A lot of stuff's been said and written about Purdue football over the past few seasons, months and weeks, and largely it's all been justified.
Except for the whole sinkhole thing.
It's not a sinkhole.
Anyway, none of it mattered on Saturday.
Look, I don't think it was off base to suggest that this team that popped all four tires last week at Maryland looked teed up like a Titleist to get smacked again this weekend.
Against a hell of a lot of long odds, Purdue would have no part of it.
In context, this was a damn near heroic effort, at the risk of overstatement.
This team doesn't have enough talent and by the end of the afternoon Saturday, it was playing without two of its best players in Markell Jones and Ja'Whaun Bentley, another of its most important offensive players in Domonique Young and the breakout star of the day in Brian Lankford-Johnson.
Yes, it took some gaffes on Illinois' part; for the second time in three weeks, Darrell Hazell erupted in celebration over the opposing kicker's failure.
But so what?
Again, this was a damn near heroic performance, by Purdue. In context, at least.
Purdue's offensive line is in shambles, held together by Elmer's glue and yarn. It responded by opening holes for Lankford-Johnson you could have pushed shopping carts through, full ones. Lankford-Johnson ran for 127 yards and a touchdown, which is impressive, but also attributable to the fact he often wasn't meeting tacklers until he'd broken into a sprint. That offensive line was sensational.
Then, the defense, that wobegone defense. Illinois scored just 14 points in the second half and got knocked off the field so many times with the game hanging in the balance. And the biggest play of that game was the only turnover it forced on the day.
And J.D. Dellinger, the young kicker with pretty evident confidence issues. He misses that 37-yard kick and Purdue loses. He misses that kick in OT and my guess is Purdue loses. This might have been a watershed moment for him in his young career.
And Richie Worship, the guy who got so many important yards in important situations as essentially Purdue's co-third running back.
And, yes, the coaches. Those much-maligned coaches. This was one of the best coached games in a while around Purdue, especially from the offensive staff. Terry Malone's game plan was perfect, an east-west attack that did everything in its power to cover up the open wound that is pass protection off the edges and use Illinois' up-field aggressiveness against it. Well done.
And Hazell, who obviously held this team's attention through that debacle in College Park last week and coaxed a terrific effort out of a team that would have surprised no one by staying on the mat another week.
So much credit to go around for a program that might - might - have incurred massive changes on Sunday had this game gone the way I, and a lot of others, figured it would. I, and a lot of others, underestimated Purdue. I also overestimated Illinois, which has some significant disciplinary issues it's going to have to address.
But this is about Purdue.
What's it mean now? Well, it means whatever Purdue makes it mean.
One game does not transform a season, nor does this one win transform a coaching reign. And Purdue's track record after wins remains remarkably bad.
So we'll see.
Purdue will continue to face long odds this season. Jones and Bentley are still banged up, Domonique Young's presumably long-term loss is a kick in the face to player and team alike, and the offense Purdue ran Saturday is now on tape. And, even at full strength, the Boilermakers remain a team with many questions and many limitations.
So, again, we'll see.
But for one day anyway, Purdue earned a hell of a moment, a reason to celebrate, a reason to figuratively pop the champaign.
Pun very much intended.
Except for the whole sinkhole thing.
It's not a sinkhole.
Anyway, none of it mattered on Saturday.
Look, I don't think it was off base to suggest that this team that popped all four tires last week at Maryland looked teed up like a Titleist to get smacked again this weekend.
Against a hell of a lot of long odds, Purdue would have no part of it.
In context, this was a damn near heroic effort, at the risk of overstatement.
This team doesn't have enough talent and by the end of the afternoon Saturday, it was playing without two of its best players in Markell Jones and Ja'Whaun Bentley, another of its most important offensive players in Domonique Young and the breakout star of the day in Brian Lankford-Johnson.
Yes, it took some gaffes on Illinois' part; for the second time in three weeks, Darrell Hazell erupted in celebration over the opposing kicker's failure.
But so what?
Again, this was a damn near heroic performance, by Purdue. In context, at least.
Purdue's offensive line is in shambles, held together by Elmer's glue and yarn. It responded by opening holes for Lankford-Johnson you could have pushed shopping carts through, full ones. Lankford-Johnson ran for 127 yards and a touchdown, which is impressive, but also attributable to the fact he often wasn't meeting tacklers until he'd broken into a sprint. That offensive line was sensational.
Then, the defense, that wobegone defense. Illinois scored just 14 points in the second half and got knocked off the field so many times with the game hanging in the balance. And the biggest play of that game was the only turnover it forced on the day.
And J.D. Dellinger, the young kicker with pretty evident confidence issues. He misses that 37-yard kick and Purdue loses. He misses that kick in OT and my guess is Purdue loses. This might have been a watershed moment for him in his young career.
And Richie Worship, the guy who got so many important yards in important situations as essentially Purdue's co-third running back.
And, yes, the coaches. Those much-maligned coaches. This was one of the best coached games in a while around Purdue, especially from the offensive staff. Terry Malone's game plan was perfect, an east-west attack that did everything in its power to cover up the open wound that is pass protection off the edges and use Illinois' up-field aggressiveness against it. Well done.
And Hazell, who obviously held this team's attention through that debacle in College Park last week and coaxed a terrific effort out of a team that would have surprised no one by staying on the mat another week.
So much credit to go around for a program that might - might - have incurred massive changes on Sunday had this game gone the way I, and a lot of others, figured it would. I, and a lot of others, underestimated Purdue. I also overestimated Illinois, which has some significant disciplinary issues it's going to have to address.
But this is about Purdue.
What's it mean now? Well, it means whatever Purdue makes it mean.
One game does not transform a season, nor does this one win transform a coaching reign. And Purdue's track record after wins remains remarkably bad.
So we'll see.
Purdue will continue to face long odds this season. Jones and Bentley are still banged up, Domonique Young's presumably long-term loss is a kick in the face to player and team alike, and the offense Purdue ran Saturday is now on tape. And, even at full strength, the Boilermakers remain a team with many questions and many limitations.
So, again, we'll see.
But for one day anyway, Purdue earned a hell of a moment, a reason to celebrate, a reason to figuratively pop the champaign.
Pun very much intended.
