I didn't see a single second of Purdue's loss to Iowa Saturday.
Instead, I sat in a hotel room here in San Juan following the game on Gametracker, meaning I spent three hours watching little stick figures jostle back and forth and looking at a bunch of numbers, probably half of which were accurate.
So I have very little sense of what actually occurred in Ross-Ade Stadium on another failed Senior Day, so I'm in no position to pass judgment on any of it, though I don't think you had to be there to realize the game was more one-sided than the final score might indicate, thanks to Iowa's penchant for untimely turnovers.
But I can opine on the result, one that cancels out, for all intents and purposes, the Ohio State win last weekend. This wasn't an extraordinary team Purdue played today. It wasn't Wisconsin or even Michigan. It was a six-win team that hadn't won a road game before today. It was a team that lost to Minnesota. Somehow.
But it was a team that could do more than one thing offensively, and thus the Boilermaker defense couldn't stop it, which is again troubling. It was a very average defense that must not have been very average today, judging by the five sacks and two interceptions those little stick figures acted out when Purdue had the ball.
It will now be an extraordinarily anxious week around West Lafayette.
The Ohio State upset bred an opportunity for Purdue, a chance to beat a beatable opponent at home, then reclaim the Bucket and end the season on a three-game winning streak, pushing its bowl stock in a more compelling direction, showing there's reason for optimism around the program and maybe earning its coach an extended contract.
But all is not lost.
The good news for Purdue is that all that stands between it and bowl eligibility is one of the worst Indiana teams we've seen. The bad news is Purdue has no choice but to win. There is no margin for error, no fallback plan like there was this week.
Looking back at past seasons, Purdue's record with everything to lose isn't very good.
Purdue and Danny Hope have no choice but to win in Bloomington next weekend to earn a spot in a bowl game that won't exactly inspire a fan base that by every account I've received filled Ross-Ade today by a little more than half.
No, losing is not an option next weekend, certainly not to this Hoosier team.
Yes, IU beat Purdue at Purdue last year, but at least that team had a senior quarterback and some legitimate weapons. This team is in the throes of a painful building year and has nothing.
Purdue can't possibly lose next week, can it? Can it?
Again, it's going to be an anxious week.
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