I think the immediate takeaway from Purdue's 54-16 win over a dreadful Eastern Michigan team is to be wary of fool's good, much the same as it was two weeks ago after a similarly one-sided romp over Eastern Kentucky.
The Boilermakers ran wild over the Eagles, making numerous big plays in the running game, including a 50-yard passing touchdown that was far more run than it was throw.
After the game, Danny Hope talked about his "sprinters," the very thoroughbreds he's discussed all along while talking up the speed he's spent the past four years of recruiting stockpiling. That arsenal was unloaded on Eastern Michigan in full force.
Track runners look great in track meets, and Purdue's 4x100 relay team of Akeem Hunt, Raheem Mostert, Akeem Shavers and Brandon Cottom (wait, really?) looked great against Eastern Michigan once this game devolved into a track meet.
But when football games start up, these guys have to pack the same big-play punch. PlayStation numbers won't be expected, but the threat will be needed.
Purdue just ran past Eastern Michigan today; there's probably not an opponent left on the schedule it'll do that to again. There might be, as it will turn out, but right now, I don't know.
The Boilermakers racked up gigantic numbers today, nearly cracking four bills in rushing yardage, and provided BTN plenty of highlights to replay for everyone who has something other than DISH.
But when you look beyond the superficial, you see the sort of flaws you don't want to see against maybe the worst team you'll play all season. And I wouldn't be saying "maybe" if Eastern Kentucky had had its quarterback.
It's critical for Purdue to be consistent this season. No more of the unevenness from last few seasons. It must follow up good games with good games and avoid the maddening slip-ups that have plagued it in past years.
Credit to Danny Hope for not doing cartwheels after the game over the final score and acknowledging the bumps in the path to that score.
This was a team Purdue should have beaten like a dusty rug.
Make no mistake: This game was never in question, but in a game in which style points did sort of matter, Purdue labored early.
Its offense ? curiously passing on six straight snaps against a defense we all knew it would trample ? was bad early, going three-and-out twice and needing a bone-headed personal foul to pick up its first first down three series in.
Caleb TerBush, apparently ill but not so ill that he couldn't pass on six straight snaps to open the game, struggled, throwing a brutal pick-six and looking sluggish in the game's opening minutes.
I said this week that Purdue would miss Robert Marve this season, but not this week.
Well, it is what is.
This is two straight shaky games for the 2011 starter. Needless to say, Purdue needs him to get his TerBulent play straightened out and get this offense moving. Right now, the offense has issues, no matter how many points were put on the board today. Purdue isn't going to win like it wants to with shaky play at quarterback.
Points scored against Eastern Michigan are a lot easier to come by than against their friendly neighbors from Ann Arbor, for example.
The Boilermakers can be good on offense. Receiver Antavian Edison is having a great season so far and this group does possess speed and some intriguing skill-position players.
But the quarterback is critical, as is an offensive line that's still sorting out its personnel. Here comes redshirt freshman center Robert Kugler into the left guard mix all of a sudden, at a position of dire concern if you ask me.
This offense has potential, but isn't there yet.
Just when you think Purdue's finally going to beat somebody deep, Gary Bush drops Rob Henry's picturesque throw up the sideline.
Purdue turned it over twice ? bringing its grand total against the two worst teams on its schedule to seven ? and handed the Eagles all nine of their points.
But it wasn't just the offense that had issues in Saturday's calisthenics.
Special teams missed two points-after ? kicker controversy! ? and fumbled a kickoff out of bounds at the 1. Just bad football, stuff that won't just lead to losses down the road, but blowout losses against the wrong opponent, even if there doesn't appear to be too many of them in this year's Big Ten.
Thank heavens for this defense, and thank heavens for the bye week Ryan Russell now so badly needs after hurting some sort of lower extremity. Looked like an ankle or foot; we're told it's his knee. Either way, if he's injured and not just hurt well, that would not be good.
But this defense is legitimate. Eastern Michigan averaged four-and-a-half yards per run, which was surprising, but the Boilermakers basically allowed no points today. The Eagles' best offense was Purdue's. Eastern's only scoring drive today spanned all of 26 yards after O.J. Ross' fumble gave the visitors the ball inside midfield.
The secondary made damn certain QB Alex Gillett was not the best a man can get, picking him off three times, Josh Johnson's interception right before the half setting up a touchdown that just began the piling on. What a year Josh Johnson is having. That's two touchdowns in two weeks that he's now gift-wrapped for the offense.
Purdue owned the line of scrimmage today, one of the many things Purdue should have done today and one of the things it actually did.
Again, style points did kind of matter here today.
Purdue played well at Notre Dame last week and needed to back it up this week. There's that consistency thing again.
It needed to win big and look good doing it.
