Easiest paths to the CFB Playoff...Purdue one of the hardest...

[JohnnyDoeBoiler]

Link is included for others:

Purdue[/B]
The fans have lost interest -- and apparently so have the recruits -- but the program also hasn't had the financial backing it needs to stay on pace with the rest of the conference.

Now that the financial backing is some what there (I still question if the athletic department is doing EVERYTHING they can financially), I wonder if Purdue can make up ground. Purdue lucked in to the western division and the path to conference championship is much easier, but A LOT needs to happen in the short term for that to be a reality. The first step in that process....better recruits. I am giving Coach Hazel this year to get some guys in who can truly make a difference instead of just building the foundation for another year.

 

[boiler17]

When we played MSU, several of us asked visiting MSU posters when they turned the corner and why. They were bad for a long time. Most of them sited an obvious commitment from the top in terms of financial investment. Until we see this, they are fighting with one hand behind their back.

There have been several ESPN comments in the last week or two about Purdue lacking said commitment and facilities. Still not sure how much I trust that because I doubt these ESPN people tour all facilities, but its probably not that difficult to tell from the outside looking in.

I also worry about what the heck Burke and the BOT are thinking. My guess is that they know they dont want to compete with big time football financially, so they focus on the directors cup, and other areas where the competition isnt so stiff. On the other hand, if they think anyone actually cares about the stuff they focus on, then maybe the resources are there and they are all just insanely antiquated and short sighted in their focus.

 

[RegionWarrior101]

Purdue doesn't really have tradition on our side. I can't see it

Purdue has had nice pockets of good years- Eras if you will.

We had a great era, maybe our peak, under Mollenkopf. We could not sustain it and had DeMoss and Agase. Eeek.

Then Jim Young came and we had some nice success, i.e. winning more than losing. Follow that up with Burtnett, Akers, and Colletto. OUCH.

Then Tiller came in and we had maybe the best years. Follow that up with Hope, Hazzell, etc.

Something about the culture of Purdue where you cannot sustain success in football. That and we always seem to follow up the right guys with the wrong guys. With Brees now being 15 years removed from Purdue and Tiller going on 7, we lost whatever mojo we had during that era. Michigan is kind of in the same boat. Michigan has a much better overall tradition, but they have not been relevant since 1997. Jim Harbaugh will probably change that. Purdue struck out in Hope, and I fear they followed that up with a higher paid guy who is not much better. I think Hazzell gets two more years regardless because it is Purdue and we don't hold coaches to high standards. The thing DH needs to do after a 4-8 season this year is get a new OC. That hire may be the end of the DH era.

 

[pboiler18]

The facilities thing is two fold.

We don't have bad facilities. They aren't top of the conference, but I don't think they are bottom of the conference either. I think when "pundits" talk about facilities they think of 2 things. 1. What kind of money does the program have? 2. What does their stadium look like?

They automatically think if its a big time program, they have great facilities. Its not always true. For the longest time, UGA football didn't even have its own weigh room, training facilities, etc... and the football players had to mingle with the rest of the student population to work out. No lie. This was as recent as like 2009 I believe. Didn't Michigan only open up an indoor practice facility like 2-3 years ago when we have had one for a quarter of a century?

I think the only knock on our "facilities" is that we don't have a historic 80,000+ seat stadium. That's attractive to a lot of kids for sure...but not the end all be all. We could certainly build one...but would we ever fill it? Probably not....

What we can do is go the Minnesota route. I'm not saying build a brand new stadium....but we should really make the stadium look more "pro". Close off the South end zone, make the Jumbotron bigger, put the old jumbotron at the North end, present something that looks like we are trying to make the gameday experience better.

While I disagree the facilities are lacking...I agree that they can get much better and have a much better look and feel in person, on TV and for recruits! That said, I don't think facilities are a barrier to a conference or national championship. I also don't feel like our admin is our biggest barrier....but what I do feel is that with the current admin....we will not be back to the highs we had with Tiller until we get new blood in the admin.

 

[boiler17]

Originally posted by pboiler18:
The facilities thing is two fold.

We don't have bad facilities. They aren't top of the conference, but I don't think they are bottom of the conference either. I think when "pundits" talk about facilities they think of 2 things. 1. What kind of money does the program have? 2. What does their stadium look like?

They automatically think if its a big time program, they have great facilities. Its not always true. For the longest time, UGA football didn't even have its own weigh room, training facilities, etc... and the football players had to mingle with the rest of the student population to work out. No lie. This was as recent as like 2009 I believe. Didn't Michigan only open up an indoor practice facility like 2-3 years ago when we have had one for a quarter of a century?

I think the only knock on our "facilities" is that we don't have a historic 80,000+ seat stadium. That's attractive to a lot of kids for sure...but not the end all be all. We could certainly build one...but would we ever fill it? Probably not....

