It started with the gut-punch loss in the Nevada heat to begin the season. And, it continued with today's bizarre injury luck.
This just doesn't seem to be Purdue's season.
Truth be told, things began to get sideways for the Boilermakers in August ...
• The timeline for defensive tackle Lorenzo Neal's return from a 2018 knee injury kept changing and changing. Will he even play this season?
• Projected started running back Tario Fuller broke his jaw in an August scrimmage.
• The inexplicable second-half collapse at Nevada mentioned above, where Purdue squandered a 31-14 third-quarter lead.
• Linebacker Markus Bailey suffering a season-ending knee injury in a non-contact drill in practice the week of the TCU game.
• Quarterback Elijah Sindelar suffering a concussion vs. Vanderbilt.
But today took the cake. Today, I witnessed the most crazy event in all of my football-watching life when I saw both Sindelar and Rondale Moore get hurt ... ON THE SAME PLAY!
Who knows how long each will be out. It could be all season. It could be several weeks. Who knows? It's the latest and most crazy blow this tortured 2019 team has suffered. And we haven't even raked our first leaf or drained the swimming pool.
This was a game Purdue needed to win. And, it didn't. The first half was an abomination. Not just because of the catastrophic double-injury to Sindelar and Moore. But because of how the Purdue defense melted down before our eyes. It was horrific.
No one will confuse Minnesota with Washington State when it comes to passing the ball, but the Golden Gophers looked like a Mike Leach-coached team. QB Tanner Morgan hit 21-of-22 passes for 396 yards and four TDs. He should have declared for the NFL draft at halftime. Time and again, Gophers ran free and unencumbered in the secondary ... 29 yards, 47 yards, 70 yards, 24 yards. It was dizzying and disappointing.
Purdue rallied in the second half ... but it was too late. The Boilers fell, 38-31.
"Disappointed in the outcome," said Jeff Brohm. "We really worked hard these past two weeks to improve and it didn’t show in the first half. It’s a bad performance. The positive I guess is we came in the second half and talked about just trying to go out there and execute, improve and play some better football, and I do think that happened and it gave us a chance to come close at the end. But at this level, you have to play and compete for 60 minutes."
No one will feel sorry for Brohm, who is 3-7 in his last 10 games. He knows that. This is when you discover the true mettle of people and teams. These are tough times. How will Purdue finish this season? Winnable games remain. The Boilermaker could beat Maryland, Illinois, Northwestern and Indiana. Could they find a sixth win to make bowl eligibility?
For now, a daunting trip to Penn State looms. Beaver Stadium isn't a good place for foes to discover their mojo.
Let's see what type of fight this 1-3 team has. Let's see how resourceful his staff is.
"We got here and inherited a team that probably had some veterans but hadn’t won a lot," said Brohm. "Sometimes, when you go through the struggles like they did, you know what, they are ready to win. We were able to kind of piece that together and find a way to win. Now we are back to where we have quite a few young guys, probably more we would like. We aren't near what we need to be. I do think we have some young talent."
And it's that young talent--RB King Doerue, QB Jack Plummer, DE George Karlaftis, WR David Bell--that will have to lead the way.
