Pizza Pizza! Purdue Earns Ninth Bowl Victory With 37-32 Win Over Western Michigan
by BoilerTMill on Dec 28, 2011 9:40 AM EST
in Football
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PrintA bowl win is a bowl win. After Purdue started its postseason history with a 6-1 streak following the 1998 Alamo Bowl, postseason wins have been hard to come by. For awhile we were good at getting to the postseason, but once there, we didn't do much. Our last two postseason trips have been to Detroit against a MAC team, which is hardly what Big Ten teams play for, but we're now 2 for 2 in the Motor City.
Sure, the 37-32 win over Western Michigan last night won't go down in program history as one of the best wins, but it was an essential win for a team that is slowly moving forward. It was a bit of a sloppy game with 11 total turnovers, including two on the same play twice. Still, we made plays and generally dominated physically. That's not something we could really say at any point this year short of the SEMO game. I must say that it was refreshing to see, especially after getting dominated so physically by Wisconsin.
Positives From The Little Caesars Bowl
Special Teams - Aside from the Carson Wiggs miss, they were more than perfect. Raheem Mostert finally was able to take one to the house and the two onside kicks were completely unexpected. This season has seen us go very vanilla in terms of playcalling, but the onside kicks were completely unexpected. Mostert, who is only a freshman, is clearly going to be a force over the next few seasons. It's just unfortunate that only once per game his kick returns come without following a score.
Forcing Turnovers - One of the nice things about sitting in the press box is that they provide you with every statistic imaginable. Example: we had the most rushing yards for a Purdue team in a bowl game, passing the 1979 Bluebonnet Bowl. That said, I have no idea when was the last time we forced seven turnovers in a game. Sure, on two of them we turned it right back over, but I had a chance to interview Ryan Russell on the field about it after the game since he had a fumble recovery and he forced the game clinching fumble:
"Definitely, my teammates held me up and stuck behind me. They said, ‘just make up for it' (in reference to his fumble on a fumble return). It was just great teamwork and great execution as a team. I was just looking to make a play (in reference to his forced fumble to clinch). I have tons of confidence going into 2012. This was a great way to start next year."
Russell is a player that I really like, and both he and Gerald Gooden were incredibly active against a team that made itself quite one dimensional. Bruce Gaston and Kawann Short allowed nothing in the middle. Gooden, despite his silly penalties, managed two interceptions and nearly got a third. Alex Carder had a good day and Jordan White ran circles around our secondary, but we forced Carder into uncharacteristic mistakes.
Better yet, when I rode the elevator down to the field after the game I was excited to hear several WMU journalists grouse about not being able to run the ball at all. That was because of guys like Russell.
The Running Game - Let's face it, coming back from a third ACL injury makes Ralph Bolden a question mark at best going into next year. At least we have Akeem Shavers and Akeem Hunt as strong potential answers. We can't discount Reggie Pegram, either, who had his first two career touchdowns. For the second straight game we ran the ball (our strength) and exerted our will offensively against a team. Converting a couple of those field goals into touchdowns would have been nice in the end game, but that's getting picky. Even Justin Siller in the Wild Siller was very effective.
The Passing Game - In short, it was perfect. It kept them off balance while we moved the ball on the ground and the receivers were shifty with the ball. Gary Bush is going to evolve into a true No. 1 target next year. Antavian Edison had a nice catch as usual. Robert Marve and Caleb TerBush again split time, but they had very few mistakes and even tested them deep once or twice.
Our Seniors - In what was the final game for our seniors, several of them made a statement on the way out the door. I don't know which of them (if any) will get drafted, but it seemed like each had a memorable final game. I've already mentioned Wiggs, Gooden, and Siller, but Joe Holland was huge with a near interception and was named lineman of the game. Albert Evans had a nice pick. Jared Crank had some punishing runs. Marve (if it was his last game) was 6 of 7 for 76 yards and a score.
Negatives From The Little Caesars Bowl
Pass coverage - I understand that we have faced some good receivers in Michael Floyd, Marvin McNutt, and now Jordan White, but seeing them roam freely through our secondary and have career days against us is getting a little ridiculous. Most of the secondary will be back next year and players like Taylor Richards are very promising, but White was virtually uncovered most of the game. As usual, it was over the middle too.
Fumbles - Both of the fumbles by defensive players resulted in scores. The offensive fumbles ended promising drives. This was just frustrating, and it was the primary reason we had seven turnovers yet only won by five.
