The Power Of If
by BoilerTMill on Oct 2, 2011 1:01 AM EDT
in Football
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PrintIf is a simple, two-letter word. It can imply so much, and it is being thrown in my face tonight. All week I felt that a Purdue victory would be a long shot, but that two letter word, if, gave me hope. If we could do this, that, and the other, victory was possible. I did it mostly because I am a Boilermaker. I always believe there is at least a chance something good will happen.
That two letter word is being thrown back in my face tonight by Notre Dame fans on Twitter. I am getting mocked on Twitter for even thinking Purdue had a chance, and those are the types of fans I hate. They think they are all powerful and look on the opposition with disdain for even daring to think they can compete.
Well, I thought we could compete because I believe in our players. I thought we could compete because of the evidence of Notre Dame struggling to 2-2 and turning the ball over with reckless abandon. I thought we could compete because of a few factors in our favor.
Instead, we had a complete and total failure in every phase of the game from the opening moment until the end of the game. With two weeks to prepare for a team coming off of four tough games in a row and a charged home atmosphere we couldn't even maintain the positive momentum for one freaking play. Instead of trying to establish the run (which is our strength) early we immediately gave up, threw into coverage, and pissed away anything positive we had going with a turnover. To have a chance at winning we needed to force turnovers and not turn it over ourselves. That was gone after one play.
It's not like we even fell behind by a lot and had to pass, pass, pass to catch up. For much of the first quarter it was only 7-0, yet Ralph Bolden, an all-Big Ten running back touched the ball six times total tonight, and none in the first quarter. That's just stupid on our part.
What is so frustrating is that this occurred against a good, but not great team. ND fans around all night were complaining about little things, such as the missed field goals, or Rees making a mistake, or something like that. If Notre Dame was a great team they would have been 4-0 coming in. Instead, they were a decent team that could rack up yards, but couldn't finish drives with any consistency until they faced us. Yards don't equal points, and until tonight the Fighting Irish struggled to score points and put teams away. Once they add the scoring to the yardage they will be even more dangerous.
But you know what, we made them look unbeatable. They still struggled tonight, enough to even give us some hope when we blocked a field goal and still trailed only 7-0 late in the first quarter despite giving up approximately 7,845 yards in the first 15 minutes. Once the second score happened and we were still going three and out, it was all but over. Notre Dame did everything to keep us in it early on. They kept up their season-long trend of generating a ton of yards but not a proportionate amount of points and that kept us closer than we should have been. Unfortunately, against a team like that you have to play nearly perfect in order to beat them. You have to be able to take advantage of their mistakes and lack of ability to turn those yards into points. Notre Dame was moving the ball well enough to be up 28-0 after one quarter, but except for the final play of the period they had only scored mostly as a direct result of our own mistake (the interception).
That will be Notre Dame's biggest fallacy until they figure out how to close drives. They are a 20/20 team right now. They're great at moving the ball from the 20 and into the red zone, but terrible at finishing unless they get a big play. Even tonight, they had racked up over 300 yards by the time they were up 21-0, but two of the three scores came on big plays outside the red zone. If they ever figure out the red zone issue they will go from good offense to officially terrifying. When we did very little to truly challenge them I don't fault them for doing their job and just drilling us.
Of course, we helped them look amazing tonight. We had been defending the run well, but Cierre Wood crushed us for almost 200 yards and Jonas Gray for almost another 100. For much of the night our defense against Micheal Floyd, possibly the best receiver in college football, was as effective as me shouting, "COVER MICHAEL FLOYD!" as loud as I could from 40 rows up in section 128. I was terrified of Tyler Eifert, but his night was relatively tame because everything else was working for the Irish.
Mostly, I was terribly disappointed in our own offense, which, in turn, Made Notre Dame look that much better. With two weeks to prepare, watch tape, come up with new things, hone our strengths, and figure out a way to move a defense that is good, but had a few holes, here is how our first quarter went: 12 plays, 19 yards, one turnover. It gets even easier for an opposing offense to look great when our own is generating nothing and won't allow our defense to rest.
Notre Dame this year is a team that is good, but flawed. They'll make some mistakes, as evidenced in the first four games, and you have to take advantage of them without making your own mistakes. When they get help, like us giving up yards in bunches to Wood, Gray, and Floyd, things can quickly get out of hand.
The Fighting Irish have reached a tipping point under Kelly. He's improved a lot of the little things that Weis and Willingham never did, and they now make other teams pay for mistakes as we had to pay tonight. We can't beat anyone right now, much less talented teams like Notre Dame, unless we stay out of our own way. Both teams tonight have the trouble of getting in their own way. The difference is that Notre Dame can survive it. We cannot.
Tonight was absolutely disappointing because we had two weeks to prepare for a team better than us, but not one that was impossible to defeat. Instead of taking a step forward and competing, we took a giant step back and had our worst loss in the series with the Irish since it became a series again in 1997. I certainly don't expect to beat them every year. They're too good and have too much talent for us to ever be dominant for long stretches. I don't think it is asking too much, however, to at least be competitive in them, especially at home. We're in the freaking Big Ten for crying out loud. While we're not the best in that conference, we still have advantages that most of college football would kill to have. Since 1997 we've won five against the Irish and have at least been competitive or very close in several more games. Now we've lost four straight, our longest streak since losing 12 straight to them, and we're getting progressively further from them after proving for more than a decade that we can at least compete with them. That's embarrassing.