But despite all the highlight-reel runs and the robust numbers, I think it might have only gotten the first part right.
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.
The Boilermakers ran wild over the Eagles, making numerous big plays in the running game, including a 50-yard passing touchdown that was far more run than it was throw.
After the game, Danny Hope talked about his "sprinters," the very thoroughbreds he's discussed all along while talking up the speed he's spent the past four years of recruiting stockpiling. That arsenal was unloaded on Eastern Michigan in full force.
Track runners look great in track meets, and Purdue's 4x100 relay team of Akeem Hunt, Raheem Mostert, Akeem Shavers and Brandon Cottom (wait, really?) looked great against Eastern Michigan once this game devolved into a track meet.
But when football games start up, these guys have to pack the same big-play punch. PlayStation numbers won't be expected, but the threat will be needed.
Purdue just ran past Eastern Michigan today; there's probably not an opponent left on the schedule it'll do that to again. There might be, as it will turn out, but right now, I don't know.
The Boilermakers racked up gigantic numbers today, nearly cracking four bills in rushing yardage, and provided BTN plenty of highlights to replay for everyone who has something other than DISH.
But when you look beyond the superficial, you see the sort of flaws you don't want to see against maybe the worst team you'll play all season. And I wouldn't be saying "maybe" if Eastern Kentucky had had its quarterback.
It's critical for Purdue to be consistent this season. No more of the unevenness from last few seasons. It must follow up good games with good games and avoid the maddening slip-ups that have plagued it in past years.
Credit to Danny Hope for not doing cartwheels after the game over the final score and acknowledging the bumps in the path to that score.
This was a team Purdue should have beaten like a dusty rug.
Make no mistake: This game was never in question, but in a game in which style points did sort of matter, Purdue labored early.
Its offense ? curiously passing on six straight snaps against a defense we all knew it would trample ? was bad early, going three-and-out twice and needing a bone-headed personal foul to pick up its first first down three series in.
Caleb TerBush, apparently ill but not so ill that he couldn't pass on six straight snaps to open the game, struggled, throwing a brutal pick-six and looking sluggish in the game's opening minutes.
I said this week that Purdue would miss Robert Marve this season, but not this week.
Well, it is what is.
This is two straight shaky games for the 2011 starter. Needless to say, Purdue needs him to get his TerBulent play straightened out and get this offense moving. Right now, the offense has issues, no matter how many points were put on the board today. Purdue isn't going to win like it wants to with shaky play at quarterback.
Points scored against Eastern Michigan are a lot easier to come by than against their friendly neighbors from Ann Arbor, for example.
The Boilermakers can be good on offense. Receiver Antavian Edison is having a great season so far and this group does possess speed and some intriguing skill-position players.
But the quarterback is critical, as is an offensive line that's still sorting out its personnel. Here comes redshirt freshman center Robert Kugler into the left guard mix all of a sudden, at a position of dire concern if you ask me.
This offense has potential, but isn't there yet.
Just when you think Purdue's finally going to beat somebody deep, Gary Bush drops Rob Henry's picturesque throw up the sideline.
Purdue turned it over twice ? bringing its grand total against the two worst teams on its schedule to seven ? and handed the Eagles all nine of their points.
But it wasn't just the offense that had issues in Saturday's calisthenics.
Special teams missed two points-after ? kicker controversy! ? and fumbled a kickoff out of bounds at the 1. Just bad football, stuff that won't just lead to losses down the road, but blowout losses against the wrong opponent, even if there doesn't appear to be too many of them in this year's Big Ten.
Thank heavens for this defense, and thank heavens for the bye week Ryan Russell now so badly needs after hurting some sort of lower extremity. Looked like an ankle or foot; we're told it's his knee. Either way, if he's injured and not just hurt well, that would not be good.
But this defense is legitimate. Eastern Michigan averaged four-and-a-half yards per run, which was surprising, but the Boilermakers basically allowed no points today. The Eagles' best offense was Purdue's. Eastern's only scoring drive today spanned all of 26 yards after O.J. Ross' fumble gave the visitors the ball inside midfield.
The secondary made damn certain QB Alex Gillett was not the best a man can get, picking him off three times, Josh Johnson's interception right before the half setting up a touchdown that just began the piling on. What a year Josh Johnson is having. That's two touchdowns in two weeks that he's now gift-wrapped for the offense.
Purdue owned the line of scrimmage today, one of the many things Purdue should have done today and one of the things it actually did.
Again, style points did kind of matter here today.
Purdue played well at Notre Dame last week and needed to back it up this week. There's that consistency thing again.
It needed to win big and look good doing it.
But despite all the highlight-reel runs and the robust numbers, I think it might have only gotten the first part right.
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.
