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2013 Heart Of Dallas Bowl: Purdue Arrives In Dallas

Purdue arrives in Dallas for the Heart of Dallas Bowl

By BoilerTMill
Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE

Purdue's bowl game is in just four days and today was a travel day for the football team. Purdue arrived in Dallas. First, the defense and specialists got there:

The offense was on its way a short time later:

The players themselves seem to be rather excited:

As far as the actual game analysis goes there is not much to report. As we expected, Robert Marve is getting the start and it is my hope that he ends his career guns blazing with about 450 yards and five touchdowns. Curiously, Oklahoma State fans are not that excited even though it is practically a local bowl for them:

But, will the OSU players be excited enough to show up? After this last game I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't show up at all and get beat by a bad Purdue team. They couldn't get up for Baylor, why get excited about this?

Even the student newspaper at Oklahoma State has gone as far as saying that the Cowboys should have declined the bowl bid:

The Heart of Dallas Bowl, renamed from the Ticket City Bowl, played at half-capacity since its inaugural game in 2011. It is shown on ESPNU, a channel not even on basic cable in Oklahoma, and is played at the same time as three other notable and more prestigious New Year's Day bowls. There will be no exposure for OSU whatsoever.

If OSU plays to its potential, it should rout Purdue by 40-plus points. Fans have seen that before; it was called Savannah State.

If the players and coaches feel slighted by playing in a less-deserving bowl and don't care about the game, OSU will win in ugly fashion or suffer a bad loss. Fans saw that lack of focus at Baylor last weekend.

This was a similar attitude Kansas State fans heading into the 1998 Alamo Bowl and they were lucky as hell (as in, they needed two snaps over a punter's head to hand then 13 points) they didn't get blown out.

This is still a tall matchup for Purdue because few people even slowed Oklahoma State down all season. Purdue is likely going to need a couple of turnovers and few mistakes on offense to hang around in this one.

If you are going to Dallas, here is your official list of game activities:

Heart of Dallas Battle of the Bands
3:00 p.m.

LOCATION: Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla Street, Dallas, TX (about .9 miles from the Hyatt Regency Dallas)
Alumni and fans, gear up for the Heart of Dallas Bowl at the inaugural Heart of Dallas Battle of the Bands featuring the All-American Marching Band. Local high school bands will perform at 3:00. Oklahoma State will perform at 3:45 and Purdue will start at 4:30.
ADMISSION: Open to the public

Boilermaker Happy Hour
4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

LOCATION: TEN Sports Grill, 1302 Main Street, Dallas, TX
OVERVIEW: Join the John Purdue Club and Purdue Alumni Association for a late afternoon, New Year's Eve warm-up. Cash bar, appetizers provided.
ADMISSION: Open to all Boilermakers and friends

New Year's Eve Celebration
5:00 p.m. to Midnight

LOCATION: Purdue Team Hotel - Hyatt Regency Hotel (300 Reunion Boulevard, Dallas, TX)
OVERVIEW: The Purdue Alumni Association and The John Purdue Club welcomes you to Dallas! Join fellow Boilermakers and friends for Black & Gold camaraderie and New Year's Eve cheer. Light appetizers will be available starting at 7:00 p.m. Cash bar.
ADMISSION: Open to all Boilermakers and friends

Don't forget the Breakfast Club at Dick's Last Resort before the game, either.

Finally, this is the last game for the current coaching staff before Darrell Hazell takes over following Kent State's bowl game. He has yet to pick a staff, but guys like interim head coach Patrick Higgins and company will likely be auditioning for new jobs under coach Hazell. Hazell will name his staff after the bowl game:

He refused to elaborate on staff decisions that have been or will be made.

"I'm gonna have a staff release the week after the bowl game," he said.

"I've also spent a lot of time talking to the recruits that have committed (to Purdue), and I still have to evaluate the guys that we need to go after. Then I'm also trying to do some things to upgrade the offices out there just a little bit. There's not a whole lot that needs to be done, but you want to try to put your own little touch on it. So those are the things that I'm trying to balance."

It looks like Purdue football is in good hands.

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2013 Heart Of Dallas Bowl

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