I don't even know where to lay the blame tonight. I believe in our players because to me at least, we have talented guys who are trying hard. There is clearly a problem in preparation, but two years ago with less talent (at least on paper) we were still challenging the likes of Oregon, Ohio State, and Notre Dame. Now we aren't even close. They're getting better, and we're getting worse. At one time we could at least compete with teams bigger, faster, and stronger than us. We proved it as recently as two years ago. Tonight showed we've regressed form that. The talent gap tonight was no larger than it was two years ago when we were one play away from beating them. Kelly has clearly improved them from a coaching standpoint, while our own staff has not improved us.
So where do we go from here? Next week is a huge turning point because we host a Minnesota team that is looking like the worst in the Big Ten (yes, even worse than us). It has to be a win, and the rest of the season has to be taken one game at a time. Several teams on our schedule (Penn State, Illinois, Ohio State, Iowa, Indiana) have had moments where they have not looked good, but we have to have dramatic improvement in order to salvage something from this season.
That's where that power of IF comes in, again. So many things are still an IF, meaning they aren't a certainty we can rely on. Unfortunately, seeing how much we regressed with two weeks to prepare, I highly doubt that improvement is coming.
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Apreciate the props. That was all that went right tonight.
"Hey Jay, what time is it?"
"9:30"
"AND IU STILL SUCKS!"
by Boiler Bandsman on Oct 2, 2011 1:16 AM EDT up reply actions
Almost a disaster there, too.
When they threw that rifle from the stage or whatever they did, it damn near hit a guard girl right in the face 30 yards away right in front of the student section.
The band could have gotten more rushing yards
Seriously. I love our band, so underrated yet still so awesome.
BTFU, HTFD
There is no if. No more.
This team is awful. The coaching has dragged what talent level we have down to the FCS level. I’m never letting myself hope for this team again. I’m done with ifs. The only thing that matters now is when, as in when we fire that over-promoted jackass attached to a mustache.
"Hey Jay, what time is it?"
"9:30"
"AND IU STILL SUCKS!"
by Boiler Bandsman on Oct 2, 2011 1:18 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Tough Night
I sold my ticket for tonight’s game because I wanted to go to Illinois to support the Purdue volleyball team in the battle between the last two undefeated teams in the nation. Us losing to Illinois was a very close but tough loss, and the drive back to Purdue listening to the 4th quarter on the radio didn’t help at all. Tonight just sucks, but unlike football, I still have plenty of faith in our #12 volleyball team.
So much talk about ND
Why? Ignore their fans and write about our own pathetic excuse for a team
by chops1221 on Oct 2, 2011 1:32 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Why so much talk about ND?
maybe it is because we just got curb stomped by them… I’m sure next week there will not by any talk about it…
Boiler Up! Hammer Down!
by JuJuan some Moore? on Oct 2, 2011 9:42 AM EDT up reply actions
The most unfortunate thing is this could have been much worse
Tommy Rees overthrew a bunch of his receivers tonight, especially in scoring positions. This is an ND team that is definitely beatable, but we didn’t show that at all tonight.
We did ourselves no favors with stupid penalties and schizophrenic playcalling. When we’re struggling to gain even normal rushing yards, why are we running reverses and flea-flicker plays? Why are we running Edison when we have Bolden and Shavers? Our defensive line, which includes at least two very talented players in Gaston and Short, seemed to evaporate any time ND called a rushing play.
I spent a week looking forward to this game, and I held out a slight hope that we could win. This is the first game I’ve gotten to see on TV this year. I’m tired of seeing a listless team, I’m tired of seeing a team with no identity, I’m tired of hearing from a coaching staff that is either out of touch or completely over matched.
lets lose with some class
nd thoroughly outplayed purdue. there was no chance they were beatable by purdue no matter what purdue did
I don't even know
I honestly don’t even know how much I’m going to take of this purdue ‘football’. I’m unfortunately to a point of not caring anymore due to the fact I am mindboggled so so so so so many times at certain things we do. False starts or holding every other play. Personal fouls that are not needed. The same damn dinky QB rollout 4 yard curl route/out to the sideline. The same old, shotgun sweep for negative yards. Same old half-assed arm tackling. The idiotic coaches. I am truly sorry for our players, because I know there is talent there and the coaches aren’t doing shit to expose them and the players obviously can’t overrule them. I just don’t know what to do…I was there tonight in the student section not even cheering after the 2nd quarter. Our own teams play had actually demoralized me. Notre dame wasn’t playing amazing. I have never felt like this and honestly don’t even know what to say anymore. I guess I am just finally opening my eyes and seeing that purdue settles for mediocracy and I am delusional to think we are ever going to be an ‘elite’ or close to elite team. I hope I’m wrong, but this team is just pathetic. I’m not eve upset, I just don’t care anymore….BTFU. Good game Irish…
Oh ya...
And Morgan Burke wonders why tickets sales are down…you think people are going to spend their hard earned money to watch this shit??? My parents and relatives who have gotten season tickets for the last 6 years asked me about them this year. Guess what I said? I told them NO, because purdue football isn’t an entertainment anymore.
