Louisville struggled to put away an OK Davidson squad.  WVU was lambasted by Gonzaga...and didn't put up a fight.  The lone bright spot for the over-rated, bloated, soon-to-be unimportant conference was Marquette who crushed BYU.

Now, if the B1G had a day like the BE, we'd hear about that non-stop from sports pundits...instead, barely a word about this Mega Conference's garbage day.  It doesn't matter, but inconsistency in the media is tough for me to swallow.

IU played a solid game and kept NMSU at an arms length, or more, for the entire contest.  It was a good win; especially in the wake of what many saw as a potential upset (I didn't see it that way, by the way).  But, IU shill writer, Jeff Rabjohns said the importance of IU beating the 59th-best team in the land on a neutral court couldn't be overstated.  Once again, inconsistency rears its ugly head.  IU fans remind us they're back when they beat aOSU and MSU and talk about IU's heritage as an elite program.  But being "back" would hint at the idea IU might not see it as a big deal to beat a 13 seed 1000 miles away from their home.  But that's not the case, I guess.

aOSU made pretty light and quick work of Loyola (MD)...the only time the game was kinda in doubt was when Matta pre-maturely pulled all starters to see a large lead shrink to 11 points.  When Craft, Biggie and the others were re-inserted, they easily pushed the lead back to 20+ and put away their foe.

The Birdman's squad whipped Montana in impressive fashion during a late-lunchtime tilt.  Montana's beards couldn't combat Wisconsin's shooting...Bucky moves on to the second third round.

The Forces of Good along with UM and MSU all play today.  Purdue will tip-off around 7:30.  LewJack sounds like his wrist is doing pretty well and is not hampered during practice by it...and I've heard nothing negative about Hummel's knee; so they're all-go.  TJohn will have the un-enviable task of guarding the WCC POY, Dellavedova, who makes the team go in every part of their game.

No news is good news when it comes to pre-game/practice updates for our Boilers in the hours leading up to tonight's game...but there was one interesting tidbit from GBI's Neubert- He reported that our pal, Ryne Smith threw down a two-handed dunk yesterday in open practice...The guy is 6'3"...so it's not shocking, but it is kind of a surprise since he's never done in in a game in his four years in God's country.

My Commodores survived and advanced...and Baylor nearly ruined my South region by messing around while playing South Dakota State. I don't have a ton of upsets in my bracket for today, but I'd like to see the 10 beat the 7 and the 14 beat the 3 in the Midwest...I also think Florida could drop one v. UVA since that's what Florida likes to do in the tourney.

The first game tips off in a little over two hours.

A Handsome Return: Handsome Hour 2/1/12

After what seemed like years, they're back in the Handsome saddle again.

They welcome their pal Derek Schultz from Indy's WNDE 1260...

And just to keep it fair, their buddy Brendan Murphy from JPVideoPro.com stops by too!

It's tough to jam all of this in to just 16 hours, but the boys find a way to do it.

They talk about football recruiting, the Sizable Game on Sunday...and the bigger basketball game on Saturday.

Tune in...Get Handsome...NOW!!!

Listen to internet radio with Boiled Sports on Blog Talk Radio

Ha-Ha-Ha-Handsome!! Post-IU Handsomeness 2/24

Oh, handsome young men talking about sports. What could be better?

They talk about the mythological power of banners...
And they look deep into the future...

Listen...NOW!!

Listen to internet radio with Boiled Sports on Blog Talk Radio

IU fans, our apologies. That win was huuuuuuge!

I had a discussion with a pal of mine who's currently at IU. He took exception with us giving them a hard time for storming the court after beating a middle-conference opponent who has now lost 3/4 and was barely ranked.

See, my beef is the fact that IU, and its fans, always talk about banners and national titles. We usually counter this banter by saying that 95% of IU's current undergrads weren't even born when the most-recent banner was won. No big deal- national championships are a big deal...whether you know anything about them and how they were won or not. But, those banners that IU fans always fall back on are getting dusty. So, the same athletic department marketing group that came up with the bestest video ever has decided to modernize the wall of Ass. Hall.