Heading into 2012
I think we did a lot of things right in this game, and we only need to sharpen a few things up to improve even more. This was one of the few times in 2011 that we looked like the dominant team on the field. I don't think we can overlook that, especially given our struggles against Rice and Middle Tennessee State earlier in the year. We mixed up the playcalling pretty well and the run for five yards was there whenever we needed it. We didn't have to pass much, but were effective when we did.
Most of all, when I was on the field with the players after the game I saw a team that was excited going forward. There is some pretty good talent on this team as freshmen with Russell, Mostert, Richards, and Hunt. They took a good MAC team's best shot and were able to counter. I was concerned with the way that the Broncos came out with their own trick plays and jumped in front 8-0, but we didn't fold.
There are still some things we need to do going into next season to take the next step. First, we have got to eliminate dumb penalties, which haunted us this year. We had nine penalties yesterday, and we need to cut that in half.
Second, we have got to develop the passing game further. Unfortunately, this is the biggest question mark when we have no idea what the quarterback situation will look like. Will Rob Henry be 100%? Will Marve be back? Will Henry change positions to make up for his throwing ability? Will we stick with one QB? As much as I would like to see Marve return and be THE guy because he has never truly been given that chance, I know his return only complicates the situation further. Now Marve basically makes it a derby between TerBush and Henry, with Sean Robinson's development as a wild card and Appleby likely redshirting.
Third, we have got to develop a consistent pass rush. This is where I think Russell, who played as a redshirt freshman, has a lot of promise. He had three fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles, a sack, and 4.5 tackles for loss in his first year. With some help on the other end I think he can take a big step forward. Bruce Gaston, Kawann Short, and Brandon Taylor in the middle will only make him better.
Next season needs to show more progress. The defense returns eight starters, so it should be pretty good. It will have some depth too. Offensively we need to replace a few starters on the line, but if we can get improved quarterback play it will help. TerBush and Marve's numbers together weren't awful (2,538 yards and 17 TDs against 11 picks and a near 60% completion percentage), but they need to be better if we're going to be more effective. Losing Wiggs is a negative, but we're supposed to have a solid kicker coming in.
Most importantly, we did not embarrass ourselves. Since this is the Big Ten's only bowl game against the MAC, a conference we usually use for early season fodder, a loss in it is perceived as an embarrassment to the league. This game showed we have the tools to get better. With our own division depleted next year, the time to get better is now.
And now, some pictures from Detroit:
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The Future
Despite me negative feelings on this coaching staff, I am fairly happy with this year’s outcome. I think we have some dynamic soon to be sophomores, and it will interesting to see how this year’s playing time helps them advance. If we we can stay healthy, and minimize stupid decisions (by players and coaches), we should have a shot at improving our record and bowl appearance. BOILER UP.
Exactly
minimize stupid decisions (by players and coaches)
That’s the key!! A lot of our pain is self-inflicted. But given a delusional coach, I just think stupid decisions is inevitable. Just hope the players mature though.
Maybe Hope can delegate...
…to people who are less rah-rah and manage to keep players’ heads on straight.
I know I’m constantly amazed at how well I do learning something when I don’t do anything stupid. It’s a highly underrated lifestyle choice. The only drawback being, constantly fearing doing something stupid is itself stupid.
by Beavis Beefcake on Dec 28, 2011 3:12 PM EST up reply actions
There's a lot to look forward to on the field
Watching Mostert shred the field and realizing that he’s only a Freshman…. wow, he’s going to be fun to watch. And Shavers showed that there’s a lot more to our running game than just Ralph Bolden. Sure the QB thing is up in the air, but hey – we’ve got options! Lots of good news from the recruiting trail as well.
Honestly, it’s everything else that troubles me. Off-the-field issues (arrests, academics), on-the-field issues (taunting, roughing the passer…), worthless play-calling (3rd and long is a good time to run it up the middle for 2yds, right?), the ‘hey we’ve got the lead going into the 4th…. let’s start killing the clock now’ gameplan (which nearly lost this game), and Hope once again looking like a rookie on clock management. This is the stuff that will keep us from getting close wins. A disciplined team will win the games it should and maybe steal a few more. Maybe some of that will come in 2012.
>Hoosier by birth, Boilermaker by the grace of God
>Don't cry, MSU - It's just a game...
Seems I was trying to craft the same post.
I could not agree more on the second paragraph. The main post is very positive and gives us a good feeling for 2012, but we do need to remember that if you beat a team by less points then they had turn overs, is it really a win?
I'm still trying to figure out...
….if the dumb decisions on the field are we just have dumb players, or the coaching staff never runs them through situational plays (like “we’re up 12 and recover a fumble…do you fall on it, or pick it up and try to score from 40 yards out?”).
