CFB landscape and Purdue

[pboiler18]

As most of you know, I didn’t go to Purdue (born and raised in Lafayette tho) and went to a school with a very good program as of late. My biggest frustration during the late Tiller, Hope and Hazel years was that there’s this whole exciting landscape in CFB, a hugely growing sport and for the longest time…Purdue struggled to get more than a mention a week on popular media outlets and it was generally just to say which juggernaut was going to beat up on us that week.

Genuinely excited about this season and the potential result. I put us at 7-5 to start the year and feel that we could have even hit 9-10 wins in retrospect had we played AOC straight through this year. What a turn around! Hope we can build off of this when Bell and Karlaftis leave. Also hope we never have to see another Danny Hope comparison after we go 9-4 with a Las Vegas Bowl win! 8-4 in a season playing a top 5 SOS is nothing to shake a stick at.

Purpose of the rant is to say…I like the brand that Brohm is building now. Back to being the spoilermakers…but oh yeah we can win a lot of other games too, get to bowls, be nominated and win national awards (hoping Bell gets Belitnikoff), get guys pro exposure, etc.

Feels like the guys are bought in, enjoy each other and want to fight with and for their team. Outside of somehow miraculously recruiting better and catapulting into big time national relevance, I think this is truly as good as it gets for Purdue fans and I’m great with that. I’d take this season OVER and OVER and OVER and not tire of it at least for awhile.

More mentions than EVER on highlight shows, Gameday, etc. more picks for us to complete upsets. More talk about our players and coach. Finally feels like I get to participate too as a Purdue fan in the growing excitement and awesome experience that is college football!

Obviously the season is t over and disaster might not be fully averted but as a Purdue fan, 10 games in…does it get much better? I say no. I’m glad Brohm is our coach. He can’t do it alone though but am encouraged that for decent stretches we have had the right assistants in here to get the job done with him. It’s obvious that is the key to holding the ship together. The team and these players….especially Bell and Karlaftis could have packed it in after a tough 2019 and a nutty Covid season in 2020. But the good players stuck it out, most fans have stuck it out as attendance at RA bears out and have been rewarded with a good and fun season of Purdue football.

 

[ImRonBurgandy?]

For a guy who didn't go to Purdue and has only been here a few years, Brohm is about as much of a Purdue guy one could be. He constantly talks about representing the university well and building a brand. A lot of guys he brings in are high character, likeable, and talented guys.

 

[BCfanatic2020]

As most of you know, I didn’t go to Purdue (born and raised in Lafayette tho) and went to a school with a very good program as of late. My biggest frustration during the late Tiller, Hope and Hazel years was that there’s this whole exciting landscape in CFB, a hugely growing sport and for the longest time…Purdue struggled to get more than a mention a week on popular media outlets and it was generally just to say which juggernaut was going to beat up on us that week.

Genuinely excited about this season and the potential result. I put us at 7-5 to start the year and feel that we could have even hit 9-10 wins in retrospect had we played AOC straight through this year. What a turn around! Hope we can build off of this when Bell and Karlaftis leave. Also hope we never have to see another Danny Hope comparison after we go 9-4 with a Las Vegas Bowl win! 8-4 in a season playing a top 5 SOS is nothing to shake a stick at.

Purpose of the rant is to say…I like the brand that Brohm is building now. Back to being the spoilermakers…but oh yeah we can win a lot of other games too, get to bowls, be nominated and win national awards (hoping Bell gets Belitnikoff), get guys pro exposure, etc.

Feels like the guys are bought in, enjoy each other and want to fight with and for their team. Outside of somehow miraculously recruiting better and catapulting into big time national relevance, I think this is truly as good as it gets for Purdue fans and I’m great with that. I’d take this season OVER and OVER and OVER and not tire of it at least for awhile.

More mentions than EVER on highlight shows, Gameday, etc. more picks for us to complete upsets. More talk about our players and coach. Finally feels like I get to participate too as a Purdue fan in the growing excitement and awesome experience that is college football!

