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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 26, ISSUE 3 45 after only the third game this season and started eight games. But Elijah Sindelar, perhaps the best pure thrower of the group, is eagerly waiting for his opportunity. So what happens? Will Purdue allow Blough to actually get better with more game experience — really, that's the only way for it to happen — or is he on a short leash like the other QBs before him. It can't really be possible that three Elite 11-nominee quarterbacks weren't/aren't good enough to succeed at a Big Ten school. Right? The biggest question, then, is whether the new quar- terbacks coach/offensive coordinator believes he can win with Blough's skill set at the helm. Purdue did only once in 2015 but it seemingly rarely played to his strengths and, still, the first-year starter had his moments. He's excellent on the move, showed flashes of being able to make accurate, tough throws from the pocket and his knowledge of defenses should only grow. He's un- questionably trusted and respected by his teammates as a leader. It wouldn't be shocking if Blough was voted as a captain in 2016. There's a question whether Blough can make plays down the field consistently, though, and whether coaches trust he can win a game on his own. He's seemed to be tagged as more of a game manager, which is just fine if a team's defense is scary good. That has not exactly described Purdue's unit in the last three seasons … STOP THE RUN For the second time in the last three seasons, Purdue was the Big Ten's worst team against the run, allowing 235.1 yards per game in conference play. In 2014, it was 12th out of 14 (216.8), and in 2013, it was last at 287.1. Perhaps the most disappointing part of this season's struggle: The Boilermakers game-planned to stop the run in a handful of games and still couldn't do it. They came out with run-heavy plans against Minneso- ta and Michigan State, and the Gophers grinded out 326 rushing yards and the Spartans pounded out 267. Two good teams at running the ball, granted. The best effort of the season was at Wisconsin when Purdue's sell-out strategy finally worked, limiting the Badgers' backup backs (starter Corey Clement was out) to only 96 rushing yards. But Joel Stave promptly lit up the back half of the defense for 300-plus passing yards to lead Wisconsin to a victory. Certainly it's not all strategy and scheme that goes into a successful run defense. Then-coordinator Greg Hudson emphasized "staying in a fox hole" to the front-line players and re-iterated the importance of not leaving assigned gaps. One hole is all it takes for many of the Big Ten's good backs to bust free for big runs. And that happened often in 2015: Purdue allowed 40 runs of 15-plus yards and six 100-yard rushers in eight conference games. Part of that was because players didn't follow assignments or did too much freelancing. Another key piece to being able to slow down the run, though, is physical. Though Purdue clearly made strides in that department in the offseason leading into 2015 — it had to be done, and it was; across the board players became stronger, lost fat and gained muscle — it didn't show up consistently enough on the field on Saturdays. Sometimes players did their job and simply got moved out of the gap up front or, too often, linebackers got blown out of the way by pulling guards. Even when Purdue players seemed to do everything right and were in position to make tackles, too often they didn't finish the play with one. Too often, offensive play- ers broke free from contact. There's absolutely a physical element to that, but tackling specifically is partially technique, too. That was an emphasis in practice throughout the season but, in games, there still were too many breakdowns — and we're not talking the instances when an offensive player forced a missed tackle, obviously one has to give credit to talented folks on the other side, too. And there's a piece of this equation, too, that's about confidence and comfort within the defense that allows linebackers and back-half players to trigger quickly. Hes- itant defensive players are not good ones. But maybe, maybe, there's reason for hope here. Purdue's linebacking corps can't possibly have such an injury-ravaged season again (right?) and there does seem