All week, Gerad Parker's just talked about wanting to put out a product people would be "proud of," as if understanding this situation to be one where success and winning might be two different things sometimes.
Saturday, in Parker's debut as interim coach, his 25-point-underdog team delivered. While no one will be content with a 27-14 loss, that was a performance to be proud of.
Purdue has nothing to lose. Nothing. And it played like it.
It might not necessarily have worked, but the YOLO play-calling sent a message that this team, under his new presumably-temp staff, isn't going to go quietly.
As an observer, I love it. How can you not?
To hell with it, you know?
Run trick plays. Run fake punts. Chuck it downfield. Crawl down peoples' throats on defense.
You've been the gum on the bottom of the Big Ten's boot the past three-and-a-half seasons. There's nothing to lose. This is blaze-of-glory, Tin Cup time, caution be damned.
And, it worked.
Last year around this time, many of you called me all sorts of fun names for labeling the loss at Michigan State a "great" day for Purdue, missing the larger point I was trying to make, that any time people nationally give a damn about Purdue right now, that's a good thing.
That was the first half today. Nebraska may not be the No. 8 team in the country in any way other than the fact that that's where it's, you know, actually ranked. But in leading 14-10 at half after its own start-of-game implosion, it gave reason to raise an eyebrow toward Purdue again. For a good reason for once.
I'm giving Parker credit, but the players deserve it more so, but Saturday showed the power of people.
The detached presidential approach might work at Ohio State when literally every one of your players is better than every one of your opponent's players on many nights, but when that's not the case, you have to be able to bring the best out of people.
Shameless pat-on-the-back time: Exactly as I wrote this week, Purdue had a better chance to play over its head under Parker than it did under Darrell Hazell, because Parker is the sort to connect with people, the kind of guy they respond to.
Recently, I bumped into Parker out in public. He was wearing basketball shorts and a plastic-mesh-backed hat and looked like he was working on about Day 3 sans shave. He's a real dude, a real, heart-on-his-sleeve sort of dude and the connection he's always been able to make with players has almost been tangible.
I can't help but figure that brought something out of Purdue today, and contributed to it playing with a poise and looseness that belied its situation.
I don't know if it will be sustainable, but if it is, then Purdue is going to beat people again this season. I don't know who and I don't know when but that Purdue you saw today will win some games from here on out.
This is going to be a tough next six weeks, as I said as soon as word broke that Parker would be taking over.
Because for six weeks, people around Purdue are going to get to know, and like, Gerad Parker. And that's going to make things difficult when it's time to go, assuming he goes. Maybe he can stay, I don't know. What Purdue cannot do is tell prospective candidates who they have to keep. And Parker might not want to stay.
That's not to say that he wants out of West Lafayette, but good things lie ahead for him elsewhere.
He's going to be a head coach for somebody, somewhere, some day soon, and by shepherding Purdue through this difficult time, he has an opportunity to build a résumé and make a case.
He's got a future in this business.
As for the present, it's about making the best of a scorched-earth kind of deal. In his words, it's about making people proud.
Saturday was a great start.
Saturday, in Parker's debut as interim coach, his 25-point-underdog team delivered. While no one will be content with a 27-14 loss, that was a performance to be proud of.
Purdue has nothing to lose. Nothing. And it played like it.
It might not necessarily have worked, but the YOLO play-calling sent a message that this team, under his new presumably-temp staff, isn't going to go quietly.
As an observer, I love it. How can you not?
To hell with it, you know?
Run trick plays. Run fake punts. Chuck it downfield. Crawl down peoples' throats on defense.
You've been the gum on the bottom of the Big Ten's boot the past three-and-a-half seasons. There's nothing to lose. This is blaze-of-glory, Tin Cup time, caution be damned.
And, it worked.
Last year around this time, many of you called me all sorts of fun names for labeling the loss at Michigan State a "great" day for Purdue, missing the larger point I was trying to make, that any time people nationally give a damn about Purdue right now, that's a good thing.
That was the first half today. Nebraska may not be the No. 8 team in the country in any way other than the fact that that's where it's, you know, actually ranked. But in leading 14-10 at half after its own start-of-game implosion, it gave reason to raise an eyebrow toward Purdue again. For a good reason for once.
I'm giving Parker credit, but the players deserve it more so, but Saturday showed the power of people.
The detached presidential approach might work at Ohio State when literally every one of your players is better than every one of your opponent's players on many nights, but when that's not the case, you have to be able to bring the best out of people.
Shameless pat-on-the-back time: Exactly as I wrote this week, Purdue had a better chance to play over its head under Parker than it did under Darrell Hazell, because Parker is the sort to connect with people, the kind of guy they respond to.
Recently, I bumped into Parker out in public. He was wearing basketball shorts and a plastic-mesh-backed hat and looked like he was working on about Day 3 sans shave. He's a real dude, a real, heart-on-his-sleeve sort of dude and the connection he's always been able to make with players has almost been tangible.
I can't help but figure that brought something out of Purdue today, and contributed to it playing with a poise and looseness that belied its situation.
I don't know if it will be sustainable, but if it is, then Purdue is going to beat people again this season. I don't know who and I don't know when but that Purdue you saw today will win some games from here on out.
This is going to be a tough next six weeks, as I said as soon as word broke that Parker would be taking over.
Because for six weeks, people around Purdue are going to get to know, and like, Gerad Parker. And that's going to make things difficult when it's time to go, assuming he goes. Maybe he can stay, I don't know. What Purdue cannot do is tell prospective candidates who they have to keep. And Parker might not want to stay.
That's not to say that he wants out of West Lafayette, but good things lie ahead for him elsewhere.
He's going to be a head coach for somebody, somewhere, some day soon, and by shepherding Purdue through this difficult time, he has an opportunity to build a résumé and make a case.
He's got a future in this business.
As for the present, it's about making the best of a scorched-earth kind of deal. In his words, it's about making people proud.
Saturday was a great start.
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