The vicious Purdue cycle

It happened again, and once again, I was lulled into the trap. Let me explain what trap I fell into by guiding you through the 2004 season. How much it mirrors the current season is frightening. The only thing that will make it different is that we won’t be able to go to the Sun Bowl, since the Big Ten no longer has an affiliation with that game. I was beginning to think Joe Tiller had a time share in El Paso. Anyways. Here it is.
Purdue started by blowing out there first two non conference opponents, Syracuse and Ball State, teams that can be feisty if in the right season, but weren’t so much in ’04. The Boilers were riding high. Then, they narrowly edged Illinois in what should have been a wake up call for everyone, but nobody woke up, and the game was forgotten after Purdue rolled over Notre Dame, who was having a down year. The fifth game was another game against a team having a down year, but still, Penn State was a big name and everyone was feeling the Purdue love as they headed into a huge home game against Wisconsin. Gameday showed up, Purdue was ranked #5, Kyle Orton was smelling the Heisman already. Under the lights, however, especially at home, Purdue is 0 for the millennium. They were getting ready to put the Badgers away when Kyle Orton fumbled, it was picked up by the Badgers and returned for a touchdown. It was horrible. Everyone in the stadium thought the call was blown (though it was not) and this play was the beginning of the end.
Their next game, at home against Michigan, was your typical let down game, and their dynamic offense was nowhere to be found, with Kyle Orton’s mind still on that 4th quarter fumble against Wisconsin. The next week, they did the unthinkable for a team that had previously considered itself a contender for a bid in the Rose Bowl, losing at Northwestern, and again at Iowa, who was ranked, however Purdue was devoid of any offensive spark.
They came around at the end of the season and beat Ohio State and Indiana at home to get bowl eligible, but the damage was done. They looked fairly helpless against Arizona State in their traditional Sun Bowl appearance, despite what the score said. Now let’s flash forward to 2007.
First, they started the season by blowing out their non conference opponents, Central Michigan and Toledo, who in the past few years have proven to be feisty. Then they went to Minnesota, and though they beat the Gophers handily, there were certainly signs that trouble was brewing, as the defense let the Gophers back in the game in the second half. All this was forgotten as the Boilers beat Notre Dame the next week.
So now Purdue was 5-0 and had a date with the class of the Big Ten, this year, Ohio State. Curtis Painter, while not turning the ball over, still allowed the Buckeyes stifling defense to get in his head. I think the 10th or 11th punt will count as the “Orton fumble” type of breaking point for Curtis. No doubt, the game was heartbreaking for Purdue fans who thought their team was on to something. The next week, the Boilermakers played Michigan and got throttled in your classic letdown game. The only two differences between this years game and the one in ’04 was that this game was in Ann Arbor and Purdue’s defense is terrible this year.
So, now we have a quarterback who is rapidly turning into a headcase, a team with no spirit and a broken fan base. In fact, I find myself hoping Purdue loses out so they don’t get embarrassed in a bowl game.
Well, the next two weeks are against Iowa and Northwestern (both at home, but at this point, I don’t think it matters), and then they have a game at Penn State, which, following the same cycle, should be when the Boilers wake up. They’ll win at home in their final home game of the season again Michigan State. Undoubtedly, Joe Tiller will try to force some sort of quarterback controversy after their next couple of game, with the back up giving we Boilermakers just enough hope to believe in them next year. That, my friends, is the vicious Purdue cycle.