There really are no words - at least within the realm of decorum - that can do justice to the disappointment of Saturday afternoon for Purdue.
This was 2013 Purdue all over again, a team that simply had no chance, even if this year's Boilermakers were able to kick the can down the road for a little while to defer the blowout 'til after halftime.
This, the team that just allowed what looks to me like a .500 ACC team to score touchdowns in all three phases of the game, is what Purdue has been building toward?
This, the team that just completed 12-of-35 passes with two picks in the passing game, is the supposed fruits of the Boilermaker program's struggles the past two seasons, when it's endured historic futility.
This, the team that just recorded eight offensive three-and-outs to go along with four four-and-outs on top of its three turnovers, is improvement?
After Saturday's game, players came to the post-game press conference and talked almost exclusively about "execution," which is what you say when there's nothing else to say.
Purdue has looked through two games like a better team than it was last season. This game against Virginia Tech, win or lose, was a proving ground.
All that was proven was that, at least for one afternoon, Purdue still looks like a team that's miles away from where it needs to be.
And if Purdue doesn't beat dangerous Bowling Green next weekend, it's 1-3 in non-conference with an October slate that could supersize 1-3 to 1-7 if Purdue continues to perform like it did today against the Hokies. That's obviously a long way off and we must understand that because this happened one week doesn't necessarily mean that will happen next week.
But should the Virginia Tech result turn out to be closer to Purdue's current reality than not, the next five weeks might not be pretty and in Year 3, when rebuild pay-out can reasonably be expected, it would be time to take a critical eye to just where this thing is headed.
Saturday, it looked lost.
An unclear offensive game plan had no chance against Bud Foster's defense. The solid quarterback play Purdue needs to beat anyone, let alone one of college football's most consistent winners, was non-existent. Instead, Purdue got one of the worst quarterbacked games I've seen in more than a decade-and-a-half around here.
Quarterback unrest - Purdue's rite of fall - should be alive and kicking in West Lafayette this week. That doesn't mean Austin Appleby should lose his job; it means he should just be one of the options on the table as all options go on the table.
A defense that looked much better, by past standards, in Weeks 1 and 2 was overmatched by Virginia Tech, the one play it did make serving in the long run only to make things not quite as bad.
Purdue was not exactly awed by Virginia Tech's offensive personnel during preparation this week, sounds like. Turned out the Hokies were better than they looked on film. Or Purdue was worse than it expected to be.
Somewhere in the middle, the truth probably lied.
And special teams took this game from loss to utter blowout with their second-half implosions.
Purdue looked like a team at Marshall and against Indiana State that was much better than this.
Saturday, though, it showed up as the same as before.
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Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2015. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.
This was 2013 Purdue all over again, a team that simply had no chance, even if this year's Boilermakers were able to kick the can down the road for a little while to defer the blowout 'til after halftime.
This, the team that just allowed what looks to me like a .500 ACC team to score touchdowns in all three phases of the game, is what Purdue has been building toward?
This, the team that just completed 12-of-35 passes with two picks in the passing game, is the supposed fruits of the Boilermaker program's struggles the past two seasons, when it's endured historic futility.
This, the team that just recorded eight offensive three-and-outs to go along with four four-and-outs on top of its three turnovers, is improvement?
After Saturday's game, players came to the post-game press conference and talked almost exclusively about "execution," which is what you say when there's nothing else to say.
Purdue has looked through two games like a better team than it was last season. This game against Virginia Tech, win or lose, was a proving ground.
All that was proven was that, at least for one afternoon, Purdue still looks like a team that's miles away from where it needs to be.
And if Purdue doesn't beat dangerous Bowling Green next weekend, it's 1-3 in non-conference with an October slate that could supersize 1-3 to 1-7 if Purdue continues to perform like it did today against the Hokies. That's obviously a long way off and we must understand that because this happened one week doesn't necessarily mean that will happen next week.
But should the Virginia Tech result turn out to be closer to Purdue's current reality than not, the next five weeks might not be pretty and in Year 3, when rebuild pay-out can reasonably be expected, it would be time to take a critical eye to just where this thing is headed.
Saturday, it looked lost.
An unclear offensive game plan had no chance against Bud Foster's defense. The solid quarterback play Purdue needs to beat anyone, let alone one of college football's most consistent winners, was non-existent. Instead, Purdue got one of the worst quarterbacked games I've seen in more than a decade-and-a-half around here.
Quarterback unrest - Purdue's rite of fall - should be alive and kicking in West Lafayette this week. That doesn't mean Austin Appleby should lose his job; it means he should just be one of the options on the table as all options go on the table.
A defense that looked much better, by past standards, in Weeks 1 and 2 was overmatched by Virginia Tech, the one play it did make serving in the long run only to make things not quite as bad.
Purdue was not exactly awed by Virginia Tech's offensive personnel during preparation this week, sounds like. Turned out the Hokies were better than they looked on film. Or Purdue was worse than it expected to be.
Somewhere in the middle, the truth probably lied.
And special teams took this game from loss to utter blowout with their second-half implosions.
Purdue looked like a team at Marshall and against Indiana State that was much better than this.
Saturday, though, it showed up as the same as before.
--------------------
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2015. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.
