Funny thing about college sports, the utter unpredictability of it all.
There have been a bunch of times now where it felt like something has been brewing in Purdue that might finally bubble over and result in some measure of success.
Every time I can think of … splat.
Coming out of its bye week to face what looked like a better-than-its-record, hard-luck Nebraska team, Purdue looked incapable of rising up. It looked, quite frankly, done, after an embarrassing loss to Minnesota and a loss at Wisconsin in which Purdue, strategically, only half-heartedly attempted to score.
No, I didn't see Saturday's worse-than-the-final-score-reads 55-45 win over Nebraska coming and if you're gonna tell me you did, then I'm gonna call you a fibber.
Now, it must be pointed out that Nebraska didn't have its quarterback - they're important - as well as some other valuable assets. Don't forget that, because it does put a fat asterisk on the result here if you're into such things.
But Minnesota didn't have half its team a few weeks ago and its quarterback couldn't throw the ball into Lake Michigan if he was standing on Navy Pier.
So Purdue has lost to worse. Badly.
But here was a funny dynamic.
Purdue had this brutal tendency to blow itself up with mistakes, grave ones. Nebraska started doing the same, what with its snapping tomfoolery and its backup quarterback's penchant for throwing the ball right to the wrong kind of black shirt.
It was almost like seeing an opponent implode gave Purdue a sort of energy that manifested itself in the form of an offense that looked not just competitive, but good. David Blough played one of the best games Purdue's seen at quarterback in years. Perfect? No. As close to it as can be reasonably hoped? Yessir.
The lid came off, as Coach Darrell Hazell said it might in a much-mocked-online comment on Tuesday, and it was a sight to behold for Purdue and its fans, which haven't been witness to a win like this in years, which is kind of a backhanded compliment, but a compliment nonetheless.
What's it all mean in the long run?
Well, for one thing, Purdue has not flat-lined and that's an important sign moving forward.
Not only was this probably Purdue's most complete game of the season - ignore the 45 points allowed, the defense won this game as much as the offense did - but it was also one of its cleanest.
Zero turnovers seems like a minor miracle. There were some penalties and drops, but nothing Purdue couldn't overcome. Normally, Purdue wouldn't be good enough to overcome its mistakes. Today, it was.
It responded every time it had to, never more importantly than that epic - no overstatement there at all - drive to answer Nebraska's score to open the second half.
Every time the slope got slippery, Purdue found traction in moments it might have previously cracked its head open.
Blough made big throws and similarly important runs in an offense that was opened up and well crafted to its quarterback and surrounding personnel, beginning the question of where this has been before.
Why did it take rolling up in a ball at Wisconsin to realize it might help to be "aggressive" against Nebraska. Why does the short, easy horizontal and misdirection passing game disappear against Virginia Tech and Wisconsin, against fronts where it might make even more sense to aim to deceive, only to re-appear against Nebraska?
Whatever the case may be, things worked today. Blough was very good in a game plan that helped him along, but so did his surrounding cast.
Receivers attacked the ball like it was their choice to either catch a win or drop a loss.
DeAngelo Yancey made the game's defining "arm's length" play when he broke off that 83-yard touchdown, shedding one-and-one coverage and a tackler all in one fell swoop. Jordan Jurasevich - yes, Jordan Jurasevich - made one of the catches of the day for a third-down touchdown on a contested ball. Danny Anthrop snuck in front of a defender in the end zone to snare what looked like a lost-cause heave from Blough under pressure.
Let's not forget, too, Markell Jones running right into a pile in the fourth quarter when he appeared stopped, then popping out of the back for a big gain and eventually another Purdue touchdown.
Another Purdue touchdown, as in, "There was more than one."
This was Purdue's day.
Mike Riley's, not so much.
The universally renowned nice guy might be a Runza tomorrow over this one.
Purdue has a pulse, people, with an opportunity ahead.
Illinois is crashing hard.
Purdue is trending up, it would so appear.
It feels, again, like something might be brewing in Purdue that might finally bubble over and result in some (more) success.
This season has been full of "most important games" in the Darrell Hazell Era in the court of public opinion, whether it was Marshall, Bowling Green, Minnesota, whatever. They have come and gone, none capitalized upon.
Circumstances now being what they are, I think that Illinois can now be described as such.