THIS!
Did you see Burke’s response to slumping ticket sales?
There has been a desire expressed by both former head coach Joe Tiller and Burke to remove seating in the south end zone to use the land for alternative purposes. Tiller, and subsequently the school’s architectural department, has proposed using the land for football administrative offices and locker rooms. Burke has proposed shaping the land into a landscaped hill, providing lush views of campus scenery.
Nevermind the product ON THE FIELD isn’t selling, lets remove seats so the stadium seems fuller…
Go Knights! Go Boilers! Go 'Noles! Not necessarily in that order.
by UCFBoilerNole on Oct 2, 2011 11:03 AM EDT up reply actions
"Lush views of campus scenery"
Providing the rest of the stadium an unobstructed view of Cary Quad?
What a winning idea.
"To HELL with the cup - give those Boilers KNEE braces!!"
- Dennis Miller (I know he's thinkin' it!)
Here's another article on it.
http://www.jconline.com/article/20110929/SPORTS020101/109290319/Slump-ticket-sales-concerns-Burke
So, in order to “fill the stadium” Burke’s solution is to remove seats and add a grassy noll…not make the team better so people will come watch. He’s thrown in the towel on football. Maybe we should play home games at Kriegbaum Field in Huntington. That way it’ll sell out, because selling out is easier with less seats…
Go Knights! Go Boilers! Go 'Noles! Not necessarily in that order.
by UCFBoilerNole on Oct 2, 2011 11:19 AM EDT up reply actions
Purdue football is irrelevant
…and will continue to be so until MB decides to make it a priority.
The biggest loss tonight wasn’t on the field – it was that Gary Harris was in attendance. Purdue Basketball is the only thing that matters at this point – not because we think so but because the AD is telling us so.
Exactly.
Gary Harris, other big recruits were there and they saw their potential team get smacked on the field, and a crowd that wasn’t in the game due to the play. I’m not gonna lie, If I was a recruit and was there tonight, I would be very disappointed.
Not Exactly
I don’t think the football teams success, well failure will influence a basketball recruit. From what I saw on TV the crowd was pretty loud at the beginning and that’s what Harris needed to see. I think Harris being in Mackey for EMs 38 on OSU will play a much more prominent role in his recruitment.
This will definitely hurt the football recruits. I don’t see how younger Bush considers us after he visits Bama.
by Boiler17 on Oct 2, 2011 2:10 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
hard to cheer loudly
when we were behind from the start
"The goal remains the same"
by TimeToPlayHard on Oct 2, 2011 3:59 PM EDT up reply actions
It's Time.....
First of all, Tmill don’t worry about the Domer “fans” ragging on us. If we can’t even hold out hope about our team winning then what the hell is the point in watching?
Secondly, I consider myself an optimistic fan, I thouroghly believed we would make the Final Four this year, sans Hummel, and I talked about the Gator Bowl all summer. Obviously we all knew ND had more talent but we hoped this team could make some plays and keep it close. Two weeks off and that’s the best gameplan we could come up with? That’s not going to get it done.
The sad thing is I was encouraged by hopes first year. We played several teams very close (Oregon, N. Illinois, ND, Northwestern, MSU) but choked those games away. I chalked those losses up to having a young team, and a new staff. Little did I know that was the best Hope had to offer.
We need a new coach who knows offense. Purdue’s success has always been linked to strong QBs and good offenses. I really think Sumlin, down at Houston could revitalize this program, like Cowboy Joe in ’97.
by Boiler17 on Oct 2, 2011 2:02 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
For the first time, I actually left the game early
I honestly couldn’t take it anymore. I am officially on the Hopeless/Fire Hope bandwagon. They say leaving the game early is like kicking the team in the nuts, and I always stay until the end of the game. Tonight, if I physically could have I would have kicked Hope and the coaching staff right where it counts. I see zero motivation on the sidelines to win games. It wasn’t there when we played MT, Rice or SEMO, and it certainly wasn’t there tonight. Hope has taken our program and driven it to the ground. In 2009 and even in 2010 we were competitive with top teams, now we can’t even beat Rice in front of 12 people or our rival ND when we were just short of the first Ross-Ade sell out in years. When IU is even forking out more money to get better coaches and focus more on rebuilding their program, then we have to do some re-evaluating. The fact that there were more Purdue season ticket holders just a few years ago than there were fans at the Middle Tennessee game (42,000) is pathetic. Purdue is losing too much money having Hope as our head coach. Perhaps with the way IU is now treating football, Burke will actually try to do something with our football program, but even I doubt that will happen. The way Hope is running the football program is an insult to our fans, the players, and the school itself.
In other news, 1 more month until basketball season.
BTFU, HTFD
by btfu_crespo on Oct 2, 2011 2:15 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Rec'd for truth.
Time for some serious changes.
Go Knights! Go Boilers! Go 'Noles! Not necessarily in that order.
by UCFBoilerNole on Oct 2, 2011 11:05 AM EDT up reply actions
I guess Ricardo has some things he needs to work on...
…and Albert Evans? Craptastic last night.
