That was too bad, too bad for Purdue.
At this stage of its development into a big-boy football team, the win it should have had Saturday afternoon at Minnesota would have been a big one.
Interest of full disclosure: I saw only the fourth quarter, just a hodgepodge of random first-half snaps on the Mackey Arena screen prior.
My neck hurts.
So does Purdue's heart, probably.
There's that famous Al Pacino monologue in "Any Given Sunday" after football being a game of inches.
It is indeed.
If Austin Appleby doesn't lose that ball on the fourth-down keeper - tell me that didn't remind you of a play that just celebrated its 10th anniversary - Purdue probably wins. If Appleby, under pressure, throws the ball a few inches wider of tight end Gabe Holmes' hip, Purdue probably wins, instead of Minnesota making a brilliant interception on a ball that wasn't thrown horribly.
It has nothing to do with the metric system, but if Purdue isn't bitten by a ridiculous personal foul, it probably wins.
I don't know what's worse: A senior, Taylor Richards, letting down his team so much for such an irrelevant, stupid thing or the official docking Purdue a crucial stop over such an irrelevant, stupid thing.
That penalty of multi-faceted stupidity made possible Minnesota's 52-yard game-winning field goal. No inches involved there. That was a hell of a long kick.
It's too bad, because this win would have been a season-changer of sorts for Purdue, putting it well on pace to get to six wins. Now, looking at the schedule moving forward, four wins on Oct. 18 would have looked a hell of a lot better than three wins on Oct. 18.
This was a brutal pill to swallow, to give such a big win away with turnovers and stupid penalties.
I asked Matt Painter last week which is more difficult to accept, a loss in which a team beats itself or a loss in which a team just gets its doors blown off.
(You can probably guess his answer.)
Darrell Hazell knows the latter all too well right now and on Saturday just got a bitter taste of the former.
But it's better than the alternative.
Better to be three plays away from winning than 50.
That's no consolation at this point because the past few weeks have changed the standard for Purdue.
Saturday's Purdue football team would beat last season's by six touchdowns and that of a month ago by three.
The Boilermakers have their quarterback, fourth-quarter interceptions being the albatross Austin Appleby now must shed. Say that 10 times fast: Austin Appleby's albatross.
Purdue has its offensive identity.
On defense Purdue has a severely limited group again, but one that has given the Boilermakers a chance the past two weeks when it has mattered most. If it weren't for that one stupid flag, you might be patting the defense on the back just as much as the offense.
Anyway
Purdue's good enough to win now.
It just didn't on Saturday.
You know, prior to the season, people asked often how many games Purdue had to win this season to show "progress."
My thought was always just, "You know it when you see it."
You're not just seeing it right now, you're getting beat over the head with it.
Quick, someone throw a flag!
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2014. 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.
At this stage of its development into a big-boy football team, the win it should have had Saturday afternoon at Minnesota would have been a big one.
Interest of full disclosure: I saw only the fourth quarter, just a hodgepodge of random first-half snaps on the Mackey Arena screen prior.
My neck hurts.
So does Purdue's heart, probably.
There's that famous Al Pacino monologue in "Any Given Sunday" after football being a game of inches.
It is indeed.
If Austin Appleby doesn't lose that ball on the fourth-down keeper - tell me that didn't remind you of a play that just celebrated its 10th anniversary - Purdue probably wins. If Appleby, under pressure, throws the ball a few inches wider of tight end Gabe Holmes' hip, Purdue probably wins, instead of Minnesota making a brilliant interception on a ball that wasn't thrown horribly.
It has nothing to do with the metric system, but if Purdue isn't bitten by a ridiculous personal foul, it probably wins.
I don't know what's worse: A senior, Taylor Richards, letting down his team so much for such an irrelevant, stupid thing or the official docking Purdue a crucial stop over such an irrelevant, stupid thing.
That penalty of multi-faceted stupidity made possible Minnesota's 52-yard game-winning field goal. No inches involved there. That was a hell of a long kick.
It's too bad, because this win would have been a season-changer of sorts for Purdue, putting it well on pace to get to six wins. Now, looking at the schedule moving forward, four wins on Oct. 18 would have looked a hell of a lot better than three wins on Oct. 18.
This was a brutal pill to swallow, to give such a big win away with turnovers and stupid penalties.
I asked Matt Painter last week which is more difficult to accept, a loss in which a team beats itself or a loss in which a team just gets its doors blown off.
(You can probably guess his answer.)
Darrell Hazell knows the latter all too well right now and on Saturday just got a bitter taste of the former.
But it's better than the alternative.
Better to be three plays away from winning than 50.
That's no consolation at this point because the past few weeks have changed the standard for Purdue.
Saturday's Purdue football team would beat last season's by six touchdowns and that of a month ago by three.
The Boilermakers have their quarterback, fourth-quarter interceptions being the albatross Austin Appleby now must shed. Say that 10 times fast: Austin Appleby's albatross.
Purdue has its offensive identity.
On defense Purdue has a severely limited group again, but one that has given the Boilermakers a chance the past two weeks when it has mattered most. If it weren't for that one stupid flag, you might be patting the defense on the back just as much as the offense.
Anyway
Purdue's good enough to win now.
It just didn't on Saturday.
You know, prior to the season, people asked often how many games Purdue had to win this season to show "progress."
My thought was always just, "You know it when you see it."
You're not just seeing it right now, you're getting beat over the head with it.
Quick, someone throw a flag!
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2014. 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.
