More than just a talent gap?

[SCBoiler1]

This may seem crazy but I actually think Purdue fans are overstating the impact on the game of the Auburn vs Purdue talent GAP. I get Purdue plays with a roster of lower rated players and I wasn't surprised they lost. I wouldn't have been surprised if they lost by 3 or 4 touchdowns but I don't think I've ever watched a more lopsided game than yesterday. The 56 points scored in the first half was a bowl record (any bowl) and the most ever given up by a Purdue team by a wide margin (42 previous record). The 63 points for the game was the most ever given up by a Purdue team. So that's not an exaggeration.

Keep in mind Auburn only beat Mercer by 14 points and Southern Miss. by 11 points. They also got beat by a pretty mediocre Tennessee team. Tennessee got blown out by Missouri by 33 points at home. Does Mercer, Southern Miss, Tennessee or Missouri have talent that is that much greater than Purdue?

I don't like using the transitive property but we lost to Missouri by 3 points and Missouri was extremely competitive in the SEC. (they beat Florida, lost by 1 to Kentucky and lost to Georgia by 14)

Bottom line is Purdue should have played and been coached better yesterday. In my opinion writing it off as Auburn having superior talent that was an under performing juggernaut is just being a little to simplistic.

 

[wawasee]

Let's keep things in perspective.. Brohm got everything out of this Purdue team this year. Auburn under achieved this year. Auburn played to their potential in this game. Purdue came out flat. It's gonna take time for Brohm to turn Purdue around. Recruiting is of course the key.

 

[PurHack]

We had injuries at positions we could not under any circumstances have to be competitive with Auburn. That was a big part of it.

 

[IndyGlen]

This may seem crazy but I actually think Purdue fans are overstating the impact on the game of the Auburn vs Purdue talent GAP. I get Purdue plays with a roster of lower rated players and I wasn't surprised they lost. I wouldn't have been surprised if they lost by 3 or 4 touchdowns but I don't think I've ever watched a more lopsided game than yesterday. The 56 points scored in the first half was a bowl record (any bowl) and the most ever given up by a Purdue team by a wide margin (42 previous record). The 63 points for the game was the most ever given up by a Purdue team. So that's not an exaggeration.

Keep in mind Auburn only beat Mercer by 14 points and Southern Miss. by 11 points. They also got beat by a pretty mediocre Tennessee team. Tennessee got blown out by Missouri by 33 points at home. Does Mercer, Southern Miss, Tennessee or Missouri have talent that is that much greater than Purdue?

I don't like using the transitive property but we lost to Missouri by 3 points and Missouri was extremely competitive in the SEC. (they beat Florida, lost by 1 to Kentucky and lost to Georgia by 14)

Bottom line is Purdue should have played and been coached better yesterday. In my opinion writing it off as Auburn having superior talent that was an under performing juggernaut is just being a little to simplistic.

I don’t think people are completely dismissing everything other than the talent gap but the foundational reason for auburn crushing our boilers was the talent gap. Then you can add in elements like:
1) Gus had a great offensive game plan (came out throwing deep balls anticipating purdues defensive secondary and linebackers would be “cheating” to help depleted defensive line)

2) Auburn was emotionally charged (instead of being lackadaisical following disappointing season, they had what their coach described as their best game of year).

3). Early success (this game got out of control
quickly and momentum is a huge factor in any sport and the quick scores in first couple minutes swung mo completely)

4) physical domination at line of scrimmage (yes, some of this is talent but some was the result of items 2 and 3 above).

I honestly wouldn’t bother to break this game down further because there is nothing to be learned from a complete overwhelming beat down. It happens in all sports, one team is in the zone (deflected Blough pass flies right into auburn defenders hands) and another can’t do anything right (dropped INT).

Destroy the video and put this on the shelf labeled “BEFORE”. The “AFTER” is a work in progress in the early stages.
——- Boiler Up!

 

[SCBoiler1]

I don’t think people are completely dismissing everything other than the talent gap but the foundational reason for auburn crushing our boilers was the talent gap. Then you can add in elements like:
1) Gus had a great offensive game plan (came out throwing deep balls anticipating purdues defensive secondary and linebackers would be “cheating” to help depleted defensive line)

2) Auburn was emotionally charged (instead of being lackadaisical following disappointing season, they had what their coach described as their best game of year).

3). Early success (this game got out of control
quickly and momentum is a huge factor in any sport and the quick scores in first couple minutes swung mo completely)

4) physical domination at line of scrimmage (yes, some of this is talent but some was the result of items 2 and 3 above).

I honestly wouldn’t bother to break this game down further because there is nothing to be learned from a complete overwhelming beat down. It happens in all sports, one team is in the zone (deflected Blough pass flies right into auburn defenders hands) and another can’t do anything right (dropped INT).

Destroy the video and put this on the shelf labeled “BEFORE”. The “AFTER” is a work in progress in the early stages.
——- Boiler Up!

I agree totally with everything you've said above but even then I could see a 20-30 point loss.

This loss was historic. Worse than anything we had seen under Hazzel, Hope or even Akers. Its not crazy to think they could have scored 80 on us if they felt the need.