(Thanks to our pal Ian for this!!)

Hoosier faithful, it was a big win for you guys...but it absolutely wasn't what you guys made it into. You guys are either a smalltime program whose coach goes through the halls of the arena with his hands in the air after beating an OK team. Or, you're a big time program...you decide and let us know, we'll make fun accordingly.

A Fun Farewell

I've sat with my family for the past eight years in the same seats...so when I was being cursed at within two minutes of the start of the game, while sitting around friendlies, I was surprised. Some bone-headed IU fan was sitting two rows back from me telling me to sit down, which forced me to stay standing. At the same time, Curtis Painter and the rest of the Boiler offense was marching with ease; before too long, the IU fan's alcohol-aided courage was fading to a whimper as I reminded him with each score how happy I was to have him visiting my section.

I have to say, IU's effort was the worst I have seen by any team in an Oaken Bucket Game...That includes some awful Purdue teams and laughable IU teams. From special teams to offensive play to defense, IU was drubbed...All by a Purdue team that seemed to be pretty lousy for most of '08.

One of the biggest successes of today's victory will be that we probably won't have to see any more ads by the IU's B-Grade athletic department focusing on their narrow victory of '07...conversely, do you think Purdue will air 1000 commercials bragging about the serious helping of whipped-ass that was prepared in Ross Ade for its '08 Bucket visitors? Me neither. Suck it, IU Athletic Department...Beating IU isn't enough reason to re-direct the marketing campaign...It's an expectation.
It was very cold too...frickin' cold to be exact, but the atmosphere was fun and the fans, with the exception of the rubes from Bloomington sitting near me, handled the inclement weather with smiles. It was great to see Painter, Baker and the other Seniors honor eachother by playing a complete game. After a very disappointing season, I think this sound beating of the Hoosiers will be what many first think about when asked about the Boiler class of '08.
After the game, Tiller gave an extremely emotional speech in which he called his legacy the memories his teams left for the fans as well as the young men that he had the opportunity to coach during his long career.
While it stinks that this team didn't put it together too many times this season, it's a good thing for everybody (except IU and its fans) that Tiller directed one last exciting, explosive effort by his Boilers

Well played, Joe.

Boiler Ballers Roll
Our favorite basketball team was the second fiddle on campus for the last time this year as they handily beat Coppin State in their tune-up before heading to NYC to celebrate Thanksgiving. The Ostrich put in a double double, and Smooge nearly did also...I'm excited to see them play against some good and very good competition; we'll learn a lot about them this week.

Genius Takes Control
Earlier in the week we heard that the Manatee had taken back the offensive play calling for the overwhelming victory by his Irish against Navy last week...So he knew it was time to make that arrangement a full time deal heading back home to face the Orange(men). Clearly, his teams have a schematic advantage...errrrrrrrr. The good news is UND's fans are as crappy as they've always been, but now, they're turning on their own. Well played Domers!!!

Even Lou Holtz might be jumping off of the bandwagon...After the loss, he said that this season and the coaching situation is an issue that needs to be assessed and addressed by the athletic department and administration...and that it wasn't his place to comment on it. That's a shravesty. (note: on the late night College Gameday, Lou changed his tune a bit...and focused on how moral and ethical the administration was...and that they would handle it correctly...whatever that means.)

Weis said the loss and the effort made him "sick to his stomach" just like it did for their fans...he continued that if the UND players moped around this week, USC would embarass them on Saturday. Bad news, Chuck- Regardless of your team's mood this week, they will be embarassed by the Men of Tron next Saturday.

If anybody in America should be happy about the lousy economy we're immersed in, it should be the Manatee. UND boosters simply can't afford to purchase his enormous buyout at this point. I'm actually enjoying watching UND play...I say they keep him around as long as he'll stay. UND football is damned entertaining.