Nobody cares about your fantasy baseball team
It's evident that the recruiting is bad,
It’s more evident that the discipline is worse! I saw the first 2 ND TD’s of the game and that’s basically all I watched of the game because that’s all I needed to see. Whether it was unsportsmanlike penalties, personal fouls, late hits, offsides, holdings… this team is a mess. And that’s not without even talking about the talent on the field, which is very little.
Travis, you make a big deal about being in the Big Ten and we should be better…. blah blah blah. This is not a Big Ten team, I’d wonder how this team would fare out in the MAC (I’d gesture 4th-5th place), seriously. O-line (Hope’s “strength”) gets pushed around like rag dolls, D-Line can’t even generate a push. Albert Evans played with his head up his butt, with stupid penalties in inopportune times. Rico Island was serving out pina coladas and hammocks to Michael Floyd. Offense, was what it usually is predictable AND INEFFECTIVE. But this is what happens when you recruit 3 star players and cannot mold them effectively, when you’re in a conference that has some good (not great) overall talent and are better disciplined. Heaven forbid if Purdue was in the SEC… I think we’re fighting Minnesota for last place this year. Yes, I’ve conceded the bucket to IU again this year, we’re that bad, and I’m sure this loss has this team pretty giving up. I wonder how many have quit on Hope already (which may not be such a bad thing).
A lot has been said about Morgan Burke and his frugality, lack of initiative and apathy. Personally I think he has conceded football (until Hope’s contract is up at least) and he’s banking on Matt Painter to break past the 2nd weekend of the Tournament (don’t think that’s happening this year as well). I know a lot has been made about Purdue’s place in the Big Ten when it comes to athletics, and how most of you don’t care that we’re in last place in National championships in any sport. I think it says a lot about the mindset though, the ability to just settle when we have the first small taste of success. Obviously injuries have a lot to do with success, but that’s what depth is for. I feel like Purdue has had a lot of missed opportunities over the last decade to make themselves more than what they are, but we’ve settled. It’s obvious that we’re seeing the results in football, I hope it doesn’t happen in bball…. but we’ve haven’t even reached the Elite 8 with Painter. Hoping he can breakthrough and get dynamic players in all positions (yeah not sold on Marcius and Carroll yet) and get over this stupid mind melt of choking when March happens (face it, it’s what we do best @ Purdue)
To your call once more we rally...
Bball
Not sure we can really complain about the bball teams progress in the tourney. You do realize last year was the first year Painter’s team lost to a lower seed (i.e. choking) I was proud of the boys for making the Sweet 16 in ’10, especially since Sienna and A&M were favored.
by Boiler17 on Oct 2, 2011 8:44 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I should have clarified.
Historically (Keady/Painter years) Purdue in March has had the tendency of not rising up to the occasion (i.e. choking). We either are the team to lose to a lower seed or lose convincingly to a top seed, we never have a crazy George Mason, VCU, Butler type of run. Heck we don’t even get a more similar LSU, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State type of runs to the FF in the past. Those schools knocked #1 seeds en route to the FF. We’re the status quo team. It seems for us to even sniff the FF we’ll have to get extremely lucky and have our bracket blow up before we meet the #1 seed…AND EVEN THEN we find a way to lose in the EE (i.e. Wisconsin in 2000). Now, I think Painter called the Athletic Department out this summer with the real threat of going to Mizzou because of the laizze- faire way the recruiting and resources were working at Purdue, but Painter needs to get the dynamic players, and the players and Painter need to rise up to the occasion themselves in March, BT championships r nice, but they’re shallow when you’re done playing after one weekend in the tournament.
To your call once more we rally...
Coz our advantage is that we play hard and hustle...
This helps us win games in the regular season. But when March rolls around and everyone steps up a notch, then we have a difficult time getting an edge over others.
I know the reasoning...
But Butler plays pretty much the same way we do… they went to the last 2 NC games. So there must be a choke factor in there…
To your call once more we rally...
I wouldn't call it a choke factor
Although we did choke against VCU, it would have been a lot to ask of this team to go far in the tournament. Without Robbie or AJ, we’re down to 11 scholarship players at the start of the year. Then with Barlow suspended we’re down to 10 for the tournament. Add in that Hart never really returned to form after his surgery and Sandi and Bade couldn’t really be trusted on the court, and you have a lot for one team to overcome. Were we more talented? Yes. But our lack of depth killed us against an athletic team like VCU. We basically only had JJ and an undersized Byrd for a front court, and without Barlow, we didn’t have the depth in back court to be able to sit LewJack, who is much more effective for short intervals than an entire half without a rest. That’s why I’m excited for this season. We seem to have a lot more depth (depending on how people have progressed, especially the freshmen). We may not have as much talent, but this team seems much deeper. However, that is dependent on the freshmen being able to step in and contribute, at least defensively.
It's true and I DO AGREE WITH THAT
I’d be fine with us just getting better month to month and PEAKING IN March, instead of February. that’s what I want from this team.
To your call once more we rally...
Agreed
But I’m not sure on depth. Last Oct we also felt we had plenty of depth (but Rob went down, Anthony Johnson got redshirted, Hart got injured mid-season and never the same, Bade and Sandi never improve to contribute much…), so I am a bit skeptical with this year’s team.