Obviously the season is t over and disaster might not be fully averted but as a Purdue fan, 10 games in…does it get much better? I say no. I’m glad Brohm is our coach. He can’t do it alone though but am encouraged that for decent stretches we have had the right assistants in here to get the job done with him. It’s obvious that is the key to holding the ship together. The team and these players….especially Bell and Karlaftis could have packed it in after a tough 2019 and a nutty Covid season in 2020. But the good players stuck it out, most fans have stuck it out as attendance at RA bears out and have been rewarded with a good and fun season of Purdue football.

Great post, agreed!

I think we just need to shore up our holes in the transfer market. If we can get a competent SSDE, MLB, RG, LT between what we have and what we can bring in.. we can be just as good next year. And I think what you were also saying was that you won’t be one of those fans who are like “8-4?? Again?? When do we take the next step?” If you are saying that I agree.. I’ll take this season over and over and not complain

 

[C-Paranoia]

I'll further suggest that the overall success of all the Purdue teams beyond football helps grow the brand substantially, along with keeping the players proud and motivated. Basketball, volleyball, soccer also crushing it right now.

 

[tenwest]

I'll further suggest that the overall success of all the Purdue teams beyond football helps grow the brand substantially, along with keeping the players proud and motivated. Basketball, volleyball, soccer also crushing it right now.

What an upgrade we got from Burke to Bobinski! Boiler Up.

 

[boiler2288]

Swimming, Golf, Soccer and VB all benefitted from Burkes tenure at Purdue. Most womans sports except BB received major monetary influx/support. Unfortunately his dismal administration of the FB program superseded those other successes

 

[Purdue85]

What an upgrade we got from Burke to Bobinski! Boiler Up.

I never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Burke, but I once again feel compelled to add a measure of balance to the forum. There's a lot of unfairness in life, and this is one (for some reason) I feel compelled to correct.

Morgan Burke never had the support and financial resources from the Purdue President and BoT. Never. What's more, he never had a blank checkbook to improve facilities, hire more assistants, improve recruiting budgets, etc.

No, all that came once our great university made the fantastic decision to hire Mitch, and dominoes fell within the BoT.

 

[pboiler18]

I never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Burke, but I once again feel compelled to add a measure of balance to the forum. There's a lot of unfairness in life, and this is one (for some reason) I feel compelled to correct.

Morgan Burke never had the support and financial resources from the Purdue President and BoT. Never. What's more, he never had a blank checkbook to improve facilities, hire more assistants, improve recruiting budgets, etc.

No, all that came once our great university made the fantastic decision to hire Mitch, and dominoes fell within the BoT.

Also, football revenues have exploded over the last 10 years. When Burke needed to invest in football…he didn’t get a chance to as funds were actively being siphoned off the AD by a greedy President. Yeah didn’t disagree with him bolstering facilities of our Olympic sports….it just sucked as we needed to be spending more on the revenue programs too.

As much as Burke didn’t have the $$ to take us to the next level for n some ways, he also was at least responsible enough he didn’t put us in any financial trouble either.

In this situation, hindsight is 20/20 and paints out Burke in a better light than he was seen in while on the job. iMO he was a good Boiler trying to do the best he could for student athletes in all sports AND keep the lights on.

 

[izakman]

I never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Burke, but I once again feel compelled to add a measure of balance to the forum. There's a lot of unfairness in life, and this is one (for some reason) I feel compelled to correct.

Morgan Burke never had the support and financial resources from the Purdue President and BoT. Never. What's more, he never had a blank checkbook to improve facilities, hire more assistants, improve recruiting budgets, etc.

No, all that came once our great university made the fantastic decision to hire Mitch, and dominoes fell within the BoT.

I can recall stories of how Tiller tried so hard to get more money for assistance and it didn't happen. Thanks for balance.

 

[SCBoiler1]

Great post, agreed!

I think we just need to shore up our holes in the transfer market. If we can get a competent SSDE, MLB, RG, LT between what we have and what we can bring in.. we can be just as good next year. And I think what you were also saying was that you won’t be one of those fans who are like “8-4?? Again?? When do we take the next step?” If you are saying that I agree.. I’ll take this season over and over and not complain

Minnesota (11) Wisconsin (10) and Iowa (10) all won at least 10 games in 2019. Northwestern did it in 2017 and could have done it in 2020 (7-2) if they played a full schedule.