What we can do is go the Minnesota route. I'm not saying build a brand new stadium....but we should really make the stadium look more "pro". Close off the South end zone, make the Jumbotron bigger, put the old jumbotron at the North end, present something that looks like we are trying to make the gameday experience better.

While I disagree the facilities are lacking...I agree that they can get much better and have a much better look and feel in person, on TV and for recruits! That said, I don't think facilities are a barrier to a conference or national championship. I also don't feel like our admin is our biggest barrier....but what I do feel is that with the current admin....we will not be back to the highs we had with Tiller until we get new blood in the admin.

Respect the dissention as always.

ESPN has posted two articles lately in thier cfn blog, one about the toughest job in the big ten, and another about the prestige of each HC job. Purdue was mentioned among the toughest with IU and Northwestern, and ranked as the least prestigious job, and facilities was on a very short list of things mentioned and was the clear focus of each expert. You can find them here:

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/category/_/name/purdue-boilermakers

I havent seen a ton of big ten facilities/campuses, maybe around 1/3, but am easily the least impressed with Purdue. The only thing I would say they have going for them is that the skeleton to Ross Aide is among the best in the conference of stadiums Ive been to (been to all except minny, psu, rutgers, maryland, and michigan). However the overall presentation of the stadium and game day atmosphere is probably the worst. Certainly bottom 3. An easy half of that is the lack of winning recently, but that means the other half can be/should be/require purchasing at some point.

Plus I think every big ten school has had a major renovation in football since we have. I'd be shocked if our facilities were average, and they certainly provide very little pop/glamour which is needed to create excitement for visiting 18 year olds. Even Burke himself says they are not good if only in the number of 'things he'd like to do someday' that he doesnt do.

I dont know how to squeeze average out of that.

 

[rbaggie]

Loss of signal in the stadium?


It may sound weird, but I have heard from students that besides the tickets prices, and other things is that they can't get good cell connection at Ross-Ade. They want to take pictures and send them or just stay in communication with their friends. I don't know what it would cost to boost signal in the stadium or even provide free wireless access during games, but this may be bring in another 10-15% more students. Just saying.......................

 

[nat100]

Originally posted by rbaggie:

It may sound weird, but I have heard from students that besides the tickets prices, and other things is that they can't get good cell connection at Ross-Ade. They want to take pictures and send them or just stay in communication with their friends. I don't know what it would cost to boost signal in the stadium or even provide free wireless access during games, but this may be bring in another 10-15% more students. Just saying.......................

That's normal at most stadiums Didn't they add a booster last year?
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[rbaggie]

I don't know, but maybe they did and the word is slow to get out. Also, MANY participate in the Breakfast Club and are soundly sleeping for the noon kick offs.

 

[JohnHoosierr]

By what criteria is nu and iu football head cpachong morerestigous than purdue? Makes zero sense. Both schools have pretty much 0 history. And iu is notoriously known as the d1 football program with the most losses ever, after they passed nu.......

 

[BBG]

Originally posted by rbaggie:

I don't know, but maybe they did and the word is slow to get out. Also, MANY participate in the Breakfast Club and are soundly sleeping for the noon kick offs.

This hurts us quite a bit... the noon kick offs are terrible IMO at getting people in the seats.

That aside there is a huge issue going on, the fans have lost interest as have the recruits (as previously mentioned) and until some money is put in to facilities and a coaching staff that can dig us out of the quicksand we are currently in, it probably will only get worse.

I'm usually optimistic on things but there is nothing right now that gives me much hope for a successful season this fall.

 

[rbaggie]

Ah come on, the grass is always greener in September and hope springs eternal.

Get Quarterback figured out = wins

 

[BBG]

Originally posted by rbaggie:
Ah come on, the grass is always greener in September and hope springs eternal.

Get Quarterback figured out = wins

I really wish I could be optimistic as football is by far my favorite sport (and probably why I am more critical of the program over basketball), but I have lost faith until proven otherwise.

I truly hope it happens though. I would LOVE to be wrong about my pessimistic outlook.

 

[boiler17]

Originally posted by rbaggie:
Ah come on, the grass is always greener in September and hope springs eternal.

Get Quarterback figured out = wins

I agree with this. They dont even need a good one, just average qb performance. Everyone, myself included, is quick to talk smack about Shoop, but most have seen promise in his systems at one point or another. In particular the Etling vs Shoop debate from the first third of the season.

I think the problems of the past are far more complicated than that and stand by my comments about managing the relationship between players and coaches along with who played in particular. However, thats all done now, and the lines look pretty set, a bevy of young backs in a run first system paired with the ability to throw ten yards downfield could turn 2015 into an 'exciting' season of sorts.

I stick by my two win prediction, but @ Marshall will say a lot.