9/30/2024 Boilermaker Water Cooler Chat: Husked Edition
Rants, ravings, and somewhat sensical opinions following the wild, wacky, and wide-wide world of Purdue sports.
Schoolhouse Rock taught me so much as a kid. They taught me how to properly use a conjunction, how a bill gets passed through congress, hell, they even taught me how electricity works. The biggest lesson that stuck with me is that “Three Is a Magic Number” which, led to my tremendous ability to multiply things by the number three. My only impressive math related skill.
While three might be “A” magic number, in football “THE” magic number is 28.
Old gray haired football fans will tell you, the number 28 is the tipping point for a football game. While statistically that number fluctuates as offenses and defenses change, but the premise stays the same. Score 28 points (the approximation of 1 TD & 1 PAT per quarter) you should have scored enough to win the game, presuming your defense can take care of their end of the bargain. Conversely, if your defense gives up less than 28 points, your defense has done enough to win you the game, presuming your offense has a pulse.
Twenty-eight is the magic number.
The Game: Nebraska 28, Purdue 10
A tight game for 3 quarters, the Boilermaker defense made some changes. While they still struggled to set/control/contain the edge, the defense played passionate football. Dillon Thieneman was switched from his deep safety look, to a more traditional safety position. This allowed him to make more plays closer to the line of scrimmage. This stymied Nebraska as best as could be expected. This led to multiple pointless drives by the Cornhuskers. 3 missed field goals, 2 of which were blocked, sparked the Ross Ade crowd.
Unfortunately, as the game wore on, the defense got tired. They held up their end of the bargain, but their heavy work load made their progress go from bend, to eventually break.
Purdue-Nebraska Photo Gallery by Mark Elsner: https://iscpurdue.com/purdue-vs-nebraska-9-28-24/
Break It Down:
I will give Purdue’s coaching staff some credit here. They tried to change this defense up. Now, the Nebraska Cornhuskers aren’t exactly the Kansas City Chiefs (even if their quarterback looks/acts/emulates Mahomes). Taylor Swift ain’t walking through those gates to watch Nebraska. Purdue did what they needed to do to slow this team down.
Now, don’t get me wrong, the defense wasn’t infallible. They couldn’t set the edge. They couldn’t keep contain. They couldn’t-not interfere with a pass. They couldn’t-not taunt their opponents. They couldn’t take the ball away.
But at least they showed up.
What Went Well:
- 26: Tackles from Jefferson, Thieneman, and Karlaftis to lead the team. These folks were everywhere on Saturday, and played like absolute mad-men.
- 43.0: Yard average for Keelan Crimmins’ punts on the day. His busy day saw 6 kicks, flipping the field frequently. Probably not a great thing when the punter is the second most impressive aspect of the team.
- Ross Ade Stadium: Looked beautiful on Saturday. The fans showed out. Nebraska travels very well, historically. We knew there would be plenty of red in the stands, but I have to tip my hat to the Boilermaker fans who continue to support this struggling team.
Opportunities for Improvement:
- 13-165: Thirteen penalties for one hundred and sixty five yards. Most of those were pretty blatant pass interference calls where the defender doesn’t look back for the ball. One was an incredibly “inopportune” unsportsmanlike penalty where the Purdue defender gave an extra tug on the Nebraska player’s leg after tackling him, then stepped over his prone body. Just throw it on the pile. If the Boilermakers want to give the opposing offense 10, 20, 30… 45 yards in penalties every drive, there is no way that Purdue will be able to stop anyone going forward.
- Big Ten Officials: Now, don’t get me wrong, I am sure that the Big Ten isn’t sending their A-team to West Lafayette for this contest… but if officials are consistent, then we can work with that. Consistently good, great! Consistently bad, we can work with that. Consistently inconsistent is where things get dicey. Purdue was called for plenty of appropriate penalties this game. It was a laundry day out there for the Boilermakers, justifiably. What is strange, however, is that Purdue gets called for a taunting penalty, when there was a Nebraska player who taunted Purdue on a touchdown… only one was called. We had the officials do an entire Abbott and Costello routine on a Purdue penalty. Was Hudson Card over the line of scrimmage? Was it a run? Was it a pass? Was it an illegal pass? Whos on first? Not the best of looks for this officiating crew.
- O-Fer: Purdue is now 4 games into the season, and has yet to force a turnover. Unless Purdue recovers the opening kickoff against Wisconsin next week without a second coming off the clock, our Boilermakers will go -OVER- 4 games to start the season without a turnover.
Unicorns. Leprechauns. Dragons.
These things are nonexistent. Just like Purdue’s offense.
Back to the Rule of 28:
Twenty eight is the magic number in football. Hold your opponent to under 28 points, then you should win if your offense has a pulse. Score more than 28, you should win if your defense can get their job done.
Purdue’s defense gave up 21 points. They were tired, by the end of this game. They didn’t get much chance for rest.
Purdue’s offense gave up 7 points. Purdue’s offense scored 10.
Who passed the 28-test? Who failed the 28 test?
Folks, something has to give. This very Purdue offense was at best creative, at worst competent towards the end of last year. Hudson Card had things moving. Mockobee looked great at times last season. Purdue was at least a threat to score every possession. They are not a threat to do much of anything right now. They are a threat to perform inside handoffs on 1st and 2nd down, and then allowing a defense with their ears pinned back to pressure Card on third & long, in an obvious passing scenario. Then Crimmins shines with a 45 yard punt.
Rinse. Repeat. Defense isn’t sitting long enough to even catch their breath.
Purdue isn’t throwing any screens or flare routes. Purdue isn’t throwing bubbles or slants. Hell, Purdue is hardly throwing. Mockobee and Love are tremendous athletes, but when opposing teams know that you wont even attempt a throw… why not sell out for the run? There is no balance, no creativity, no foresight, no gear shift.
This is not a talent thing. Purdue’s offense worked for much of last year with a much worse offensive line. Same quarterback. Same running back. Same offensive coordinator. These young men are, on talent, the right physical specimen that Purdue needs. These are high-D-1 athletes. What is causing them to not meet their potential? What is causing them to not work right? What is causing them to not click? I am confident that its not talent.
You see, folks, there is a reason that I haven’t mentioned Purdue’s offense until the very end of this article. The Purdue offense gets the billing it deserves. Buried in the deepest part of an internet article, where the readers have probably cashed out by now. They’ve already clicked the little X on the top of the page. Fitting… because the offense seems to have checked out already.
And speaking of checking out, as of Sunday evening, Graham Harrell has been relieved of his duties as Offensive Coordinator in West Lafayette. While I firmly believe that Graham Harrell is a gentleman and a class act, unfortunately his production here at Purdue hasn’t been adequate to provide confidence in his abilities. I genuinely wish the Harrell family the best of luck in their future.
Likewise, we are at a point where Ryan Walters had to do SOMETHING. The bottom line is that the buck stops with Walters, and the product on the field is not a good look for coach.
Difficult decisions are something that every leader needs to deal with. Hopefully this helps propel Purdue forward. I know that this decision weighed heavily on the young head coach, and we will soon see the new look Purdue offense.
A Look Ahead:
Purdue will travel north to Wisconsin to take on the Badgers for a Nooner next week. Wisconsin’s winning streak against Purdue in football is older than my kids who are in college. Strange when you put it into that perspective. The early line on the game has Wisconsin at a 13.5 pt favorite, which seems low, all things considering. Regardless, I will be watching, and some of you will be as well!
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One response to “9/30/2024 Boilermaker Water Cooler Chat: Husked Edition”
Great take as always Ben.