With the way the divisions are aligned, winning 10 games every 3 or 4 years isn't as high of a bar as it was before the creation of the divisions. Purdue's schedule is extremely favorable next year. Not sure we're ready for a 10 win season but it's much more likely than when we played 11 regular season games, had to play the big guys from the east more often, and one of the out of conference games was always Notre Dame.

This isn't to say we start doubting Brohm if he can't do it but given the current alignment of the B10, winning 10 games is not as far fetched as it once was.

 

[BCfanatic2020]

Minnesota (11) Wisconsin (10) and Iowa (10) all won at least 10 games in 2019. Northwestern did it in 2017 and could have done it in 2020 (7-2) if they played a full schedule.

With the way the divisions are aligned, winning 10 games every 3 or 4 years isn't as high of a bar as it was before the creation of the divisions. Purdue's schedule is extremely favorable next year. Not sure we're ready for a 10 win season but it's much more likely than when we played 11 regular season games, had to play the big guys from the east more often, and one of the out of conference games was always Notre Dame.

This isn't to say we start doubting Brohm if he can't do it but given the current alignment of the B10, winning 10 games is not as far fetched as it once was.

I’d much rather we consistently win 6-7-8 and never get to 10 than have a 10 win season and go 4-8 one of the years also if that makes sense .. much more important not to go below 6 than to be above 8 IMO …

 

[SDBoiler1]

I’d much rather we consistently win 6-7-8 and never get to 10 than have a 10 win season and go 4-8 one of the years also if that makes sense .. much more important not to go below 6 than to be above 8 IMO …

I don’t want Purdue under Brohm to ever be under 0.500 again. That is, a bowl game every year. Purdue needs some 10+ win years and break the “Spoilermakers” narrative. Instead of just being spoilers, it’s better to be legit BIG contenders. No more let downs after big wins.

 

[Tommaker]

Minnesota (11) Wisconsin (10) and Iowa (10) all won at least 10 games in 2019. Northwestern did it in 2017 and could have done it in 2020 (7-2) if they played a full schedule.

With the way the divisions are aligned, winning 10 games every 3 or 4 years isn't as high of a bar as it was before the creation of the divisions. Purdue's schedule is extremely favorable next year. Not sure we're ready for a 10 win season but it's much more likely than when we played 11 regular season games, had to play the big guys from the east more often, and one of the out of conference games was always Notre Dame.

This isn't to say we start doubting Brohm if he can't do it but given the current alignment of the B10, winning 10 games is not as far fetched as it once was.

Have we ever had a 10 win season?

 

[SDBoiler1]

Have we ever had a 10 win season?

The 1979 team coached by Jim Young went 10-2 with a bowl win over Tennessee in the Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston.

 

[Tommaker]

The 1979 team coached by Jim Young went 10-2 with a bowl win over Tennessee in the Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston.

That's a long stretch. We're overdue.

 

[SDBoiler1]

That's a long stretch. We're overdue.

No doubt. Tiller had a few chances but never won more than 9 in a season.

 

[boiler2288]

Based on undefeated 43' season (9-0), Purdue should of been voted National Champions. AP Poll ranked both ND and Mich ahead despite having inferior records to PU that season. Wonder if Purdue could petition NCAA to recognize 43' undefeated squad as legitimate Nat Champs? Probably not worth trouble but a Nat Championship, even after 78 yrs would look good on resume...

 

[DAG10]

I never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Burke, but I once again feel compelled to add a measure of balance to the forum. There's a lot of unfairness in life, and this is one (for some reason) I feel compelled to correct.

Morgan Burke never had the support and financial resources from the Purdue President and BoT. Never. What's more, he never had a blank checkbook to improve facilities, hire more assistants, improve recruiting budgets, etc.

No, all that came once our great university made the fantastic decision to hire Mitch, and dominoes fell within the BoT.

Without going to great lengths...your points are generally fair, but, not entirely...and while his hands were tied in some regards, they were not in all regards (despite his acting as such).

Never mind, with the money that he did have at his disposal...he was incredibly tight with it and it hurt the football and basketball programs in particular.

There were other things as well (namely, Hazell...or Versyp extension for certain on his way out).

He did lack some things as you suggest...Bobinski lacked the same during COVID...created a fundraising campaign to address it...Morgan did nothing but complain and cite fiscal responsibility.

He was not a guy that appealed to prospective coaches either seemingly...and, he came damn close to losing Painter in part because of it.

