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GoldanDBlack express • volume 25, express 2 • 5 N o one rioted after Purdue's win last weekend. Ross-Ade Stadium's goal posts stood per fectly upright immediately after ward and its grass went un- trampled by the thou- sands of students who showed up, many of them on comp tickets. No, no one's going to sit around five, 10, 15 years from now and boast about being there the day that formerly 1-11 Purdue beat formerly 1-11 West- ern Michigan 43-34. History, at least at Purdue, will remember the game for nothing, aside from maybe the fact than any win that snaps a 10-game losing streak is a damn good one. Otherwise, this will not go down long-term as a particularly monumental win. Western Michigan stunk last year and will probably go on to stink again this year. But in the short term, none of that mattered for a Purdue team that just needed to get its head up for the first time in near - ly a calendar year, to walk off the field with something to show for its efforts. Last time that could be said was probably last September's Notre Dame game, and that was a loss. When you're in the position Purdue came into this season in, any success is much welcomed, even if it comes in a sometimes-tenu - ous knockout of a Glass Joe on your home field. Capitalizing on this sched- ule's setup for early success is Job 1 for the Boilermakers and in that context, beating the Broncos was a must, though a game Purdue couldn't afford to lose more than it needed to win, if that makes sense. Sounds better in my head than it looks on my monitor. Now we'll see what confi- dence can mean for Purdue. It's a complete unknown, because at no point in time did we see it during 2013. Make no mistake: Beating Western Michigan goes down as no feat of particular significance for Purdue. It gave the Boiler- makers reason to pick their head up, but not stick their nose up. But the win gives Purdue some validation, some positives to point to, tangible nuggets of progress but nothing that should distract from pressing matters like stopping the run or throwing the ball more than four yards past the line of scrimmage effectively. This was far from a flawless performance, but you've got to start somewhere. There were positives. Last season, Purdue was about as solid — in whatever definition you want to apply — as a house of cards on a rickety old TV tray. Saturday it was much more so in numerous ways. Not all, but some. At the first sign of trouble last season, Purdue might have col - lectively hidden under the bed. Saturday, when Western Michigan scored early in the third quarter to cut a nine-point deficit to just two, Purdue scored in response. When Western Michigan scored with 8:11 left to get with- in three, Purdue scored again, Akeem Hunt breaking free from 38 yards out to deliver the game's decisive blow. A team that found itself in far too few pivotal second-half moments last season responded when those situations arose to start this one. Last year, Purdue committed too many turnovers and allowed too many sacks. Saturday, there were none. Granted, Purdue did little to expose itself to the risk of either, but never mind that right now. Putting players in better posi - tions to succeed is a coaching staff 's job, something it didn't do so hot with last season — not sure what it could have done — but did well to open this one. An offense that moved back- ward as much as forward last season scored 43 points, one more than it scored in its five games from mid-October to mid- November combined last season. (Yes, we'll stop writing about last season at some point. Apol- ogies to your gag reflex.) And Purdue clobbered West- ern Michigan in the hidden-yard- age game, whether it be Frankie Williams' interception and punt return yards; the yards the of- fense didn't give up on sacks or turnovers; or all the yards the Bronco kickoff return team couldn't get after Ian MacDou- gall's seven touchbacks. Kicker Paul Griggs made sure Purdue didn't squander any scoring op- portunities. All these things were badly lacking last fall. Saturday, Purdue was much more solid. Last year, it was whatever the opposite of solid is. Gelatinous, maybe? For Purdue, the big stuff — throwing, catching, tackling, lin- ing up properly — still matters most, but that doesn't make the little stuff any less significant. There are far bigger games to come against far better oppo- nents, but that doesn't make the first win any less significant. j Neubert can be contacted at BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com f r o m e d i t o r b r i a n n e u b e r t Solid Out Of The Gate