We dunno how Rob’s knees will hold up (he hasn’t been healthy in 3 yrs), or how the new guys (A. Johnson, Lawson, Hale) measure up. Hart also had another surgery in the summer, and that can’t be good news. Also we dunno if Barlow has his mind on bball after last year’s suspension, nor whether Ryno’s hot shooting last season is a fluke b/c he got open looks from teams double-teamming JJ and EM.
The last point really concerns me. We always think that with Rob and the new guys we could conceivably replace JJ and EM’s scoring and rebs. But what’s forgotten is, Ryno and others probably get a lot more open looks precisely b/c of JJ and EM. Without them, our guys would likely regress. I for one don’t expect Ryno to shoot 44% from threes. I’d be extremely happy if he cracks 40%.
I disagree with you on basketball.
Painter took the initiative last spring…and I think our basketball program is going nowhere but forward.
Fire Hope
by Jackson Brunner on Oct 2, 2011 2:36 PM EDT up reply actions
We'll see how it goes
I think Painter did the right thing this spring. But, the classes after the ‘07 class were solid but not game changing. Had we gotten a Zeller/Plumlee along with JJ… I think we’d been a more complete team. Everybody likes to pin the loss of Hummel (the first time) to the fact we didn’t make it to Indy. Sparty lost Kalin Lucas in the Tourney and STILL got to Indy for the FF. Depth and want to needs to be instilled throughout the programs. I think Painter got it… so I’ll be quiet for a couple of years. But he needs to keep on selling Purdue hard, because let’s face it, it’s not an ideal place for an ideal college recruit to go to.
To your call once more we rally...
Lucas wasn't the one building the program, though.
MSU has had the sustained success to reload on talent and thusly have the depth to survive the loss of Lucas. Robbie was at the forefront of the building. We haven’t reached the “win-reload-win more” level that grants that kind of depth.
"Hey Jay, what time is it?"
"9:30"
"AND IU STILL SUCKS!"
by Boiler Bandsman on Oct 2, 2011 7:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Hence why I said rebuild more depth...
I agree the Flintstones helped MSU become a perennial FF program…I just thought we missed out in ’08 & ’09 with getting some recruits.
To your call once more we rally...
Recruiting is also inherently fickle.
I’m sure it took a few years for Coach K and Izzo to start getting their pick of recruits. Given the status of the classes currently being recruited, I’m not ready to condemn Painter’s recruiting. A couple thinner recruiting years don’t break a program.
"Hey Jay, what time is it?"
"9:30"
"AND IU STILL SUCKS!"
by Boiler Bandsman on Oct 2, 2011 9:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Painter pulled Burke's punk card for sure
And I was thrilled to see it happen.
It’s time for the administration to bring in a top AD and a top football coach, simultaneously. There is absolutely no reason this university should be satisfied with being a conference laughing-stock in football.
Get busy. Here are a few ideas for coaches:
Mike Bellotti – Stood up the program at Oregon
Dan Mullen – Miss St. (former OC under Urban Meyer at Florida)
Mike Leach – some baggage, but a proven winner
Kyle Whittingham, HC Utah
Dana Holgorsen – currently Oklahoma St. OC
Gus Malzahn – Auburn OC
Brent Venables – Oklahoma DC
Jim Mora Jr. – Young guy with name recognition / conduit to NFL
It's a tough time for Boilermaker football fans.
Burke probably won't be going anywhere...
Considering President Cordova will be leaving this summer and a new president probably won’t be focusing on getting a new AD his/her first year or so, Burke will probably be at Purdue for another 2 years. I like what he has done to focus attention towards the other sports teams and not leave them in the dust like other programs. But at the same time he needs to realize it’s football that brings in the money, no matter how many fancy seats you put in Mackey. It’s just sad to think that there were more season ticket holders 4-5 years ago than there were people at the MT game this year (42,000).
BTFU, HTFD
by btfu_crespo on Oct 2, 2011 10:30 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Mullen is not leaving the SEC.
Leach will wait for a better job with a better recruiting base like UCLA.
Whittingham is not leaving Utah.
Holgorsen is the head coach at WVU and he is not leaving.
Malzahn is the hottest coordinator in the country, he’ll get a prime job soon.
Same with Venables.
Ever Grateful. Ever True.
"The Power is OFF"
followed by a pic of Hope looking decidedly unhopeful.
That’s how I misread to title to this article. Guess my eyes were malfunctioning due to the abuse they suffered last night. Seemed fitting to me.
"To HELL with the cup - give those Boilers KNEE braces!!"
- Dennis Miller (I know he's thinkin' it!)
Maybe something good could come from this whipping
Not so distant past when Purdue football was a disaster
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The good old days that now seem so far away now
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The current nightmare
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The future?
.
.
Maybe this whipping will get the AD to make some changes to our football program. Is there really any way that the direction of the Purdue football program can be changed under Hope based on his past recruiting and coaching record? Pull the trigger NOW, name an interim coach and get started with the process.
Purdue fan since 1979
Sumlin? I like it.
He has strong ties to the school as both a player (was on the 1984 Peach Bowl team) and a coach (WR coach from 1998-2000). He also has strong ties to Joe Tiller’s coaching style (was an assistant under Tiller not once but twice at both Wyoming and Purdue). And most importantly, he (unlike Hope) has shown to be a proven winner at the Division I level, taking Houston to two bowl games (and likely soon to be three). In his 4 years as head coach, his teams have upset 4 BCS conference teams, including a #5 Oklahoma State in 2009 and UCLA just a few weeks ago.
