CINCINNATI - Nothing that happened to Purdue Saturday in its 42-7 dismemberment at Cincinnati came as all that much of a surprise.
Disappointment? Of course.
Surprise? Not really.
As Purdue ducked and ran (figuratively, of course) in the first half enough to actually be tied at 7-7 late, you got the sense it was just holding back an avalanche with a snow shovel that would eventually give. In the second, it did. The third quarter was a trainwreck from the outset.
Bear in mind, again, there are reasons Purdue has a new coach, performance and personnel among them. This team that got blown out in its first game of 2013 is much the same as the one that got blown out in its last game of 2012, mind you, only without all those experienced guys that last team had.
It wasn't exactly headline news that Purdue has some personnel deficiencies, gaps that were exposed by a Cincinnati team that looked far less good than Purdue looked bad, if you ask me anyway.
So, not all that much surprise.
The disappointment lied in how Purdue looked like the antithesis of what at least one observer (me) expected to see, that being a more organized and disciplined team that kept its crippling gaffes to a minimum - the very things Darrell Hazell and Co. have spent the past eight months hammering away at and will eventually break through on.
Instead, Purdue players cited "communication" issues; fumbled nearly a half dozen times; and got flagged for a very 2011- or 2012-ish number of penalties.
It wasn't all going to happen overnight. It never does.
It's reality time, folks, and reality was evident beyond a shadow of a doubt in Nippert Stadium.
Purdue's offense looked like the school's most limited since the last Boilermaker team to visit Cincinnati, back in 2001.
The Boilermakers needed to win the line of scrimmage and were decidedly beaten, not a good sign going into a Big Ten where the better teams tend to be saltier than the Atlantic up front.
Purdue is not a physical football team, virtually to a man, nor is it a particularly deep one.
Its quarterback play was, well, poor, and I say that knowing so much more than the just the play of that one man goes into quarterback play. John Shoop wants his QB to be a "facilitator." Hard to do that when engulfed in chaos.
Rob Henry's been through worse than what happened Saturday, but that doesn't mean his first game as this new staff's starter wasn't one he'd just as soon wipe his memory of.
There are things you cannot question about Henry: His heart, his courage, his leadership, his brains, all the intangibles that endear him to everyone who comes across him.
Saturday, though, did bring situations where you could question the fit. The traditional drop-back passing game is not the fifth-year senior's calling card, never has been, and it's a significant portion of what he's being asked to do.
If Purdue felt it had a better option, though, in that sense, you'd have seen that player taking snaps Saturday. You did not, not as Purdue's coaches substituted freely, sometimes to their detriment.
If you are among those clamoring for a change under center 60 minutes into the season, my recommendation is that you purchase one of those little stress reliever balls you can squeeze to their breaking point without ever being able to pop.
Or perhaps a sedative of some (legal) kind.
Darrell Hazell is a consistent, steadfast coach and person looking to instill consistent and steadfast leadership for a program that's been inconsistent and whatever the hell the opposite of "steadfast" is. Again, Purdue didn't go out and change coaches because it's fun.
I would not expect him to come out and open the quarterback-controversy door.
Hazell is not going to be one to bail at the first sign of trouble.
From here on out, adjustments are going to be important.
Purdue's coaches and players have just been through their first game together.
Here's guessing the product looks slightly more polished in next week's lay-up line against Indiana State, which will visit West Lafayette without its only player worth game-planning for, the injured Shakir Bell.
(You have to play the schedule as it's drawn out, but if Indiana State and Cincy were flip-flopped sequentially, 42-7 doesn't happen. Moot point.)
Hazell said after the game he believes Purdue can be turned around immediately.
You have to take him at his word. He seems like a forthright guy who's not going to say anything outlandish that he doesn't mean.
But the reality is what it is; it's what you saw Saturday at Cincinnati.
And it's a reflection of the fact that this wasn't going to happen right away.
I will say this: I don't think this is a team that will crumble.
Normally when new coaches come in and hold people to a different standard, a bunch of guys blow town. How many transfers did Purdue have this winter again?
It's going to take time: Whether it's weeks, months or years, we don't know.
But we did know it was going to take time.
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2013. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited. E-mail GoldandBlack.com/Boilers, Inc.
