If there was one play with which Oklahoma State effectively won Tuesday's Heart of Dallas Bowl it was a play on which it didn't even score.
It was Josh Stewart's 64-yard punt return in the first quarter that really was the play where you knew Purdue just wasn't winning this game and maybe not even competing, the first stick of dynamite that triggered the 58-14 landslide the Boilermakers found themselves buried under in the Cotton Bowl.
The return set up Oklahoma State's first touchdown, but it wasn't so much what it did as much as it was how it did it. Purdue had the play covered; three guys had a shot at Stewart within a second of him fielding the ball. But it didn't matter. Stewart made a difficult play to prevent Purdue from making a routine one.
And that told you what you needed to know about just what the Boilermakers were up against from a talent perspective. Oklahoma State has players, man.
And Purdue, all politeness aside, was just fortunate to be playing Tuesday, capping a terribly disappointing season that put its coach in the stands Tuesday as opposed to being on the sideline.
Did I think Purdue could win Tuesday? Not really. Did I think it could compete? Yeah, because I thought it had some players playing right now that could have given the underdogs hope.
I was wrong in that sense.
The bowl scene is ridiculously overcrowded. Twice in as many years now, Purdue's taken advantage, by being just good enough to not be bad, when you almost have to be bad to not go to a bowl anymore.
Difference between this year and last is that this time, Western Michigan wasn't waiting. Oklahoma State was.
It was no contest.
And Mike Gundy, class act that he is, ran up the score. It's one thing to throw the ball when you're up a hundred in the fourth quarter, because at least you're running basic offense. When you're running trick plays, that's when you're being kind of a (expletive deleted).
But my stance on running up the score is that it's the losing team's fault for allowing itself to be in that position, but also that it can reflect worse on the winning team, because we all know how cool the seventh-grader who picks on fourth-graders comes off. Figuratively speaking. I'm not comparing Purdue to elementary-schoolers.
But it is what is, and this was what Purdue is right now, the beneficiary of a weak schedule down the stretch, greasing the path for the former coach's "best team" to back into a cluttered bowl field by the bare-minimum standard.
Look, I know Patrick Higgins took responsibility for this loss and you have to appreciate the interim coach's sentiment there, but it's nonsense. He was an impossible situation, and the result reflected not on him as much as it did he was in the position in the first place.
I still say Higgins did Purdue a great service these past few months under trying circumstances. Here is wishing him and the rest of this outgoing staff well.
On the surface, it might have raised an eyebrow or two that Purdue had the audacity to hire its coach after the program earned back-to-back postseason berths.
But this game illustrated where Purdue is now relative to where it wants to be and after three seasons under a coach, better can reasonably be expected. Contrary to popular belief, the cupboard in 2009 was not bare. But this is a tired topic at this point.
(On a side note: It was shocking to hear that Danny Hope was granted entry to Purdue's locker room prior to the game. I mean, you want to be respectful, but if the bank forecloses on your house, they're not going to let you sleep there one last time just because you used to. And the last thing a team that needed to limit distractions needed was to have its current predicament rubbed in its face right before the moment of truth, like an ex-fiancee crashing your wedding.)
This game also illustrated what Darrell Hazell is walking into. You have to wonder what might have been running through his mind as Purdue got bludgeoned Tuesday.
There is no question in this observer's mind that Purdue made an excellent hire, the only question here being the absence at this point of a clear-cut offensive identity being brought in.
But otherwise, Hazell comes off as a determined, cerebral and modest fellow, the type with the sort of just-go-to-work approach needed in a job like Purdue.
No one can know at this point if he'll be a great coach at Purdue; I do know he's a great fit.
But he has a challenge ahead of him.
He is not inheriting Ohio State talent nor will be coaching at Kent State's level.
He seems ideally wired for this job, but the job will not be an easy one.
Be patient and let him build from the ground up. That's what I say.
Judging by Tuesday, there's a long way to go.
That's the takeaway from the Heart of Dallas Bowl and really the only thing that matters. This game will go down in history as little more than a footnote. It will hardly matter at all. The slate has already been wiped clean.
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2012. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited. E-mail GoldandBlack.com/Boilers, Inc.