 

[BCfanatic2020]

I don’t want Purdue under Brohm to ever be under 0.500 again. That is, a bowl game every year. Purdue needs some 10+ win years and break the “Spoilermakers” narrative. Instead of just being spoilers, it’s better to be legit BIG contenders. No more let downs after big wins.

To me Ohio state wasn’t a let down. They were the more talented team and played their A game. Want to beat them playing their A game when we have karlaftis and bell? Go out and get three players on each side of the ball somewhere between karlaftis and bell and the second best current boiler on each side and we can start thinking about doing that.

but I definitely agree about not being under .500. You know me.. I don’t want to be let down so I predict low, but this year I’m already overjoyed if we don’t even win another game..

 

[SDBoiler1]

To me Ohio state wasn’t a let down. They were the more talented team and played their A game. Want to beat them playing their A game when we have karlaftis and bell? Go out and get three players on each side of the ball somewhere between karlaftis and bell and the second best current boiler on each side and we can start thinking about doing that.

but I definitely agree about not being under .500. You know me.. I don’t want to be let down so I predict low, but this year I’m already overjoyed if we don’t even win another game..

I’m not. I want to win out and go 9-4.

 

[BCfanatic2020]

I’m not. I want to win out and go 9-4.

I mean I think for this year I’d be happy.. yeah next year they should do better. Either way they are much better than thought which is great and something to build on

 

[boilermaker75]

I can recall stories of how Tiller tried so hard to get more money for assistance and it didn't happen. Thanks for balance.

Without going to great lengths...your points are generally fair, but, not entirely...and while his hands were tied in some regards, they were not in all regards (despite his acting as such).

Never mind, with the money that he did have at his disposal...he was incredibly tight with it and it hurt the football and basketball programs in particular.

There were other things as well (namely, Hazell...or Versyp extension for certain on his way out).

He did lack some things as you suggest...Bobinski lacked the same during COVID...created a fundraising campaign to address it...Morgan did nothing but complain and cite fiscal responsibility.

He was not a guy that appealed to prospective coaches either seemingly...and, he came damn close to losing Painter in part because of it.

Coaches really did not like Burke, as evidenced by their nickname for him.

 

[SDBoiler1]

I mean I think for this year I’d be happy.. yeah next year they should do better. Either way they are much better than thought which is great and something to build on

I mean I want 9-4 this year. We already have 6 wins. Why would you be happy losing 4 straight games to finish this season, especially considering we still have to play struggling NW and IU? If Purdue lost out it would be a big disappointment at this point.

 

[Purdue85]

Without going to great lengths...your points are generally fair, but, not entirely...and while his hands were tied in some regards, they were not in all regards (despite his acting as such).

Never mind, with the money that he did have at his disposal...he was incredibly tight with it and it hurt the football and basketball programs in particular.

There were other things as well (namely, Hazell...or Versyp extension for certain on his way out).

He did lack some things as you suggest...Bobinski lacked the same during COVID...created a fundraising campaign to address it...Morgan did nothing but complain and cite fiscal responsibility.

He was not a guy that appealed to prospective coaches either seemingly...and, he came damn close to losing Painter in part because of it.

he was tight with the money?

What money did he have that he didn't spend?

I see a lot of the same vitriol(?maybe too strong a word), but not much substance. The fairly meager budget was pretty well-known.

When the money isn't there, there's not much left but "fiscal responsibility".... especially when that's what the bosses are telling you.

I still question, did HE almost lose Painter, or did the President and BoT? And, since "he" didn't lose Painter, what did he do to prevent that?

 

[Courthouse Carp]

he was tight with the money?

What money did he have that he didn't spend?

I see a lot of the same vitriol(?maybe too strong a word), but not much substance. The fairly meager budget was pretty well-known.

When the money isn't there, there's not much left but "fiscal responsibility".... especially when that's what the bosses are telling you.

I still question, did HE almost lose Painter, or did the President and BoT? And, since "he" didn't lose Painter, what did he do to prevent that?

***NEWS FLASH***

You're not going to have any money when you alienate and drive off two-thirds of your fan base like Morgan Burke did.

 

[DAG10]

he was tight with the money?

What money did he have that he didn't spend?