That game last night really didn’t pull any surprises for me. It’s the same things we’ve been seeing all year. Dumb penalties, dumb time management, an average passing attack, but with flashes of brilliance in the running game, the kickoff return team, the defensive line. We just are not a consistent ball club and haven’t been all year.
Frustrating to watch and it’s no wonder we’re a .500 team. But a win’s a win, even against an average MAC team.
Nobody cares about your fantasy baseball team
by carmen_fanzone on Dec 28, 2011 10:41 AM EST up reply actions
It’s not even about situation, Gerald Gooden looked like he had never even seen anyone carry a ball before. It was obvious that he was putting the ball in danger the instant he started running with it. I have a hard time believing that he and Russell were never ballcarriers in high school. It looked like he was a foreign exchange student who was told to run with the ball, and had no idea how it’s supposed to be done.
by Ray Williams? on Dec 28, 2011 10:47 AM EST up reply actions
+1
Russell was at least carrying the ball close to his body and the ball didnt come out til he was close to the ground. Gooden was holding it out the whole time. As soon as he took off I knew someone was gonna strip him! I dont care if youve never carried the ball before be smart!
Russell had no business trying to beat anyone down the field.
run out of bounds, or go down with it.
He had to know that he was moving like molasses downfield.
>Hoosier by birth, Boilermaker by the grace of God
>Don't cry, MSU - It's just a game...
by sea.of.white on Dec 28, 2011 1:19 PM EST up reply actions
I've always contended
It’s up to the players to win games, but it’s up to the coaches to put them in a position to win.
Part of ‘putting them in a position to win’ is discipline and preparation – two things that we glaringly seem to lack.
I have to believe that some of these bonehead moves have Hope and Co. shaking their heads, but I think it shows that everyone has a lot of work to do.
>Hoosier by birth, Boilermaker by the grace of God
>Don't cry, MSU - It's just a game...
by sea.of.white on Dec 28, 2011 1:17 PM EST up reply actions
There were too many times I saw stupid unsportsmanlike conduct and roughing the passer penalties last night. If Gooden wasn’t a senior I hope the coaches would work his attitude. That roughing the passer penalty he got could have been avoidable and it was completely unnecessary. Not to mention he got called for that stupid celebration after sacking the QB. Act like you have been there before guys!
Gooden fail
Gooden’s celebration was not a sack, I think they made a yard. Plus he was the third Boiler in on that tackle. The first two made the play and Gooden came in to clean up with a good smack on the QB, but HE did not make that play, the other two did. So why was he celebrating with a “look at me” move? After his roughing the passer penalty, that penalty and his idiotic fumble I said he is too dumb to be attending a Big 10 university.
Why anyone on this team would be strutting around like we’ve done something is beyond comprehension. They should be happy we won but every player and coach should realize we are not near good enough to act like something special.
And Danny Hope’s end of half interview comments about being #1 in kickoff returns was astounding. Who cares, Danny? Especially, on national TV in the middle of a game we could easily lose. So embarrassing.
by row boilers on Dec 28, 2011 11:30 AM EST up reply actions
You might have missed...
….his postgame radio comment about all the trophies we have now in our trophy case, including the “kickoff return leader” trophy. WTF? I truly think he’s lost his mind.
And I agree with everything else you said. The showboating is embarrassing.
Nobody cares about your fantasy baseball team
by carmen_fanzone on Dec 28, 2011 11:35 AM EST up reply actions
http://purdue.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1311628
Gooden even said they work on ball security twice a week. I wonder if it’s only the offense but he said “we” work on it.
We = the team
I highly doubt the defensive players work on ball security
So what if we have a coach who talks up his team?
Seriously, at least someone is trying to be positive about this team, and I’m sure glad its at least the HC that’s doing it.
Some of you guys just look for any shred of anything to rail DH on. It doesn’t matter what comes out of his mouth, some of you will just try to use it against him.
Now, for the unsportsmanlike stuff on and off the field, I have no tolerance for and I have written the AD and let them know my feelings. My dollars do not go to support a reckless group of showboaters, and something had better be done about it.
Close by the Wabash, In famed Hoosier land, Stands old Purdue, Serene and Grand, Cherished in Memory,By all her sons and daughters true, Fair Alma Mater, All Hail Purdue
Can't blame him
If people wanted me fired I would definitely try and bring up positive things.
No problem with HC talking positive
but he had plenty to be happy about in the first half besides being #1 in kickoff return average. Talk about how well we ran the ball, about creating turnovers, about the onside kicks working. But he sounded like a 7th grader with the kickoff rankings. In fact that’s all fine AFTER the game, mention it then. But to be that aware of it and talk about it in that interview is ridiculous. Makes Purdue look bush league.