I'm not suggesting any lack of support for the coaching staff or team. Its just surprising. I don't know what you learn from the game but its the second time it happened this year. Remember Minnesota scored 28 unanswered points in 20 minutes.

 

[IndyGlen]

I agree totally with everything you've said above but even then I could see a 20-30 point loss.

This loss was historic. Worse than anything we had seen under Hazzel, Hope or even Akers. Its not crazy to think they could have scored 80 on us if they felt the need.

I'm not suggesting any lack of support for the coaching staff or team. Its just surprising. I don't know what you learn from the game but its the second time it happened this year. Remember Minnesota scored 28 unanswered points in 20 minutes.

Here’s my shorter answer - don’t over analyze. Blowouts happen in all sports, sometimes the superior team gets blown out (not saying that was the case here).

 

[Wolegib]

Blow outs happen. Even the best Big 10 teams have trouble in beating sec teams I bowl games! Just ask OSU. I'm quite sure if we played them 10 times this year, they would win the next 9 straight games. Let's face reality - that win was an upset rather than an indicator of how great our team actually was.

One of our biggest problems was we had no depth and no secondary. Take away Neal and there was nobody capable of stepping up. And a decent QB shredded our terrible secondary. And our offense played against a good defense.

Auburn was ready to show the world who they are. They lost to Georgia, alabama and LSU. I doubt Purdue would have come close in those games either.

Purdue may be good against big 10 and mac teams, but playing a tough SEC team in a bowl game is a different challenge. Would a team with a massive online like UW have fared any better? Running theball, the score would have been lower but the result would have been the same.

 

[Mandeville LA]

One of my best friends is a die hard Auburn fan and alumni. He told me repeatedly that is Purdue could stop the run they had a good chance of winning the game. They cam out with deep balls over the top and I was shocked and so was Purdue. A loss is a loss there are no victories in keeping a game close.

Same friend told me this morning that Auburn had not connected on any deep balls all year because the old OC would not call the play. Guess that got fixed. Anyway, looking forward to 19,20,21. Time will tell where this program is heading. Anyone that thought Purdue had a good chance yesterday was full of hope and other things that make people this that way. There talent was way too much for this Purdue team to compete with.

 

[SCBoiler1]

Here’s my shorter answer - don’t over analyze. Blowouts happen in all sports, sometimes the superior team gets blown out (not saying that was the case here).

The point is this. It wasn't just a blowout loss. It was one of the most lopsided games in Purdue's 125+ year football history. Losses like this don't "just happen". We gave up 14 more points in the first half than Purdue has ever given up. Think about it, the most points ever and Purdue has had some bad teams. You could say the first half was probably the worst half of defensive football in Purdue's history. So you can't just say blowouts happen... This loss was historic.

Again, I think we are headed in the right direction but that's what makes it so shocking!

 

[mryankee2397]

auburn recognzed that our secondary has been weak all year. need to improve on blackmon especially as he was beaten all year long and they went his way deep and connected.

 

[TwinDegrees2]

I agree totally with everything you've said above but even then I could see a 20-30 point loss.

This loss was historic. Worse than anything we had seen under Hazzel, Hope or even Akers. Its not crazy to think they could have scored 80 on us if they felt the need.

I'm not suggesting any lack of support for the coaching staff or team. Its just surprising. I don't know what you learn from the game but its the second time it happened this year. Remember Minnesota scored 28 unanswered points in 20 minutes.

Those are some of the reasons I've never felt Brohm is the "right" guy, or "that" guy to take PU to even a league title. Yeah, OSU came in and lost, but EMU won as did Minny. According to all on this board, Brohm is supposed to be an offensive genius, yet as you said in his second year at PU, he's batting .500 overall. And if we're honest, we can not blame that all on Haze's recruits. And yes, if he's all that, Purdue should win no less than 8-9 games next season.

 

[FirstDownB]

Not just a talent gap between Purdue and Auburn, but a talent gap between Purdue starters and backups. With Neal, Major, Mackey, McCann, and Thieneman at 100% it might have been somewhat competitive. As I posted in another thread, we were actually somewhat lucky this season in regards to health on the offensive and defensive lines. Neal being able to play 70 snaps a game was crucial because behind him was such a big drop off. We were walking on egg shells all season depthwise. Good news is we should only get deeper moving forward, but it may take a couple more recruiting cycles.

 

[AuSkip07]

This may seem crazy but I actually think Purdue fans are overstating the impact on the game of the Auburn vs Purdue talent GAP. I get Purdue plays with a roster of lower rated players and I wasn't surprised they lost. I wouldn't have been surprised if they lost by 3 or 4 touchdowns but I don't think I've ever watched a more lopsided game than yesterday. The 56 points scored in the first half was a bowl record (any bowl) and the most ever given up by a Purdue team by a wide margin (42 previous record). The 63 points for the game was the most ever given up by a Purdue team. So that's not an exaggeration.