I see a lot of the same vitriol(?maybe too strong a word), but not much substance. The fairly meager budget was pretty well-known.

When the money isn't there, there's not much left but "fiscal responsibility".... especially when that's what the bosses are telling you.

I still question, did HE almost lose Painter, or did the President and BoT? And, since "he" didn't lose Painter, what did he do to prevent that?

With respect to Painter, he cried poor...as did Nancy Cross/JPC...they collectively acted as if they had done some huge favor to the Purdue fanbase and then essentially said, well, you now have to pay us for paying him.

He had money to spend...he spent it on non-revenue sports...but they were in the black every year (as he did not spend money that was available to be spent).

I have no vitriol (that is indeed too strong of a word)...but, he cried poor a lot, despite it not genuinely being the case.

There was more to it than the money/financial piece as well...relationships with coaches were strained...he was way behind the times and out of date with college athletics as they are today.

He made improvements, but, they were long overdue improvements in most cases, were generally the bare minimum (no lights at Ross-Ade...no A/C in Mackey just two examples), and, they only brought Purdue up to where it already should have been with respect to facilities relative to the rest of the conference members.

It is not as if Morgan was not there when Purdue was raking in money from the BTN contract.

While Purdue's athletic department was/is "self-sustaining" and he loved to point that out all of the time, the financial condition of Purdue's athletic department relative to others in the conference was not good...at all...in fact, literally worst in the conference.

None of this accounts for his being an on-the-record proponent of freshmen ineligibility, and, was quoted as not wanting to enter any "arms race" with other programs in the conference, much less around the country.

And, none of that accounts for his completely running the Women's Basketball program and the Football program into the ground before he left.

I admittedly was not disappointed when he "retired" as AD...

 

[boilermaker75]

With respect to Painter, he cried poor...as did Nancy Cross/JPC...they collectively acted as if they had done some huge favor to the Purdue fanbase and then essentially said, well, you now have to pay us for paying him.

He had money to spend...he spent it on non-revenue sports...but they were in the black every year (as he did not spend money that was available to be spent).

I have no vitriol (that is indeed too strong of a word)...but, he cried poor a lot, despite it not genuinely being the case.

There was more to it than the money/financial piece as well...relationships with coaches were strained...he was way behind the times and out of date with college athletics as they are today.

He made improvements, but, they were long overdue improvements in most cases, were generally the bare minimum (no lights at Ross-Ade...no A/C in Mackey just two examples), and, they only brought Purdue up to where it already should have been with respect to facilities relative to the rest of the conference members.

It is not as if Morgan was not there when Purdue was raking in money from the BTN contract.

While Purdue's athletic department was/is "self-sustaining" and he loved to point that out all of the time, the financial condition of Purdue's athletic department relative to others in the conference was not good...at all...in fact, literally worst in the conference.

None of this accounts for his being an on-the-record proponent of freshmen ineligibility, and, was quoted as not wanting to enter any "arms race" with other programs in the conference, much less around the country.

And, none of that accounts for his completely running the Women's Basketball program and the Football program into the ground before he left.

I admittedly was not disappointed when he "retired" as AD...

This is spot on.

 

[bboet]

What an upgrade we got from Burke to Bobinski! Boiler Up.

Your right. Tiller and Painter were horsesh** hires. Please give up your hatred for a man who loved Purdue, gave his heart and soul to Purdue and has passed away.

 

[BCfanatic2020]

Your right. Tiller was a horsesh@ hire. Please give up your hatred for a man who loved Purdue and has passed away.

Tiller wasn’t his first choice. His first choice was a bad coach who took a better job.

 

[bboet]

Tiller wasn’t his first choice. His first choice was a bad coach who took a better job.

He still hired Tiller regardless of what choice he was. Are you sure Brohm was Bobinski's first choice? Fleck? Calhoun? Lots of names were thrown around.

 

[BCfanatic2020]

He still hired Tiller regardless of what choice he was. Are you sure Brohm was Bobinski's first choice? Fleck? Calhoun? Lots of names were thrown around.