The only questions are:
1. Will Burke get it through his thick skull to fire Hope and get Sumlin before another school steals him?
2. Will Sumlin consider returning to his alma mater as an upward career move and accept the offer?
Also just signed a new contract
Sumlin is getting $1.13M/year until 2015 so MB would have to come up with a bigger carrot than that. He’s from Indy, Purdue is in the Big Ten so play some big name teams, Purdue gets national attention (even when we suck). I think it’s a bigger stage than Houston and obvioulsy a challenge. We do have the history of great quarterbacks and an offensive tradition that fits his coaching style. He could be the hero when he turns this program around like Tiller was. I’d buy season tickets if he was coach and I live 12 hours away from campus.
Purdue fan since 1979
Please. Oh, please...
I want Sumlin here yesterday…
Reaction images? I got 'em
Senior All-American Alto Sax
ABH
Anybody but Hope!
Hope has to go- he sucks. I don’t see an upside for at least two or three years now. How the hell can we recruit with games like last night?
Why would any kid with talent waste 4 years away with this coach?
With all due respect T-Mill
It was foolish to think we had a chance. You talk about 2 weeks of preparation without considering the ineptness of the coaching staff doing that preparation.
Also, I told you so about Cierre Wood.
Ever Grateful. Ever True.
hope should be now
Not st the end of the season now. I thought the painter episode this winter was supposed to be the AD turning over a new leaf.
by MPBoiler on Oct 2, 2011 10:44 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Never foolish
After being at the Ohio State game I can say it’s never foolish to hope for a win. Notre Dame is a lot better than Purdue, but it was still possible for Purdue to win last night. Oh well. Keep on cheering. One day we may all be rewarded.
Boiler Up, Go Blue
Exactly
There is always a chance, and as Purdue fans we always look for it. We may get let down, but that just makes it better when we actually come through.
That being said, Hope makes it tough to believe going foward. Plain and simple, he isn’t a B1G coach, and the longer he stays the harder it will be to still get excited about football.
And one more thing.
I think the angriest I got all night was when Hope called a timeout with 30 seconds left. That was a nakedly obvious attempt to save his job by keeping the score close, and by running those extra plays he was risking injury to the players on both teams. The only person that could have possibly benefited was Hope himself, while risking players in a needless set of plays.
"Hey Jay, what time is it?"
"9:30"
"AND IU STILL SUCKS!"
I disagree
While I am officially on the Hope-needs-to-go bandwagon, I don’t think it is wrong for him to trying to score, even it’s a meaningless TD against backups. You want to instill in the players’ mind that we need to play a 60-minute game and never quit. Even when we are in a blow out, we still want to put in our backup players and they play with the intention to score. The competitive nature is what makes sports sports. Hope would lose even more of my respect if he tells (or lets) his his players to stop playing.
Plus ND didn't quit
Kelly went for it on 4th down the drive before to try and run up the score, so I don’t blame Hope for at least trying to get it back.
I don't blame Kelly on that one.
It was a classic “maroon zone” position…4th and 1, too far for a FG, no space to punt. That’s the right call in that situation. And I hate Kelly. I hold him responsible for two deaths and the classic 0-game DUI suspension.
And I have no problem with running the offense on that last drive. But the TO is over the line. The players’ mentality isn’t going to be fixed by a meaningless score. It’s going to be fixed by, oh I don’t know, NOT GETTING OUR ASS KICKED up and down the field.
"Hey Jay, what time is it?"
"9:30"
"AND IU STILL SUCKS!"
by Boiler Bandsman on Oct 2, 2011 7:33 PM EDT up reply actions
In my opinion
I think Kelly went for it on 4th and 1 so the game would end sooner. Either a) Get the first down and keep the clock running or b)Punt, give it to purdue, they pass and have incomplete passes, clock stops, and this nightmare continues..
I started to think
that losing the bucket would force Hope’s hand so we can get Sumlin.
It’s very difficult for me to go that far. But it just might have to be done.
Best case scenario in my mind
Hope continues to lose game after game this year until an unforgivably atrocious meltdown (a la Colorado blowing a 28-point lead over Kansas last year) finally pushes things over the edge and he gets fired mid-season. With only a handful of games left, the players manage to rally their spirits together enough to beat an equally bad IU team in Bloomington and win back the bucket, while the new hired coach (preferably Sumlin) sits in waiting.
On a side note, Notre Dame somehow manages to weasel their way into a BCS bowl after winning out the rest of their relatively weak schedule and then gets handed another epic beatdown by an SEC/B1G opponent that actually deserved to be there.
No
The best case scenario is if they fire Hope tomorrow and bring in a great coach who leads our team to win the remainder of the games. I would never think our team losing is a good thing (this is not the NFL where you get a high draft pick by losing). Our players want to win, and we want them to win. Wanting Hope to go is one thing, but don’t make our players the victim.
Agree 100%
Fire Hope now, get the players energized and finish this season strong. Losing will just hurt morale, recruiting, attendance, etc.
