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Loyalty Lives Here!

If you're a Purdue alum and don't already know it, "Loyalty Lives Here" is the slogan of the Purdue Alumni Association.  Loyalty means many things and one person's definition can be so different to another's.  Suffering through the beginnings of Purdue's current 2-4 football season, I think alumni can identify what loyalty is.  Loyalty is wearing your Purdue t-shirt on Saturday gameday even when the Boilermakers are playing a team like Ohio State or Penn State.  Loyalty is driving an hour to a sports bar to watch the game on television with other alums.  Loyalty is standing on a rickety chair to hang a Purdue flag from the ceiling or front porch.  Or perhaps loyalty is singing "Hail Purdue" aloud when the Boilermakers kick a field goal and still find themselves behind the opponent 13-3, late in the third quarter.  

For some young alums on campus, loyalty means showing up at the Purdue Memorial Union on Saturday morning and paying $50 to ride a bus to Evanston, IL to watch the team play the Northwestern Wildcats.

However you define loyalty, Coach Joe Tiller kept the faith with quarterback Curtis Painter last Saturday and reaped the worse offensive showing of the year as Ohio State defeated Purdue 16-3.  The lone Purdue score came on a school record setting field goal by freshman kicker Carson Wiggs.  Tiller pointed to an injury-plagued offensive line as the one's who held the road-map to the end zone.  Given Kory Sheets mere 67 yards on 20 carries, perhaps Joe has reason to hold someone else responsible other than Painter.   Sheets gives 110% effort and somewhere else on the field, another player in gold and black is going to have to show the same spirit.  Painter completed 23 passes in 51 attempts.  Ohio State claimed the best pass defense in the league and it definitely showed.  Reporters didn't question Tiller about it and Tiller didn't say anything else more.  But the bottom line is Purdue's passing game is going to have to improve significantly if the Boilermakers hope to win more games this season. 

Despite the loss, there is a silver lining in this dark cloud of a season.  Purdue's defensive unit played another great game against a nationally-ranked opponent.  The Buckeyes failed to score an offensive touchdown in the game and in terms of yards, the Boilermakers allowed only 222 yards of Buckeye offense which was the best defensive effort dating back to Sept. 11, 2004 when it gave up 197 yards in a 59-7 win over Ball State.  If that isn't enough to brag about, the Buckeyes ran 56 offensive plays where over a third went for no gain or for a loss. The Boilermaker defense stopped Buckeye rushers at the line of scrimmage 10 times, had eight tackles for loss, including three sacks.  Ohio State's freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor didn't fare much better than Curtis Painter.  His 97 yards were the fewest by an opponent since Illinios in 2006.  Chris Wells, the noted Buckeye running back that strikes fear in opposing defenses was limited to a mere 94 yards.  This was another game Purdue was capable of winning but didn't.  

Excellent defensive performances will have to continue this week when the Boilermakers travel to Northwestern.  But here's the bad news loyal Boiler faithful....this isn't your daddy's Northwestern team.  Up until last weekend's match-up with Michigan State, the Wildcats were undefeated and tapped into the top 25 polls.  Northwestern has something to prove and on top of all of that, it's Homecoming Week in Evanston, IL.  Northwestern is well balanced team and averages over 150 yards a game running the ball and another 225 yards through the air.  This one-two punch capability allows the Wildcats to score fast.  A two score lead affords no safety margin as the Iowa Hawkeyes found out.  

Like Purdue's Painter-Sheets combo, Northwestern is charged by fifth-year quarterback C.J. Bachér, who will make his 24th consecutive start this Saturday.  If Northwestern isn't throwing, senior running back Tyrell Sutton, does a stellar job in the ball running department.  He is likely to become a three-time 1,000-yard rusher, but also threatening to become Northwestern's all-time leader in all-purpose yardage.  As a receiver, there are few better running backs as Sutton.  Currently, Sutton leads the nation's college running backs in catches per game (3.7) and receiving yards per game (30.8).

Purdue's sluggish offensive unit will go head-to-head with a Wildcat defense that leads the Big Ten in quarterback sacks (3.2 per game) and tackles for loss (7.5 per game).  But Purdue throws more often than any other team Northwestern has played this year.  According to Tiller, Northwestern is prone to put eight players up on the line and that makes it difficult for teams to run against them.  Iowa learned that lesson but Michigan State still managed effectively.  Passing is the key to moving the ball against the Wildcats.  In the end, it was offensive turnovers that ultimately doomed Northwestern last week.  

Half way through the season, there are no more rookie players on the field.  Fans won't see new faces on the line or backfield unless an injury benches a first or second string player.  If the worse part of the Purdue season is over, then the second half doesn't look much easier.  But as Tiller told reporters in a press conference this week, the rest of the season starts this Saturday in Evanston.  The Boilermaker defense has played two great games but must contain Northwestern running back Tyrell Sutton.  Quarterback C.J. Bacher, like Painter, is going to complete some passes.  His effectiveness may boil down to mistakes as both he and Painter have painfully learned.  Coach Tiller says Northwestern's offense is more similar to Purdue's as any other team in the Big Ten.  The final outcome will likely be determined by special teams, the passing game, and of course, mistakes. 

Show your loyalty this week Purdue fans.  Wear those shirts.  Put up those flags.  Pull up a bar stool next to another alum at the neighborhood watering hole.  The rest of the season and bowl game hopes begin this Saturday in Evanston against the Northwestern.  Let's turn the dogs loose and tree them Wildcats.  Boiler Up!