Keep in mind Auburn only beat Mercer by 14 points and Southern Miss. by 11 points. They also got beat by a pretty mediocre Tennessee team. Tennessee got blown out by Missouri by 33 points at home. Does Mercer, Southern Miss, Tennessee or Missouri have talent that is that much greater than Purdue?

I don't like using the transitive property but we lost to Missouri by 3 points and Missouri was extremely competitive in the SEC. (they beat Florida, lost by 1 to Kentucky and lost to Georgia by 14)

Bottom line is Purdue should have played and been coached better yesterday. In my opinion writing it off as Auburn having superior talent that was an under performing juggernaut is just being a little to simplistic.

as an Auburn fan i wouldnt go by score alone between mercer and southern miss. This teams weakest link has been getting better since the beginning of the season. (OL) The biggest difference in this game was our coach took over playcalling duties and the OC left. (he was a really good OC before being a coach) That made the team more unpredictable which hurts in preping an opposing team. most of us at Auburn understand that you at Purdue have a better overall coach. (some of us were actually talking about the potential of him replacing Malzhan) There is a talent gap but its mostly apparent in the Defense and the type of WR's we have. I doubt this will hurt your recruiting at all. Wins and losses dont usually affect ours.

 

[KentuckyBoiler]

It is going to take Brohm another couple of classes before we have the depth to be able to deal with starters being out that we could not afford to lose right now.

We need to have some patience. We will get there. Watch 3 to 4 former Hazell games, and you can appreciate that Brohm is turning the corner with the program.

 

[JohnnyDoeBoiler]

Purdue was Down it’s most important defensive pieces to be successful. Neal and Jones do things nobody else on the roster can do right now (clog the middle/absorb double teams and blitz from the LB position). Bailey is obviously the best overall player BUT without the other two...the defense had to move and switch too many players to fill gaps.

 

[chaspark]

Well, I for one am not really surprised. First, as I've said before, we are built for speed, not brute strength. When we lost Neal, the one lone DT with enough muscle to stand against Auburn's OL, our chance significantly dropped. Holt could have done better, true, but the talent gap in the trench has been rather big. One of the reason we could have beaten OSU so easily was the fact that they didn't really run this year, so we could focus on their passing. Don't let the score fool you, as OSU had still put a lot of yardage on us. Auburn is just an upgrade version of Minnesota; the team with massive, strong linemen who would like to bang inside. We got outmuscled, period.

 

[JohnHoosierr]

Agree it wasn't all talent. Holt did a very poor job. Brohm wasn't exactly on fire with his play calling either. But like most here I'm looking forward to the future due to our much improved recruiting and i have alot of faith in brohm as a coach.

 

[rjmpu82]

Auburn is a better team than Purdue. The SEC is a better football conference than the Big 10 if you consider every team in each conference. Purdue could play Auburn 10 times and probably lose at least 8 of those games. I doubt the scores would be as lopsided as yesterday though. Yesterday was a perfect storm of Auburn hitting on all cylinders with superior talent and us not playing well. I think on most days, we lose by 10-14 points. I do think the future for us is very bright. Glad we got to a bowl game regardless of the score.

 

[Boiler8285]

I have no idea what the future holds and anything is better than Hazell. Right now we are Danny Hope era. Let's at least get the narrative straight. If lack of talent and nothing coach can do then fine. If coach is great at game prep and getting 2 star players to play over their heads, then how do you play the worst first half in bowl history? That is all teams with 30 bowl games a year for years, not all on players. The D has been lost all year and some questionable play calling on offense. I hope the game serves as motivation for the players because there is a lot of work to do and Holt has bounced from program to program for a reason.

 

[jmohlman]

The point is this. It wasn't just a blowout loss. It was one of the most lopsided games in Purdue's 125+ year football history. Losses like this don't "just happen". We gave up 14 more points in the first half than Purdue has ever given up. Think about it, the most points ever and Purdue has had some bad teams. You could say the first half was probably the worst half of defensive football in Purdue's history. So you can't just say blowouts happen... This loss was historic.

Again, I think we are headed in the right direction but that's what makes it so shocking!

Understand what you’re saying, totally understand your frustration. However sports is all about the matchup. We were injured like other posters have said at our most critical positions we’re at areas in which we did not have any back ups yet they are also areas in which auburn had their strength and in some cases NFL caliber strength. When NFL caliber strength to meet Division III college football, it’s just ugly. One of my business partners son’s is a 6 foot five 325 pound division one college offense of lineman. He is unbelievably and brutally strong all the way around. In high school he played in one of the top Conferences in the state of Ohio, one of which players go to the SEC, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State every year. Yet he was a ‘road-grader’ As a senior against anyone who got in his way. He would block people 20 yards downfield on running plays. It’s that type of disparagement that we faced against Auburn when we had our key starters out. That’s the importance of this recruiting class and that’s the importance of getting two year three and four of the CJB era.

 

[FLAG HUNTER]

While us fans sit and watch then give our 2 cents why the team got pounded by Auburn, I am sure the players know what happened and why, and will do everything possible to never let that happen again , or they will be on the bench. Lots of really good athletes coming next year, give Holt another 2 years, should be a big difference.