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So what happened this season? It wasn't one area that led to Purdue's struggles. We examine a couple, though, that played roles. The schedule Players and coaches didn't want to use the team's demanding schedule as an "excuse." But there's a difference between that and a reason. With a first-year staff that had implemented Tom Campbell new schemes and termiTrue freshman Danny Etling took over the starting quarterback job in midseason and struggled nology, Purdue absolutely needed time to ease its to gain much momentum, playing behind a shaky offensive line, with some equally inexperienced receivers and while learning to identify defenses and coverages. way in. pass rushers, leaving both Rob Henry and Danny Etling It wasn't afforded such to scramble or get slammed to the turf. a luxury because of a brutal schedule. Too often, the Boilermakers' D-line simply got blown off From the first game — on the road — to a finale against one of the nation's high-powered offenses, the the ball, allowing opposing offensive linemen to reach the second level and, then, latch onto linebackers who didn't week-to-week battles never let up. In the end, Purdue's 12 opponents combined for a shed blocks consistently enough. It was a bit of a surprise up front, considering the 94-50 record in the regular season. Take out the FCS opponent, 1-11 Indiana State, and the record was 93-39. line was manned by fourth- and fifth-year players who Northern Illinois and Ohio State both were undefeat- one would hope to be physically mature by that point. The lack of mental toughness was prevalent, too. ed in the regular season, and Cincinnati, Notre Dame, After the season's first game, a 42-7 loss at CincinnaWisconsin, Nebraska, Michigan State and Iowa all won ti, first-year coach Darrell Hazell said he noticed blank at least eight games. By the time the Boilermakers got to the "soft" por- stares on the sidelines. Purdue seemed polarized by adversity. tion of their schedule — the Penn State-Illinois-IndiAnd not necessarily 14-point, blink-of-an-eye swings. ana stretch in the final three games, two of which were One touchdown allowed early, one interception on the road — they had to be worn out. thrown for a sudden-change situation, one mistake that led to a big play. Small deficits with quarters still left to Toughness play. Equal issues both physical and mental. Hazell and leaders tried to preach about not looking In terms of physicality, one of Purdue's biggest is- at the scoreboard. sues during games was its inability to handle opposing But it didn't seem to help. defensive lines and its defensive line's inability to hold Once Purdue was rattled, it struggled to gain any levup against power rushing teams. el of momentum. Too often, the Boilermakers simply could not block f IllustrateD volume 24, issue 3 19