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44 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATE VOLUME 26, ISSUE 3 siveness in the locker room, the goals of the student-ath- letes. There's no doubt all those are key factors into rebuild- ing a program, critical pieces of foundation-building. But it feels past the point of those kind of victories, doesn't it? It feels past the point of praising GPAs and facility up- grades and "hard work" and "effort," doesn't it? Entering this season, it felt like it was time for produc- tion. Finishing wasn't too much to ask, not with a roster that had experience across the board on the offensive line, an emerging receiving corps, a quarterback return- ing who'd started before, a defense that was lined with a potentially potent linebacking corps and a tandem of talented cornerbacks. But the story of the season was an inability to execute at key moments, an inability to de- velop a killer instinct, to respond to adversity, injuries at linebacker and another quarterback change. What steps need to be taken for Purdue to win more games? Our take: ESTABLISH AN IDENTITY There's value to doing this on defense, too, obviously, but talking specifically about offense here: Purdue must figure out what it wants to be and be it. That sounds simple. Maybe it's not that simple. But when it's the middle of Year 3 behind an offensive line that was supposed to be the best it'd been in that span, how are there such varying degrees of game-plan- ning from week to week? One moment, Hazell says he wants to spread defenses out and run some zone-read. Another instance, his coordinator is talking about win- ning 50/50 balls downfield. Another, no one is trusting the quarterback to make passes that travel farther than five yards. Another, Purdue is trying to pound the ball be- tween the tackles with underclassmen running backs to win at Wisconsin. Speaking of that game against the Badgers in mid-Oc- tober — the one in which Purdue passed six times in the first three quarters and finished the game with only a to- tal of 191 yards — that was so anti-identity, or at least to anything we'd seen in three seasons, it was maddening. Shouldn't Purdue have been in a place in its third year, considering all three were under the same coordinator/ coach combination, to have at least been able to feel good about something and make it the focus? More than once, Hazell has talked about having a "bread and butter" play. Usually, he would refer to the inside zone run. And it's been good, at points, especially with Markell Jones bust- ing free with big blocks oftentimes from guards Jason King and Jordan Roos and center Robert Kugler. But what was the counter? What happened when teams came up to stack the box to take it away? Purdue never seemed to have a consistent answer. Maybe there's a broader reason for that … STICK WITH A QUARTERBACK For the third consecutive season under Hazell, Pur- due made a quarterback change during the season not prompted by injury. And, each time, the switches were to a player who had never started a game. How is that enabling progress? The responsibilities, needed knowledge and pressure on a college quarterback are enormous. It's not a surprise first-year QBs rarely are able to play well right away, es- pecially in a wordy, complicated system like John Shoop's. And yet, the staff thought it was the best decision each time to move from someone who was building equity — even if the QB was struggling while doing it; and what else could be expected, really? — to starting fresh with another who had to do the same thing. Danny Etling, Austin Appleby and David Blough are tal- ented enough from a skill-set perspective to be successful quarterbacks. They were/are smart enough, to, eventual- ly, learn to grasp coverages, to master play calls, to lead offenses. But Etling, perhaps the most physically gifted of the group, was cast aside after 12 starts over two seasons. He transferred after his sophomore season. But Appleby, perhaps the best long-ball thrower of the group, was cast aside after 11 starts over two seasons. He asked for — and was granted — a release after the season to explore transfer opportunities. He may or may not return in 2016. Blough, perhaps the most athletic and mobile of the group, likely is in line to be the Week 1 starter in 2016, considering he was inserted when Appleby was benched