I agree
…but the problem is, those guys have never been there before. We have not been to a bowl game for so long that we act the way we did. It’s like IU rushing the court last year when they beat a borderline #25-ranked Illinois team.
well mabye
he could have reserved his “bowling” demonstration for after his first int. definitely not after the second one. I mean come on. He didn’t even tackle anyone for a loss and like row boilers said, he didn’t even really make the play.
Well said!
Mostert is the MOST Exciting ReTurner we’ve had in a long time! At least we have sth to look fwd to after the other team scores on us. The RBs are good. The incoming class is (reportedly) good. Overcoming suspensions/injuries to win the game is good. Coach having the guts to be unconventional (on-side kicks) is good. Using Siller as wildcat is good. Seniors play good. Luck (the two osk recoveries) is very good. A win in the end is always good.
But yes, LOTS of concerns too. Off-field, on-field, play-calling, clock-mgmt. Any time we have a lead at the half, you almost get the sense that Purdue will find sth to screw up in the 2nd half. Or, better say, the other team will adjust and we don’t. Pls, pls, pls throw away the 2-qb system (even if we have 6 QBs on the roster next season) b/c it clearly makes the players out of sync and kills the rhythm.
And yes, a lot has to do with discipline, and that’s on the coaches. All these needless penalties, on and off the field, are just self sabotage, which really summarizes our football team that has good and talented players but way underachieve. Our players can be incredibly great or incredibly dumb, and we just don’t know which one will show up, and hence you see the inconsistency in our result.
Title Fail.
I know this comment will draw the ire of many “stop being so negative” people, but isn’t the title of “Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl CHAMPIONS” (see last picture) a little overstated? Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl Winners seems more appropriate, I don’t think beating a MAC team makes us champions. Likewise if they had won, beating a .500 B1G team wouldn’t make them champions either. Can you picture the Purdue football recruiting pitch now? “Yes, we’re Purdue football, defending champions!”
The player conduct and playcalling issues deserve criticism, but we aren’t going to make a splash coaching hire. I’m giving Hope two more years to develop the talent coming in and then I’ll be back on the “fire Hope” bandwagon if we continue to struggle versus Rice et. al. and get blown out by good teams.
I enjoyed watching the game last night, regardless of it being the Pizza Bowl.
Dear Morgan Burke:
I'm cold on gamedays.
Regards,
The north endzone bleachers
by SmallMarketBigPlays on Dec 28, 2011 12:05 PM EST up reply actions
Hope should have definitely been more low key after winning a bowl game
This is what he should have said:
“I’m glad we won, but we really had an up-and-down season this year. I made a ton of coaching errors this season and I should have gotten fired. We won the game, but we made a bunch of dumb mistakes and almost blew it. We will reluctantly accept this trophy, knowing that we barely beat a 7-5 MAC team and we shouldn’t have even been allowed to go to a bowl at 6-6. I have instructed the team that there will be no celebrating on the bus ride home. If the players feel like they need to talk on the ride home, they can only talk about mistakes that they have made and what they will do to improve them. Finally, I would like to ask all Purdue fans to please forgive this football team for only getting to the Pizza Bowl. [hangs head in shame] Boiler up.”
Manager at BT Powerhouse a Big Ten basketball blog
@babaoreally
I think he could PR-speak this
“We worked through a bunch of errors to get here, including many by the coaching staff, which ultimately are my responsibility. We know we can do better, and hopefully we’ve learned about them. The thing about a big mistake is, you fix it, you become a lot better. We feel fortunate we made it here, fortunate we were able to hold on once Western Michigan out-thought us a bit, and hope to start now and do better next year physically and mentally.”
The players do deserve to enjoy things no matter what. But I hope some of them are dedicated enough to start improving ASAP and lessen the possibility of a dumb loss or two next year.
by Beavis Beefcake on Dec 28, 2011 3:18 PM EST up reply actions
That might make sense of it was a session recapping interview or something
As it was just comments after winning the last game of the year, I wouldn’t expect Hope to try and recap the season during these interviews. I know that this is what drives a lot of people crazy in regards to Hope, but he is not going to be anything but positive after a win (and after most losses). To expect him to change into a coach that says “There are a lot of things we need to improve on” after a win is unrealistic during the regular season and very unrealistic after a bowl game (no matter what bowl it is).
