Dragash: Observations from Purdue’s 20-14 victory over Indiana State
By CRAIG DRAGASH
ISL Correspondent
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Darrell Hazell definitively said he is happy that his Boilermakers came out with a win in his first home game at Ross Ade Stadium against an FCS opponent in Indiana State.
He’ll have to forgive fans in West Lafayette if they aren’t buying it.
“Obviously we’re not very efficient on offense just yet,” said Hazell. “We need to make major strides this week.”
Making major strides will be absolutely necessary for Hazell’s Boilermakers if they want to compete on the same field with Notre Dame next Saturday.
While Purdue’s defense was respectable for the most part, their offense was just the opposite. It finally showed some signs of life late in the second half, but that was after they had a significant advantage in time of possession and the Sycamore defense was likely worn down. After this performance, Boilermaker fans will have their loyalty tested as Purdue’s schedule gets brutally tough starting next week against Notre Dame.
Here’s what I saw after Purdue’s 20-14 victory over the Sycamores:
1. Rob Henry is clearly a better quarterback when he is on the move.
Henry made several plays when he either rolled out or was forced to run by the pass rush. He did make some plays from the pocket, but it appeared that he is better with a limited number of options, which is what is given to him when he is on the move.
2. Fans are expecting more out of this team than what they saw today.
The boo-birds were out in full force when on two occasions the Boilers had first-and-goal from the 1 and only had three points to show for it. On the second one, Purdue, with no timeouts inside of a minute left in the first half, went dive, quarterback sneak, then dive again with no timeouts, and failed to get the field goal team set in time to get a kick off before the half ended and came away with no points. “That was understandable,” said Henry when asked about the fans booing. “We had three plays inside of the 5, and we couldn’t put it in”.
“That was very disappointing that we weren’t able to punch it in, especially with our offensive line — we’ve got some veterans,” added Hazell. “We’ve got to do a much better job inside the red zone, period, especially inside the 5-yard line.”
3. Purdue is not a straight-ahead, downhill running team.
Purdue had little to no success running the ball straight ahead at ISU. The Boilermakers were much more effective running between the tackles when the defense had something else to focus on, like B.J. Knauf coming in motion for a possible jet sweep. In fact, Knauf scored from 16 yards out on a jet sweep, and finished the game with 26 yards rushing on four carries.
4. Knauf has the potential to remind Boilermaker fans of Vinny Sutherland.
Knauf has a lot of attributes that are similar to what Sutherland, who was a favorite target of Drew Brees, had in his days at Purdue. He possesses speed, quickness and a very strong frame that allows him to take on defenders and break tackles. Knauf only had one catch for 19 yards, but hopefully those numbers will increase as the offense develops.
5. It will be interesting to see where the quarterback situation winds up after a few games in the Big Ten schedule.
Purdue’s next six games are as follows: Notre Dame, at Wisconsin, Northern Illinois (which went to the Orange Bowl last season), Nebraska, at Michigan, Ohio State. If Purdue doesn’t get more than say, two wins in those six games, will Henry still be the starter, or is it time to get Etling or Appleby the experience they will need to be successful in 2014? Purdue’s final four game are against Iowa, at Penn State, Illinois (which pounded Cincinnati 45-17) and at Indiana. Do those games allow for either of the freshman quarterbacks to have a shot at success?
6. Ready for this? Purdue has a chance at having a season award winner!!!
And his name is Cody Webster, Purdue’s punter. He is a candidate for the Ray Guy award for the nation’s top punter, and he did plenty to solidify that candidacy today. His average was 46.7, but take away a 36-yard punt that was rushed while kicking out of his own end zone late in the contest, and he averaged 48.8 on the day, with a long punt of 59 yards. Four of his six punts put the Sycamores inside their 20, and one of the two that didn’t wound up inside the 20 after a penalty. Purdue definitely won the battle of field position in this game.
7. Purdue fans must have patience with Darrell Hazell.
I know this is a lot easier said than done, but remember a majority of this Purdue roster consists of Danny Hope’s recruits. For as much as Hazell has done to say all the right things to fans and media and implement an atmosphere of accountability on campus, these players are still not accustomed to doing what it takes to get out of the “mediocrity” situation that Purdue has been in for many years.
