You get an F, you get and F and you,…
Do I want to relive the events of yesterday’s historic butt-kicking in front of a sold-out Ross-Ade Stadium? No, but I am contractually obligated to do this, so here we go.
Offense: F
Listen, I could go position by position or give the entire unit from the top down an F.
Because that is what the offense deserves after… whatever the hell that was yesterday. I understand that the Irish have a pretty solid defensive unit, they are aggressive, fast, blitz, and will man you up.
So, there are questions to be asked.
Why was Hudson Card a target practice for the Notre Dame defensive line and linebackers when they exposed the Purdue offensive line? Does the Air Raid offense under Graham Harrel refuse to move the pocket? Or, is allowing your quarterback to take hit after hit good for business? Screens? Draws? Anything?
I blame the game plan more than the players for the failing grade, starting with Graham Harrell, who I thought would be better in year 2 at Purdue than last season, but after a game against one competitive team, I stand corrected.
Card played poorly, again, probably due to whatever gameplan was puked onto the piece of paper for the Irish, but the offensive line was embarrassed, body for body, man to man, they stood no chance. This affected all phases of the offense, from the turnovers to the lack of ability to run the ball.
You name it, it was S**T.
Defense: F
The most points ever scored by an opponent at Ross-Ade Stadium happened yesterday, I hope people realize this.
The worst part? The same offense, one week ago scored only FOURTEEN points to NOTHERN ILLINOIS.
The even worse part? Our head coach is the defensive playcaller and was brought to Purdue to bring a new style of defense and toughness to the field. Well, for 60 minutes of game time yesterday, you could argue there was no defense, nor toughness on the turf at Ross-Ade Stadium.
This Notre Dame team has no star offensive player, they were tougher than Purdue, they were more disciplined and they embarrassed the Boilers on their own turf.
If this is what a mediocre offense can do to Purdue, what will Oregon, Ohio State and Penn State do to the Boilers this season? This is a legitimate question. The defense has holes, the defensive line cannot stop the run, the pass best rusher is playing middle linebacker, and every team with a running quarterback in the first 14 games of the Walters’ era has exposed Purdue.
Maybe it is not a problem of the scheme, but more of the Jimmys and Joes. Or, maybe, it is the scheme.
Special Teams: C
Purdue never positioned itself to kick a field goal, but Porath made his lone PAT attempt. If there was anything that was learned this weekend by Purdue Football fans, it should be that Aussie Punter Keelan Crimmins has a boot.
He punted the ball TEN times, for an average of 47.3 yards, and had a long of 64. Nice job, Keelan, at least one person was ready for the game this weekend. Purdue losing by 60 may catapult him into being discussed as a potential NFL Punter someday, so there’s that.
See you all next Saturday at 8:30 PM EST for a matchup with a tough Oregon State team, here’s to hoping it wone be another historic L.