Lots of justified anger after yesterday's debacle
We should move our focus to discussing who the new coach should be. That’s more exciting than watching the current team. Last year, there were still a few defenders of coach Hope. I don’t see any comments in defense of coach Hope any more. Every year of the Hope era, our team gets progressively worse (not sure how that’s possible).
I understand we’re not going to be in the Rose bowl every year, but we did go there when I was at Purdue and it’s just ridiculous to know that instead of building on that momentum, we’ve become a Big Ten doormat again. We’ve reached the point where we can’t beat Rice and don’t even belong on the same field with a mediocre Notre Dame team. Rice got demolished yesterday by Southern Miss. I know that this program can be way better than it is now and just saying we’re meant to suck at football is no excuse. There is no excuse in the modern era of football with our out of conference schedules to miss a bowl game four consecutive years. I normally would say to wait to the end of the season to fire a coach, but I’m afraid every week of practice this season under the current staff is a step backward that will impede player development.
+1,000,000
Probably the best comment I’ve seen at H&R in a long time.
We are NOT “meant” to suck at football. Purdue will rise again.
It just won’t happen under Hope.
by Jackson Brunner on Oct 2, 2011 2:42 PM EDT up reply actions
more concerned about the defense
especially against the run. The play calling/coaching was atrocious and Marve was “turrible” but what bothered me the most was on the other side of the ball. When it takes 3 friggin guys to bring down Michael Floyd and half a dozen to bring down the RBs, that’s a pathetic excuse of a unit. I think there were less than half a dozen plays where the first Purdue defender on the spot made an open field tackle unless it was into the secondary.
We (and I say wee b/c I’m a student) suck something fierce; I think last year’s team AFTER the injuries would beat this team by at least 7-10 points.
We’ve got:
very good special teams defense/kicking/punting,
good running backs,
AND
poor passing game
atrocious defense
probably the worst coaching in D-I
Finally, much love to the Lady Boilers Volleyball team. Yes, they lost as well but when you play the #1 team in the country on their court AND not only take a set but play the other three to within a few points of winning that is, at the very least, one heck of an effort. I think based on that I can at least hope (pun intended) that they will be competing for a national title.
There are so many things I can say about this game.
Above all, however, this team looked unprepared. I kind of want to know what they did in practice for these two weeks.
There were far too many missed tackles, dropped catches, and personal fouls to have any hope of winning.
When does Hope’s contract end? Hope’s here until his contract ends. Burke wont pay for two coaches.
Reaction images? I got 'em
Senior All-American Alto Sax
Simple Numbers Why Hope Should Be Fired
Like many Purdue fans, I am calling for Danny Hope to be fired. And, like many Purdue fans I feel this way because I am tired of finishing each season at the bottom of the Big Ten, I am tired of watching one of the worst teams in college football, I am tired of going to "big games" and seeing the game slip away before half time, and I am tired of listening to Danny Hope tell us that his teams practice as well as any team in college football but don’t execute on the field. Unfortunately the athletic department seems to only care about the bottom line while failing to see the correlation between ticket sales and winning. So here is a quick analysis using Burke’s methodology showing why Hope should be fired.
During the Danny Hope tenure, season ticket sales have fallen from 34,523 in 2009 to 31,701 in 2010 (~8%), and from 31,701 in 2011 to 28,914 in 2011 (~9%.) Using a conservative estimate of $300 per season ticket, we can conclude that season ticket revenues decreased by $846,600 from 2009 to 2010, and $836,100 from 2010 to 2011. Now let’s look at three possible scenarios for 2012.
Scenario 1: Keep Hope, Ticket Sales Decrease 9%
According to USA Today Hope was paid $900,000 by the university in 2010. Seeing no improvement this year, it is very realistic to project another 9% fall in season tickets sales. Using the same $300 per season ticket estimate, season ticket gross revenue will be $7,911,605.91 in 2012. Subtract Hopes $900,000 salary and the result is a simplistic net revenue of $7,011,605.91.
Scenario 2: Hire New Coach, Ticket Sales Increase 2%
It is my belief that if Burke spends the money to get a promising coach, the fans will get excited and more fans will buy season tickets. So let’s assume that Burke gives a marquee coach (Sumlin, Leach) $1,200,000, the same amount IU is paying Kevin Wilson. Let’s also assume that the fans respond positively and season ticket sales increase buy 2%. Using the $300 per season ticket estimate, season ticket gross revenue would be $8,847,684.00. Subtract the new coach salary of $1,200,000 and the net revenue is $7,647,684.00 or about $600K more than Scenario 1.
Scenario 3: Hire New Coach, Ticket Sales Decrease 5%
So the athletic department likes to blame the decrease in ticket sales on the economy. Assuming there is some truth in this, let’s say hiring a new coach still yields a 5% decrease in ticket sales. If this is the case then season ticket gross revenue would be $8,240,490.00. Subtract $1,200,000 and the net is $7,040,490.00, still $28K greater than if Hope stays.
While this is a very simplistic analysis with a lot of assumptions, it is my absolute belief that paying a marquee coach will yield more money for the athletic department than keeping Hope. I also believe it is absolutely fair for fans to stop buying tickets. As fans, the only return on investment we get for spending money on game tickets, hotels, travel expenses and time is the satisfaction of seeing our team win. And when this return is minimal or non-existent, fans have the right to stop investing. I paid tuition, bought tickets, concessions and apparel, sat through a lot more losing seasons than winning ones and have been given nothing in return. Because of this, yesterday’s loss to ND was my last trip to Ross-Ade until Hope is gone.
