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ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 3 45 f F O O T B A L L : A N A L Y S I S BY STACY CLARDIE SClardie@GoldandBlack.com R eally, it's tough to argue Purdue's progress in 2014. If you measure it in statistics, there's tangible proof. Nearly every major category showed a bump in production after a hapless 2013. A quick review: Total offense (plus-62 yards per game), scoring offense (plus-nine), rushing offense (plus-90), sacks allowed (14 fewer), first downs (plus-29), total de- fense (44 fewer yards per game), scoring defense (six fewer points), rushing de- fense (43 fewer), sacks (plus-six), OK, so that wasn't exactly a quick re- view. But down the list, it's clear: Purdue was better in 2014. Even the win total increased. Were three victories enough? Certainly didn't feel like it to athletic director Morgan Burke, Coach Darrell Hazell and the rest of his staff or players. But it wasn't just the amount of victories that gave the staff reason to keep hope. It was how all the games went. In 2013, Purdue hardly competed. The average margin of defeat was 26.3 in Big Ten games and there was really only one, Illinois, the Boilermakers could say they had a chance. That wasn't the case in 2014. Other than Northwestern on senior day, Purdue was in games in the fourth quarter with every conference opponent. Ultimately, it lost its sev- en Big Ten games by an average of 14.1 points. Is it sad that that's a good sign that the team is simply competing? Maybe. But it clearly had to be the next step in the rebuilding process. "We're certainly headed the right direction," offensive coordinator John Shoop said. "But, believe me, there's not a human alive who wants to be going faster than I (do). It is a production-based deal. We made improvements from Year 1 to Year 2. We need to double down on those from Year 2 to Year 3. We certainly do not have a quick fix. We're certainly not trying to take any short cuts. But would I have to have had more wins? Heck yeah I would have. Anybody who said wouldn't is probably not wired right either. But I'm very encouraged by the progress our guys have made, and our guys have a lot of fight in them. We're going to double down on those strides that we made from Year 2 to 3. That I can promise you. I can. I can promise you that." What needs to be next for the program? Gold and Black takes a closer look. WIN Obviously. Though three victories was a bump from Hazell's first season, it still was only three. And that's the main reason why there's still a considerable group that didn't feel so great about 2014. That faction looks at the Boilermakers losing their last six games as a sign that any momentum gained in the middle of the year was lost, especially considering the sea- son ended so bitterly. Purdue didn't take the Bucket back, losing to Indiana in the final minute and allowing the Hoo- sier to keep the trophy in Bloomington for the second con- Rebuilding On Track Purdue made progress; now needs to win Tom Campbell Purdue had its moments in 2014, getting more victories and increasing in most of the major statistical categories in Darrell Hazell's second season as head coach. ANALYSIS