Manager at BT Powerhouse a Big Ten basketball blog
@babaoreally
by babaoreally on Dec 28, 2011 4:43 PM EST via Android app up reply actions
"Danny the champion of the World"
Or, well, the pizza-est bowl game in the world. Whichever.
by Beavis Beefcake on Dec 28, 2011 3:14 PM EST up reply actions
How dare the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl people call the winner of their bowl game Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl Champions?
This is one of the strangest complaints I have seen on a sports blog. Could you please tell me what level of bowl game can call its winners champions? What is the cutoff? The Rose Bowl? Cap One Bowl? Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl?
No one is going around saying that Purdue won the championship, or that the Boilers are the Champions of College Football. Purdue is the 2011 Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl Champions, by virtue of winning the 2011 Little’s Caesar’s Pizza Bowl.
Manager at BT Powerhouse a Big Ten basketball blog
@babaoreally
A thousand apologies.
I breeched blog etiquette by not putting a “/sarcasm” or some other notation to indicate that my remark was meant to be mildly humorous. I assure you it was meant as such, just as your suggested post game speech is.
I definitely read it as not sarcastic
Then I saw a couple of comments that seemed to be pilling on and assumed it was at least somewhat serious. Knowing that it wasn’t makes a lot more sense. Tone is definitely hard to figure out on blog comments, and I have written jokes that have been taken seriously before.
Manager at BT Powerhouse a Big Ten basketball blog
@babaoreally
by babaoreally on Dec 28, 2011 4:36 PM EST via Android app up reply actions
That catch by Edison was a thing of beauty...
Nobody cares about your fantasy baseball team
by carmen_fanzone on Dec 28, 2011 11:32 AM EST reply actions
Yes, it was double or triple-coverage
Edison bails out Marve on this one, but Mavre still has to sit on the bench
it really was
and just looking at the picture you would think they would have thrown the flag for interference. There was the one attempt deep to Bush that should have absolutely drawn a flag and didn’t. He was grabbed several times down the field.
Special Teams
I would disagree with the statement that our special teams were flawless minus the one missed fieldgoal. Our punting game was awful and has been for the back half of the year. What is going on with Cody Webster. He started out as one of the top punters in the country.
His numbers were inflated because Wiggs handled all the accuracy punts.
by Ray Williams? on Dec 28, 2011 12:55 PM EST up reply actions
There was that one bad punt that I remember
and officially it was “tipped.” We almost downed it at the one inch line on the 1st punt but Ricardo accidentally kicked it past the goal line. I know Hope uses Webster if we are backed up and Wiggs if it was a short field.
Volleyball Correspondent for Hammer and Rails
BTFU or GTFO
Accidentally kicked it?
I saw a guy try to make the entire play singlehandedly, even though he was falling into the end zone and several of his teammates were mere steps away ready to receive a quick toss.
A well coached player would be trained to use teammate help in that situation. Hell, we ran “look for help” drills when I was in High School. The first instinct of the “athlete” in that situation is to do it all himself.
Poor coaching led to a stupid decision and a 20 yard Christmas present to the Broncos. That play spoke volumes.
"There's no hope until Hope is gone!"
What an experience!
But the coaches’ decisions still baffle me sometimes. 3rd and long screen passes, how few passes were thrown towards Edison (especially after he made that spectacular catch), the decision to not bring pressure to the QB even though he threw a pick or near pick every time he was pressured.
Regardless, a bowl win is a bowl win.
Reaction images? I got 'em
Senior All-American Alto Sax
by Danulas on Dec 28, 2011 1:19 PM EST via mobile reply actions
I disagree with the not pressuring QB part
We pulled a DE to play coverage b/c we need the extra person to cover all their WRs, and that is what allows us to get the interception. I don’t think you can get anything better than 4 INTs. Think of it this way, if they can get four hundred some passing yds with an extra man of coverage, I can’t imagine how many more yds they’d have gotten if we play just 4 DBs.
Check out Bill C's Numericals Post on the game
I went away from this game thinking that the defense did pretty well. If you look at the situational numbers, the defense did a really good job defending once they got into short-yardage situations. Like the WMU’s second to last drive: We stopped them after a long drive on 4th down with a sack and a fumble. The lineman ran for about 50 yards before fumbling. After letting them come down the field, then stopping them, then having to defend for 70 more yards or so, the defense was just worn out.
Manager at BT Powerhouse a Big Ten basketball blog
@babaoreally
When they rushed three, for the most part, they got burned, just like pretty much every defense ever. When Carder had time against the three man rush, he and White tore up the zones we were throwing out there. When he didn’t he gave the ball away.