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This post was edited on 8/31 7:17 PM by Brian_GoldandBlack.com
Disappointment? Of course.
Surprise? Not really.
As Purdue ducked and ran (figuratively, of course) in the first half enough to actually be tied at 7-7 late, you got the sense it was just holding back an avalanche with a snow shovel that would eventually give. In the second, it did. The third quarter was a trainwreck from the outset.
Bear in mind, again, there are reasons Purdue has a new coach, performance and personnel among them. This team that got blown out in its first game of 2013 is much the same as the one that got blown out in its last game of 2012, mind you, only without all those experienced guys that last team had.
It wasn't exactly headline news that Purdue has some personnel deficiencies, gaps that were exposed by a Cincinnati team that looked far less good than Purdue looked bad, if you ask me anyway.
So, not all that much surprise.
The disappointment lied in how Purdue looked like the antithesis of what at least one observer (me) expected to see, that being a more organized and disciplined team that kept its crippling gaffes to a minimum - the very things Darrell Hazell and Co. have spent the past eight months hammering away at and will eventually break through on.
Instead, Purdue players cited "communication" issues; fumbled nearly a half dozen times; and got flagged for a very 2011- or 2012-ish number of penalties.
It wasn't all going to happen overnight. It never does.
It's reality time, folks, and reality was evident beyond a shadow of a doubt in Nippert Stadium.
Purdue's offense looked like the school's most limited since the last Boilermaker team to visit Cincinnati, back in 2001.
The Boilermakers needed to win the line of scrimmage and were decidedly beaten, not a good sign going into a Big Ten where the better teams tend to be saltier than the Atlantic up front.
Purdue is not a physical football team, virtually to a man, nor is it a particularly deep one.
Its quarterback play was, well, poor, and I say that knowing so much more than the just the play of that one man goes into quarterback play. John Shoop wants his QB to be a "facilitator." Hard to do that when engulfed in chaos.
Rob Henry's been through worse than what happened Saturday, but that doesn't mean his first game as this new staff's starter wasn't one he'd just as soon wipe his memory of.
There are things you cannot question about Henry: His heart, his courage, his leadership, his brains, all the intangibles that endear him to everyone who comes across him.
Saturday, though, did bring situations where you could question the fit. The traditional drop-back passing game is not the fifth-year senior's calling card, never has been, and it's a significant portion of what he's being asked to do.
If Purdue felt it had a better option, though, in that sense, you'd have seen that player taking snaps Saturday. You did not, not as Purdue's coaches substituted freely, sometimes to their detriment.
If you are among those clamoring for a change under center 60 minutes into the season, my recommendation is that you purchase one of those little stress reliever balls you can squeeze to their breaking point without ever being able to pop.
Or perhaps a sedative of some (legal) kind.
Darrell Hazell is a consistent, steadfast coach and person looking to instill consistent and steadfast leadership for a program that's been inconsistent and whatever the hell the opposite of "steadfast" is. Again, Purdue didn't go out and change coaches because it's fun.
I would not expect him to come out and open the quarterback-controversy door.
Hazell is not going to be one to bail at the first sign of trouble.
From here on out, adjustments are going to be important.
Purdue's coaches and players have just been through their first game together.
Here's guessing the product looks slightly more polished in next week's lay-up line against Indiana State, which will visit West Lafayette without its only player worth game-planning for, the injured Shakir Bell.
(You have to play the schedule as it's drawn out, but if Indiana State and Cincy were flip-flopped sequentially, 42-7 doesn't happen. Moot point.)
Hazell said after the game he believes Purdue can be turned around immediately.
You have to take him at his word. He seems like a forthright guy who's not going to say anything outlandish that he doesn't mean.
But the reality is what it is; it's what you saw Saturday at Cincinnati.
And it's a reflection of the fact that this wasn't going to happen right away.
I will say this: I don't think this is a team that will crumble.
Normally when new coaches come in and hold people to a different standard, a bunch of guys blow town. How many transfers did Purdue have this winter again?
It's going to take time: Whether it's weeks, months or years, we don't know.
But we did know it was going to take time.
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2013. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited. E-mail GoldandBlack.com/Boilers, Inc.
This post was edited on 8/31 7:17 PM by Brian_GoldandBlack.com
