Purdue loses Bucket but looks ahead
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Assistant Editor
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Purdue coach Darrell Hazell didn’t know where to start.
Maybe the most points ever allowed by Purdue against Indiana.
Maybe the Boilermakers’ worst loss since 1988 in a heated in-state rivalry.
Maybe a defense shredded for an unthinkable 56 points, 42 first downs, 401 yards rushing, six touchdown passes, 16 of 18 third-down conversions, 7.4 yards a snap and zero hope.
So Hazell emitted the usual coach-speak about how the Hoosiers made a ton of plays and his team made too few – all entirely true – but then quickly pivoted to another reality: This ugly showing could have been much, much worse.
This season, Hazell’s first and one which mercifully concluded Saturday, couldn’t have gone more astray. This game? Purdue trailed by 40 midway through the third quarter and only lost by 20, 56-36.
“Our team continued to fight,” Hazell said. “They had a chance to give up. They never gave up. Obviously we are not where we want to be, but we’ll make strides.”
Danny Etling made some Saturday, going 33-of-49 for 485 yards and four touchdown passes. DeAngelo Yancey had 11 catches for 125 yards and a touchdown. Danny Anthrop had five catches for 151 yards and a long score. Justin Sinz posted nine catches for 87 yards and a score of his own.
All those names? All underclassmen, and only Sinz will be a senior next fall.
“That’s on the players is how hard we’re going to work in the offseason,” said Etling, a true freshman. “I’ve learned a lot. It’s hard to play in college. Everybody’s good. You’ve got to have a lot of mental focus. That’s something I’ll work on.”
Of the young talent, fellow freshman Yancey added, “I think we’re going to be pretty good if we keep working, stay humble and trust the coaches.”
Hazell hoped his program would be closer to success than it is now and expects to sit down with players over the next few weeks to see “where their hearts are” regarding their future at Purdue.
“They’ve bought into the system,” Hazell said.
One buy-in was Purdue senior cornerback Ricardo Allen, a strong link on a woeful defense, who concluded his career with a pair of interceptions to extend his school record to 13. His first pick was a critical play with the Boilermakers reeling early. Allen stepped in front of a third-and-11 throw at Purdue’s 28-yard line. That sparked the offense to a 12-play, 72-yard scoring drive.
Allen’s second interception came in the end zone on first-and-goal less than one minute into the fourth quarter. On the ensuing snap, Etling used that positive momentum to hit Anthrop on an 80-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline. It was Purdue’s longest play from scrimmage this season.
Allen, a beloved captain, took off his uniform with a mixture of emotions.
“We have a very young offense,” Allen said. “They’re going to be great. The record was tough. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change anything. The experience I went through with the new coaches and what they taught me has developed me into a better person. It’s tough to go out this way. Give it time.”
Purdue’s third-down problems on defense started on the fourth snap of the game when Stephen Houston broke off a 53-yard touchdown run on third-and-1. Houston had 17 carries for 120 yards and one other score. Last season, Houston rushed 28 times for 158 yards and three scores in the Bucket game.
Boilermaker fans will be glad to know this was Houston’s senior finale.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Houston said. “It usually just happens that way. I’m trying to kill every team. It just always happens to be Purdue who usually gets the bad end of the stick with me, so I really can’t call it.”
Houston later shouted across the room, “Tre Roberson, I love you!”
Roberson played an even bigger role in Purdue’s embarrassing day, finishing with 21 carries for 154 yards and connecting on a school-record six touchdowns. Roberson was 25-of-37 for 273 yards. Purdue never found an answer.
That goes for their 2013 season, too, one that saw Purdue go winless in Big Ten play and eke out its lone victory by six points over FCS foe Indiana State.
Still, Hazell held his head high. This loss didn’t appear to have him any more down than usual simply because it was Indiana. Hazell is a bright mind with a vision.
“The thing you sell is Purdue,” Hazell said. “Purdue’s a great product. What makes it a great product is the people and what’s going to happen here in the near future. It’ll look like a shining star, and it will be a shining star.”
VIDEO: Darrell Hazell speaks about Danny Etling, and Etling explains how Purdue can turn things around. (Video shot by Chris Goff.)
Follow Chris Goff on Twitter: chrisgoff_ISL.