Luckily, the talent gap showed up on the last defensive play of the game, and we were still able to get there with the three man rush, they weren’t good enough to do it consistently though.
by Ray Williams? on Dec 28, 2011 2:12 PM EST up reply actions
Pic 4 Catching or Touching?
Travis-
Were you trying to make a sideline TD catch?
or
Touchy the hiney?
OK so Danny Hope has his first winning season. Nice for it to happen during the bowl game, instead of during the regular season. Either way, it is probably good for the program and we should be happy. We are champions now, and he can sell that snake oil smoke and mirrors, along with the glow of the kickoff return trophy. There might be momentum going into 2012 and there is a chance to have a 2+ win streak. I really hope that this Purdue team does not really think they are champions and focus on preparing for play in 2012, as of right now they are small fish in a big pond. That said, we are not going to be anything above mid-level B1G with Danny Hope as the coach. We are getting a little better talent but that is just a part of the equation of a football team. I think in each class we obtain a few recruits with natural talent but otherwise we are not developing the remaining class as much as we could. The staff is the other part of the equation and I am not seeing the makings of a football team that can be competitive overall. We will not get there with Danny Hope but if we like the 6-6 and 7-5 seasons, then yes. Good guy syndrome will hurt this team overall, and I think it has already come. A good head coach has a scheme and I am not seeing it after 3 years. Some say that we are becoming a power run offense, not the case. We are currently building the Frankenstein monster offense with so much bits and pieces it has no identity. It can be effective but we have all seen what happens if a cog comes loose.
Before the season started, talk was that we were going 6-6 (+bowl), 5-7, 4-8 at worst, and some sure at a bowl with 7-5, 8-4, or even 9-3. As much as I am not a Hope fan, this season’s record is considered improvement but filled with regression that almost negates the positive. The rave reviews brought forth by the believers that we will end up in the rose bowl and Hope will make us a birth right 8-10 win team each year. Concrete theory shows that 6-6 is better than 09’ and 10’ and a bowl appearance for first time since 07’, so there is improvement. Next year a 6-6 is no longer improvement, 7-5 at all costs, if we can’t do that we are doomed. I am not going to speculate on what games are W’s and L’s in 2012 because that is just silly due to the nature of this program. I do not see this team getting 8 wins in regular season. I might sound negative in this post but I am not, I just know what I want. I want at least 8 wins per year, B1G championship appearance, and a good bowl showing. Danny can’t do this. Only winning the B1G championship game can he truly call his team champions? The only option is to have a better coach, yes Purdue can afford it, and just nobody wants to admit it. Money can be budgeted because we did it with Tiller. If Danny was a good coach he would have performed during years 1 and 2, no excuses, you work around those problems in years 1 and 2 to win games. He didn’t and failed. You only have one chance for a first impression. But we are probably stuck with Hope, and I have accepted that as our future. If he can’t do this or at least get us back for the mid-Tiller years, he was a bad choice.
Some might be extremely happy with this game, as a Purdue fan it is good to see the W, but there are a lot of questionables (play calling, player conduct, penalties). Sure we looked like we dominated the run game, and we knew this coming into it, so don’t get too excited. Many flaws with PU football during this game but when you play a MAC team with a risky offense, the team in the bigger conference will usually prevail. Without those onside kicks, WMU has more time of possession; he had to take them out of the game early in order to win. I think WMU wet themselves because it looked like they never had seen a onside kick before. The onside kicks were not anything genius from Hope. My opinion is that DH was scared, this is just my opinion.
The game was sort of fun to watch because it was exciting, in terms of you had no idea what would happen, similar to other Purdue performances against MAC teams. Purdue did everything to let WMU win but WMU tried harder and Purdue took advantage of their little mistakes that MAC teams make. Either way, WMU and Purdue finished with the same record, 7-6. If we had lost, I doubt there would be many people coming to say “Good game, the better team won.” We never talk about beautiful losses. We just get mad. I am not mad that we won but not happy with the football program.
This game performance and season shows that we are currently at mid-low level of B1G and can compete with upper MAC type teams, and B1G teams with .500 or worse records, or B1G teams that are having a bad day. Are we ever going to get good enough to control inferior opponents like we did with SEMO? In order to become a top program in B1G, we need to do this consistently, plus being competitive in all games. People were happily touting that we played so well in 09’ and 10’ having lost a number of games by less than 7 or fewer points and trying to justify how good we are (playing the what-if game), but when we have wins against teams inferior to Purdue overall within 7 or 10 points we just say a win is a win.
Not sure if the stats are updated but currently (bowl game included?) in 2011 Purdue is 6th overall for most penalties, if they need to be updated to include the bowl we could move further up the list. In 2010 we were 50th (tie). In 2009 we were 100th (tie).