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2015. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.
There have been a bunch of times now where it felt like something has been brewing in Purdue that might finally bubble over and result in some measure of success.
Every time I can think of … splat.
Coming out of its bye week to face what looked like a better-than-its-record, hard-luck Nebraska team, Purdue looked incapable of rising up. It looked, quite frankly, done, after an embarrassing loss to Minnesota and a loss at Wisconsin in which Purdue, strategically, only half-heartedly attempted to score.
No, I didn't see Saturday's worse-than-the-final-score-reads 55-45 win over Nebraska coming and if you're gonna tell me you did, then I'm gonna call you a fibber.
Now, it must be pointed out that Nebraska didn't have its quarterback - they're important - as well as some other valuable assets. Don't forget that, because it does put a fat asterisk on the result here if you're into such things.
But Minnesota didn't have half its team a few weeks ago and its quarterback couldn't throw the ball into Lake Michigan if he was standing on Navy Pier.
So Purdue has lost to worse. Badly.
But here was a funny dynamic.
Purdue had this brutal tendency to blow itself up with mistakes, grave ones. Nebraska started doing the same, what with its snapping tomfoolery and its backup quarterback's penchant for throwing the ball right to the wrong kind of black shirt.
It was almost like seeing an opponent implode gave Purdue a sort of energy that manifested itself in the form of an offense that looked not just competitive, but good. David Blough played one of the best games Purdue's seen at quarterback in years. Perfect? No. As close to it as can be reasonably hoped? Yessir.
The lid came off, as Coach Darrell Hazell said it might in a much-mocked-online comment on Tuesday, and it was a sight to behold for Purdue and its fans, which haven't been witness to a win like this in years, which is kind of a backhanded compliment, but a compliment nonetheless.
What's it all mean in the long run?
Well, for one thing, Purdue has not flat-lined and that's an important sign moving forward.
Not only was this probably Purdue's most complete game of the season - ignore the 45 points allowed, the defense won this game as much as the offense did - but it was also one of its cleanest.
Zero turnovers seems like a minor miracle. There were some penalties and drops, but nothing Purdue couldn't overcome. Normally, Purdue wouldn't be good enough to overcome its mistakes. Today, it was.
It responded every time it had to, never more importantly than that epic - no overstatement there at all - drive to answer Nebraska's score to open the second half.
Every time the slope got slippery, Purdue found traction in moments it might have previously cracked its head open.
Blough made big throws and similarly important runs in an offense that was opened up and well crafted to its quarterback and surrounding personnel, beginning the question of where this has been before.
Why did it take rolling up in a ball at Wisconsin to realize it might help to be "aggressive" against Nebraska. Why does the short, easy horizontal and misdirection passing game disappear against Virginia Tech and Wisconsin, against fronts where it might make even more sense to aim to deceive, only to re-appear against Nebraska?
Whatever the case may be, things worked today. Blough was very good in a game plan that helped him along, but so did his surrounding cast.
Receivers attacked the ball like it was their choice to either catch a win or drop a loss.
DeAngelo Yancey made the game's defining "arm's length" play when he broke off that 83-yard touchdown, shedding one-and-one coverage and a tackler all in one fell swoop. Jordan Jurasevich - yes, Jordan Jurasevich - made one of the catches of the day for a third-down touchdown on a contested ball. Danny Anthrop snuck in front of a defender in the end zone to snare what looked like a lost-cause heave from Blough under pressure.
Let's not forget, too, Markell Jones running right into a pile in the fourth quarter when he appeared stopped, then popping out of the back for a big gain and eventually another Purdue touchdown.
Another Purdue touchdown, as in, "There was more than one."
This was Purdue's day.
Mike Riley's, not so much.
The universally renowned nice guy might be a Runza tomorrow over this one.
Purdue has a pulse, people, with an opportunity ahead.
Illinois is crashing hard.
Purdue is trending up, it would so appear.
It feels, again, like something might be brewing in Purdue that might finally bubble over and result in some (more) success.
This season has been full of "most important games" in the Darrell Hazell Era in the court of public opinion, whether it was Marshall, Bowling Green, Minnesota, whatever. They have come and gone, none capitalized upon.
Circumstances now being what they are, I think that Illinois can now be described as such.
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2015. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.