I’m not sure but I’m sure that if Burke got his way Brad Davie would have been our coach

I think there are some decent defenses of Burke like Purdue85. A lot of other stuff seems to amount to “hey he was nice to me at JPC events and made me feel warm and fuzzy so back off.”

fleck is a lot better coach than George W Davie

 

[Courthouse Carp]

I’m not sure but I’m sure that if Burke got his way BOB Davie would have been our coach

I think there are some decent defenses of Burke like Purdue85. A lot of other stuff seems to amount to “hey he was nice to me at JPC events and made me feel warm and fuzzy so back off.”

fleck is a lot better coach than George W Davie

Tiller wasn't his second choice either; his second choice was a bad coach who took a lesser job.

And the way Captain Morgan botched Gene Keady stepping down too early undermined our basketball program; the same could be said for Joe Tiller's retirement, though Burke had a much earlier start undermining Purdue football.

"Manage your expectations" MY ASS!

 

[FirstDownB]

My tipping point with Burke was when he got snarky about fans who were understandably skeptical about progress under Hazell. And there was too much preaching about not getting into an arms race to believe that he really wanted to do what was necessary to compete in the modern P5 landscape. Not a bad guy, just not the right guy for P5 AD position in the 21st century.

 

[SKYDOG]

I never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Burke, but I once again feel compelled to add a measure of balance to the forum. There's a lot of unfairness in life, and this is one (for some reason) I feel compelled to correct.

Morgan Burke never had the support and financial resources from the Purdue President and BoT. Never. What's more, he never had a blank checkbook to improve facilities, hire more assistants, improve recruiting budgets, etc.

No, all that came once our great university made the fantastic decision to hire Mitch, and dominoes fell within the BoT.

Really curious on how do you know this? Is this a true fact or opinion?

 

[BoilersRock]

Wonder if Purdue could petition NCAA to recognize 43' undefeated squad as legitimate Nat Champs?

The NCAA does not award a national title for FBS and never have, so I doubt it.

 

[SDBoiler1]

He still hired Tiller regardless of what choice he was. Are you sure Brohm was Bobinski's first choice? Fleck? Calhoun? Lots of names were thrown around.

You’ve got to be kidding. Brohm was his top target from the get go.

Fleck’s interview went very poorly (Bobinski was not at all impressed - and Fleck was not his first interview) plus his wife didn’t think that West Lafayette was “happening enough”.

Calhoun was always Plan B in case Brohm did not accept. Bobinski liked Calhoun but there were concerns about recruiting and about Calhoun’s offense.

Kevin Sumlin was also considered but there were concerns about his defenses and his desire to coach in the BIG after being in the SEC.

 

[SDBoiler1]

Really curious on how do you know this? Is this a true fact or opinion?

It’s true. That said, Burke was a Purdue guy , but was something of a penny pincher largely due to his business background in the steel industry.

 

[bboet]

You’ve got to be kidding. Brohm was his top target from the get go.

Fleck’s interview went very poorly (Bobinski was not at all impressed - and Fleck was not his first interview) plus his wife didn’t think that West Lafayette was “happening enough”.

Calhoun was always Plan B in case Brohm did not accept. Bobinski liked Calhoun but there were concerns about recruiting and about Calhoun’s offense.

Kevin Sumlin was also considered but there were concerns about his defenses and his desire to coach in the BIG after being in the SEC.

And you know all of this how? Bobinski told you Brohm was his top target? Did you sit in on the Fleck interview or did Bobinski tell you that also. You must have some great insights into the athletic dept. having such a direct line to Bobinski.

 

[BCfanatic2020]

And you know all of this how? Bobinski told you Brohm was his top target? Did you sit in on the Fleck interview or did Bobinski tell you that also. You must have some great insights into the athletic dept. having such a direct line to Bobinski.

All I hear is “yeah I met Morgan once. He was nice to me.”

 

[pboiler18]

You’ve got to be kidding. Brohm was his top target from the get go.

Fleck’s interview went very poorly (Bobinski was not at all impressed - and Fleck was not his first interview) plus his wife didn’t think that West Lafayette was “happening enough”.

Calhoun was always Plan B in case Brohm did not accept. Bobinski liked Calhoun but there were concerns about recruiting and about Calhoun’s offense.

Kevin Sumlin was also considered but there were concerns about his defenses and his desire to coach in the BIG after being in the SEC.

This is made up. Sumlin was still at TAMU and wasn’t trying to leave. He might have been considered but was never an actual option.