Brunt: Purdue’s loss to Cincinnati not the end of the world
By CLIFF BRUNT
ISL Editor
Purdue’s loss to Cincinnati was so deflating.
So says a member of my church, a die-hard fan who said she turned off the television during a Boilermakers game for the first time ever on Saturday afternoon. Indeed, folks who normally wear gold and black to service were in neutral colors after the 42-7 loss to the Bearcats.
I understand. After all, Purdue brought in exciting, up-and-coming coach Darrell Hazell to move the program past the mistake-riddled Danny Hope era. And after the huge pep rally at Monument Circle, fans were ready for a victory. People were buying in. There was a buzz around the program unseen in years.
Then, the Boilermakers stepped on the field and looked like the same team that got trucked by Wisconsin and Michigan last season.
Purdue was thoroughly dominated, being outgained 425 yards to 226. The Boilermakers fumbled five times and lost two. Rob Henry barely completed 50 percent of his passes and threw two interceptions. Purdue rushed for just 65 yards. All the things folks had hoped would be cleaned up still appeared to be gaping wounds.
So I get it.
Let me take you back for a moment, to another debut from a highly touted coach — Joe Tiller.
The Boilermakers lost his 1997 debut to Toledo 36-22. Tiller came back and beat No. 12 Notre Dame the next week to start a six-game win streak. The Boilermakers finished 9-3 and ranked No. 15 in the final Associated Press poll.
I’m not saying Purdue will win a lot of games this year, or that I expect some miraculous winning streak to occur. The Boilermakers have more losses coming. Probably a lot of them. But the 1997 Boilermakers improved quickly under a good coach, and I think that will happen here, too. There probably won’t be a bowl game this year, but the team should be noticeably better in a few months.
Sometimes, the hype behind the new guy needs to die down a bit for everything he says to become real. Just replacing a coach will not immediately change the results for the players. They don’t have Hope as a scapegoat anymore. They made the mistakes last season, and they made the mistakes Saturday. It is an error-prone group that needs to own that fact and get better. Now that the players seem to understand, Hazell can truly teach. As a coach, you can say all the right things in the preseason, but nothing tells you to get better like a 35-point beatdown in your season opener.
For those calling for Henry’s head, remember, it’s been a while since he played regularly. He’ll need to get comfortable again. A road opener against a good team isn’t necessarily the ideal place for that to occur. I’m not making excuses for him, and he didn’t make excuses after the game. But he will grow. He’s a worker who doesn’t want to waste his senior year.
Also consider that Cincinnati has won consistently in recent years. Because the Bearcats are used to success, they are hard to beat. Purdue is not there yet.
So, yes, it was ugly, but it was a building block. Purdue will turn the corner. It may not happen on the scoreboard immediately — the schedule is brutal — but the Boilermakers should be solid by November. Yes, it’s easy to look at 42-7. Yes, it was a letdown. In the long run, I expect that score to be nothing more than the answer to a trivia question, a small blip on the overall radar of Hazell’s outstanding career.