I think I will feel a little better after this typing, take it as you will from a Purdue fan, grad, and son of a long time JPC member (so I have heard the horror stories from times long gone). I am just not satisfied to how things are looking, after you take the Little Caesars blinders off. I am happy now that just a little more than half of the fans might be a little more positive now but 2012 is make or break 100% for Coach Hope. No excuses. If he shows me a 7-5 in 2012 with bowl win, I will be back on board. However, for the university to see improvement attendance to the games says it all, the only excuse is the state of the program and those empty seats equate to lack of support at some sort of level.
Can’t agree with everyone, we all have opinions and ideas of what is acceptable, and DH is likely here for awhile. So all this is just a vent. Sorry to take up space and looking forward to see what arises in the next year.
Umm, ever hear of Reader's Digest...
Valid points sir but next time could you spare us the novel. Yikes
BTFU!
Makers All?
by icet15 on Dec 29, 2011 1:40 AM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
Thx for sharing
However I disagree with this:
The onside kicks were not anything genius from Hope. My opinion is that DH was scared
Onside kicks were not genius invention from Hope, but you need the guts to do it. Twice. Admittedly he got lucky. Had we not recovered at least one of them there will be lots of criticisms on him. So I take it the other way and praise Hope for NOT being scared and have the guts to do it.
I am just not satisfied to how things are looking
I am not satisfied how things went, not optimistic how things will be next year, but at least for now, I choose to accept the fact that we are stuck with Hope so we may as well give him the support and HOPE that he pulls a miracle. I just wish we could get better assistant coaches or coordinators.
Geez, lots of griping today
I’d hate to see it if we lost.
The bottom line is that it was a win. yes, it was sloppy, but we were still the better team. Hope is around for another year, so we might as well get behind him until next season starts.
A futile crusade to prevent mass ignorance
HammerAndRails, SBNation's Boilermaker Blog
No kidding
Let the kids enjoy the win for a few weeks. We all know they haven’t gotten to do that much the last few years. Come March, or whenever spring practices start, it’s on Hope to bring them back to reality and make them learn from their gaffs. If he succeeds, we all are a much happier bunch. If he fails…. we can let him have it.
I think some of the thoughts on here today are pretty insightful...
We see some glaring weaknesses, we see things that need to improve to build on this 7-6 season, we see the bowl victory as sort of a mixed bag of good and bad, but we also see potential…just like the entire season.
Truth be told, we should have won that game by 3 touchdowns. It mirrored the Bucket Game in a lot of ways….fall behind early, get a comfortable lead, make a stop on the final drive to win it. And, much like the Bucket Game, people are pleased with the win, but not totally satisfied with how it was accomplished.
Nobody cares about your fantasy baseball team
by carmen_fanzone on Dec 28, 2011 2:19 PM EST up reply actions
No joke
If we lost, I think people would be burning Hope in effigy. And a lot of the people complaining were probably picking Purdue to lose….upset that they didn’t, gotta pick apart what went wrong. A lot of our penalties today were made by seniors, probably a little hyped up to be playing in their first bowl game and last college game, possibly last game period. Stupid decisions by defenders with the fumbles when they get the turnovers….but I doubt we see that again. We rushed three the whole game basically, which is why they put up a lot of yards, but also why we got a lot of picks and near picks. I thought Gooden, if he played smarter (aka dumb penalties) and didn’t lose the other interception, would have been player of the game. He was doing something different and looked pretty damn good at doing it. I feel like Hope deserves at the very least next year, the young kids are looking very promising. I feel a clear #1 QB will go A LONG way for this team next year….possible dark horse B10 title game contenders.
Can I have some of your eggnog?
Forget about a single QB next year. DH’s “dueling gunslinger” strategy got him a winning season, a bowl CHAMPIONSHIP, and a contract extension.
What make you think he will abandon what has worked so well?
"There's no hope until Hope is gone!"
Hope is not that stupid
If we have a clear-cut #1, he will get the majority of the snaps sans some wilcat (unless its Henry). We didn’t have a clear cut #1 this year, as they both had pretty big flaws. I could be wrong, but don’t be surprised if we see Terbush riding pine with Henry out there next year. If: Henry isn’t healthy, and Marve doesn’t get his 6th year, then I actually expect to see 2 QBs next year. That is unless Robinson makes great strides, because Terbush will never be good enough to be a clear #1.
