9/16/2024 Boilermaker Water Cooler Chat: Shillelagh Shell Shock
Rants, ravings, and somewhat sensical opinions following the wild, wacky, and wide-wide world of Purdue sports.
From kickoff on Saturday, it became abundantly clear that things were not going to go in Purdue’s favor. Whether or not it was an angry Notre Dame team, physical superiority, better scheme, rusty Purdue coming off of a bye week, or maybe the Boilers are just bad at football… It all added up to a 66-7 loss. According to Twitter, that 59 point differential is the worst loss in Purdue football history. I am not going to check their work. Regardless, this game was very Hazell-esque.
Never mind that this embarrassment of a loss happened against an in state rival, on national television, in front of a sellout crowd, and multiple recruits… that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part? Purdue rolled over and died the second this game started. No fire. Little effort. No excitement. Just milquetoast.
As Purdue Football fans we expect very little. I am not asking for Big Ten championships. I am not asking for 5* recruits. I’m not asking for undefeated seasons or regular CFB Playoff spots. All I want is effort. I want competitive spirit. I want Purdue to, you know, try.
So, taking a queue from the effort of my favorite football team, I am going to hardly try with this article. I am going to phone it in before it starts. Here is your half-assed Water Cooler Chat.
The Game: #18 Notre Dame 66, Purdue 7
Purdue couldn’t tackle, gain positive yards, or hardly score. Punter played pretty well. Notre Dame did whatever they wanted.
Purdue – Notre Dame Photo Gallery: https://iscpurdue.com/purdue-football-vs-notre-dame-9-14-24/
Break It Down:
One game doesn’t make a pattern, but my goodness one game has made Purdue a national punchline once again. If this type of effort continues, we are in for a long season.
What Went Well:
- Keelan Crimmins: Averaged 47.3 yards on 10 punts, kicking three inside the 20 yard line. He also punted for 473 yards this game, nearly three times Purdue’s offensive yardage (162).
Opportunities for Improvement:
- Ha.
Big Man on Campus:
Due to popular demand, there will be no BMOC award this week. Coffee is for closers.
One More Thing:
Purdue Volleyball is off to a great start this year!
Starting 8-0 on the young season, the Boilers have earned the #7 ranking in the nation (as of the writing of this article). Fresh off an impressive victory over #10 Kentucky, the team will travel to the Jayhawk Classic in Lawrence, Kansas. There they will play #11 Kansas and #9 Creighton before taking on Tulsa.
As the season progresses, Purdue will have plenty of opportunity to prove themselves against the best of the best! Purdue will have 9 ranked matchups throughout the remaining season, with 5 of them being against top 10 foes.
Plenty of excitement in Holloway Gymnasium!
A Look Ahead:
Purdue will take to the road for the first time this season, as they take on Oregon State on Saturday evening. The OSU Beavers will be favorites in this game, and why shouldn’t they be? Hopefully the Boilermakers will show some sort of fight against, hopefully, more level competition.
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