You make an excellent argument
I am absolutely in favor of letting go of Coach Hope, but I personally harbor a lot less animosity towards Burke. We are one of very few Universities to have an athletic department budget that is actually contributing positively. I personally will never consider this a bad thing.
However, as your point underscores, losing (and doing so in such a fan-alienating fashion) year after year, does nothing to help us continue to better our school. If Burke cannot see the writing on the wall (losing games = losing fans = losing revenue/donations), he needs to go to. Economics should be his strength. In the model of Big Ten revenue sharing, mediocrity can get you by – abysmal failure will garner you nothing.
I would love to see Purdue become a powerhouse in Football and Basketball, but I do recognize that almost no schools can sustain “elite” level success in both simultaneously. So putting more resources into our best program (Basketball, at the moment) makes good sense from any standpoint. Letting Football descend to doormat status does not. If and when Purdue football returns to mediocrity – then is the time to ask the question whether we should make the push to become a top-tier program.
Until then, Burke needs to show Hope the door, and get someone (Sumlin) who will give us a chance to compete. If he doesn’t – Burke becomes culpable for failure on the field and failure at the bank
I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more Purdue Basketball
+1
Also, the “economy” argument is complete BS. Michigan, for example, is one of the most economically depressed states in the nation, way worse off than Indiana. And yet, both UofM and MSU manage to consistently sell out their home games. I wonder why that is?
I've sent my letter to Burke, have you?
I just sent a revised version of my original post to Morgan Burke. In the revision I simplified the argument to fire Hope down to the following.
Danny Hope is costing our university $1.7 million a year ($800K in lost ticket revenue and $900K in salary.) For $1.7 million Purdue could have their pick at a lot of qualified coaches. Hopefully this is simple enough for the athletic department to understand.
what I saw
>team was not mentally prepared – stupid penalty after stupid penalty. The D had ND stopped on that first scoring drive….. but no – unsportsmanlike conduct. Are you kidding me? Problem: Coaching staff
>pick a freakin’ quarterback – I really don’t even care who. Just pick one. It’s clear that the offense is different depending upon who you have it. Let them run it, instead of changing it up all the time. It’s really not working. Problem: Coaching staff
>Punt, punt, punt – We’ve got an All-American kicker in Carson Wiggs. Let him kick the freakin’ field goal. In fact, bring out the fieldgoal squad as soon as we cross mid-field. Put some points on the damn board. Pinning the opponent on the 10 isn’t worth much when they are calmly shredding our D. Problem: Coaching staff
>Overall, it looked like we didn’t belong on the field with a good (not great) ND team. Problem: Coaching staff
But hey! We finally found the endzone once ND put in the second string D. So that’s something.
>Hoosier by birth, Boilermaker by the grace of God
>Don't cry, MSU - It's just a game...
Deon Bush is coming to PU i've heard
My friend who is a recruiting guide said she had the responsibility of Deon and his family this weekend and for the game and she said that he said he was going to choose Purdue…she said that its because of Gary and him wanting to play with him and his family being able to cheer for both of them on 1 team. She’s not super smart when it comes to football and isn’t bias, so I believe her. She wouldn’t just say it to say it lol
actually quite comical if you scroll up to align Hope's picture with the graphic.
well….. it made me chuckle
>Hoosier by birth, Boilermaker by the grace of God
>Don't cry, MSU - It's just a game...
Hope-ism
Just reading some of Coach Hope’s post-game quote and I guess I might as well enjoy ridiculing some of his Hope-ism while Hope is still around:
“I’m encouraged even though the numbers on the board don’t show it.” (I guess he will still be encouraged if we were like Minnesota who were killed 0-58)
“Other than the INT he (Terbush) played awfully well…” (Yes, and other than our defense couldn’t tackle and our offense couldn’t score, we are actually an awfully good football team. If Terbush is so “awfully well”, why are we only having 39 passing yards (and 2 net rush yards) in the 1st and 2nd qtr when Terbush played?)
“TerBush manages the offense well…Regarding Robert Marve ‘He made some great throws but didn’t manage the offense all that well.’” (Urrr, unless you are talking exclusively about playing against ND’s backup players! If not b/c of multiple catchable but dropped passes, Mavre could have gotten a TD!)
I still prefer Marve
Did he really say Marve didn’t manage the offense? He had no receivers open and was running for his life most every play. That what happens when you are trailing by multiple touchdowns.
He did say that
And I feel bad for Mavre. The receivers aren’t helping him. As I watch him sometimes I feel like him asking, “Why the heck do I come here?”
Hope's comments are just annoying
Heard him say that “we are a much better football team than we played”. Sorry but we are not, barely beating MTSU, losing to Rice, and finally winning big against a high school team. Ok ND has bigger faster players but why so many stupid penalties – isn’t that a sign of poor coaching?
We are a much better team
The problem is we will have trouble seeing it as long as he is still the coach
by jack'sIUdisdain on Oct 3, 2011 6:44 PM EDT up reply actions
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