This post was edited on 1/1 4:52 PM by Brian_GoldandBlack.com
This post was edited on 1/1 5:14 PM by Brian_GoldandBlack.com
It was Josh Stewart's 64-yard punt return in the first quarter that really was the play where you knew Purdue just wasn't winning this game and maybe not even competing, the first stick of dynamite that triggered the 58-14 landslide the Boilermakers found themselves buried under in the Cotton Bowl.
The return set up Oklahoma State's first touchdown, but it wasn't so much what it did as much as it was how it did it. Purdue had the play covered; three guys had a shot at Stewart within a second of him fielding the ball. But it didn't matter. Stewart made a difficult play to prevent Purdue from making a routine one.
And that told you what you needed to know about just what the Boilermakers were up against from a talent perspective. Oklahoma State has players, man.
And Purdue, all politeness aside, was just fortunate to be playing Tuesday, capping a terribly disappointing season that put its coach in the stands Tuesday as opposed to being on the sideline.
Did I think Purdue could win Tuesday? Not really. Did I think it could compete? Yeah, because I thought it had some players playing right now that could have given the underdogs hope.
I was wrong in that sense.
The bowl scene is ridiculously overcrowded. Twice in as many years now, Purdue's taken advantage, by being just good enough to not be bad, when you almost have to be bad to not go to a bowl anymore.
Difference between this year and last is that this time, Western Michigan wasn't waiting. Oklahoma State was.
It was no contest.
And Mike Gundy, class act that he is, ran up the score. It's one thing to throw the ball when you're up a hundred in the fourth quarter, because at least you're running basic offense. When you're running trick plays, that's when you're being kind of a (expletive deleted).
But my stance on running up the score is that it's the losing team's fault for allowing itself to be in that position, but also that it can reflect worse on the winning team, because we all know how cool the seventh-grader who picks on fourth-graders comes off. Figuratively speaking. I'm not comparing Purdue to elementary-schoolers.
But it is what is, and this was what Purdue is right now, the beneficiary of a weak schedule down the stretch, greasing the path for the former coach's "best team" to back into a cluttered bowl field by the bare-minimum standard.
Look, I know Patrick Higgins took responsibility for this loss and you have to appreciate the interim coach's sentiment there, but it's nonsense. He was an impossible situation, and the result reflected not on him as much as it did he was in the position in the first place.
I still say Higgins did Purdue a great service these past few months under trying circumstances. Here is wishing him and the rest of this outgoing staff well.
On the surface, it might have raised an eyebrow or two that Purdue had the audacity to hire its coach after the program earned back-to-back postseason berths.
But this game illustrated where Purdue is now relative to where it wants to be and after three seasons under a coach, better can reasonably be expected. Contrary to popular belief, the cupboard in 2009 was not bare. But this is a tired topic at this point.
(On a side note: It was shocking to hear that Danny Hope was granted entry to Purdue's locker room prior to the game. I mean, you want to be respectful, but if the bank forecloses on your house, they're not going to let you sleep there one last time just because you used to. And the last thing a team that needed to limit distractions needed was to have its current predicament rubbed in its face right before the moment of truth, like an ex-fiancee crashing your wedding.)
This game also illustrated what Darrell Hazell is walking into. You have to wonder what might have been running through his mind as Purdue got bludgeoned Tuesday.
There is no question in this observer's mind that Purdue made an excellent hire, the only question here being the absence at this point of a clear-cut offensive identity being brought in.
But otherwise, Hazell comes off as a determined, cerebral and modest fellow, the type with the sort of just-go-to-work approach needed in a job like Purdue.
No one can know at this point if he'll be a great coach at Purdue; I do know he's a great fit.
But he has a challenge ahead of him.
He is not inheriting Ohio State talent nor will be coaching at Kent State's level.
He seems ideally wired for this job, but the job will not be an easy one.
Be patient and let him build from the ground up. That's what I say.
Judging by Tuesday, there's a long way to go.
That's the takeaway from the Heart of Dallas Bowl and really the only thing that matters. This game will go down in history as little more than a footnote. It will hardly matter at all. The slate has already been wiped clean.
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2012. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited. E-mail GoldandBlack.com/Boilers, Inc.
This post was edited on 1/1 4:52 PM by Brian_GoldandBlack.com
This post was edited on 1/1 5:14 PM by Brian_GoldandBlack.com