So once it starts, we deflect?
we might as well get behind him until next season starts
In any case, I agree that the fact is Hope is around for at least another year, we may as well just support the coach and hopefully something miraculous can happen. Give the coach an off-season to adjust and maybe he’ll be a changed man? If not, save the bashing until he next screw up.
Kickoff Return Trophy
Nothing make you better, faster than experience…..
…and boy, did we get a lot of experience returning kickoffs this year.
"There's no hope until Hope is gone!"
Good Win
It’d be nice to see a winning football program in my next four years, and there’s at least a chance Hope can do that. Well, he’s undefeated in bowl games (for the moment). Looks like the players need better discipline, but it was their first bowl game as well.
A few things good a few things bad.
Good things:
solid recruits coming in
all the big time plays are coming from Hopes recruits
we won
Bad things:
Absolutely no secondary defense
stupid plays start from lack of disipline in practice (Head Coach)
So yes it looks like we will be getting better players, but Hope hasn’t shown me he can coach them up to not make dumb mistakes.
That is all on him. I’m giving him a B- grade for the season based on expectations and that we beat OSU, Illinois, and IU
Next year our W/L goal should probably be 7-5 to 9-3 regular season
Some thoughts and observations from Detroit
Tuesday night was a night of firsts for both me and my friend. For me, it was the first bowl game I have ever attended and for my friend it was his first Purdue game. For both of us, it was our first time in Ford Field. I must say it is a very impressive venue. I really enjoyed the place and the pro-WMU fans were very polite and gracious hosts. We even enjoyed some pre-game beverages with a pair of them who also happened to have a daughter going to Purdue and the wife was an MSU grad. Small world.
We sat in the lower level with the other Purdue faithful 18 rows up on the 15 yard line. Excellent seats.
Throughout the game, it was plain to see and hear how divided the fan base is over Hope. I know; what a shocker! This surprised my friend who made mention our hate for our coach outweighed our dislike of the opposing team. He is from the New England area and is a die-hard Pats fan, (was surprised to know how many former Boilers were his favorite players like Rosie, Matt Light, and Rob Ninkovich – so, by default he now roots for Purdue), and this was really eye-opening for him. He mentioned it at length on the drive home and it generated some interesting points that echo some of our concerns and observations.
1) Play-calling in crucial moments a bit weak. He mentioned the going for 3 instead of going for the TD deep in the red zone at the end of the first half. “It’s as if he’s, (Hope), scared of being too far ahead” was the comment made. I for one felt it was too conservative and looked a little gun-shy. It’s as if we wished to have a lead, but took our foot off the gas intentionally. We’ve seen this in the Illinois and IU games; we play not to lose, i.e. Tressell-ball. He likened it to Jim Caldwell’s style with the Colts. Good comparison.
2) Emotions dictate the performance. This is something I noted immediately with Hope’s squads: emotion rules the roost. Case in point: when the momentum favors this squad, they look like world-beaters. Without it; they struggle and fail to generate their own forward progress. They live and die by their emotional state of mind. Ted picked up on that almost immediately. It was nice to see the team keep their heads up after some bad plays, but once we match up with a team that is more focused and has a structured game plan we fold like a wet towel. While we’ve seen the team get a lead and hold onto it despite setbacks, (Illinois, Ohio State, IU, and now WMU), we’ve also seen them wilt when faced with adversity, (Penn State, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Wisconsin). I feel this is on the staff. It’s great to have players bring the passion, but it’s a slippery slope as sometimes you check out mentally and make mistakes in judgment. The team is somewhat young, yes, but seniors should not be acting like fools and carelessly penalize the team because they see fit to celebrate.
3) Getting out of our own way is still a problem. Danny Hope and his staff Forrest Gump their way through games and this trend continues. Ted mentioned the lack of killer-instinct on offense, yet we did 2 on-side kicks in a row. We would force a 4th down on defense and then give WMU the ball back with a fresh set of downs because of a lack of discipline. We run the Wild Siller well 3 times in a row and then false-start our way to a 3rd and long situation twice. It is quite puzzling. Ted made mention that we looked like the Steelers one minute and the Seahawks the next. Again, the staff seems to ride a wave and hope for the wind to pick back up instead of focusing on the basics first to provide that foundation we seem to lack at crucial points. This will kill us in the long-run.
All in all, I really enjoyed the game, but walked away almost as troubled as I was happy about the win. WMU is a good team, but not great. They have some players, but they should not have had their way with us defensively as we obviously played passive in the 3rd quarter. This reflects on the coaching. The players and talent are there to compete. I simply believe the team reflects the coach by covering the deficiencies with hard work and passion. That gets us to a point; but not to a real championship level.
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