Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/89741
FROM EDITOR BRIAN NEUBER T Well, that was much Purdue's through-its- better. fingertips overtime loss at mighty Ohio State was a far cry from its shovel- to-the-face over-at-half losses to Michigan and Wisconsin, the Boilermak- ers at least proving what they're capable of and curiously showing that they're better play- ing on the road than in Ross-Ade Stadium. Go figure. Anyway, the close call against CONSISTENTLY INCONSISTENT maddening inconsis- tency that's taken Purdue from hot to cold to aflame to freezing over and over and at a dizzying pace. The year was 2009 question: Where was that the last month? Same deal last year: Purdue at Oregon, a team that scored the first of its 10 wins that season that night, its first step toward an eventual trip to the Rose Bowl. Things were looking up on that and Purdue kicked the liv- ing you-know-what out of Toledo to start the sea- son, then very nearly won the Buckeyes — Purdue had an eight-point lead and the ball with just 2:40 to play — was something to be encouraged about moving forward, right? Right? Look, there's no taking away late, late night on the West Coast. Then, they crashed hard. Purdue lost to Northern Il- the fact that the Boilermakers played well at Ohio State, well enough that they could have — strike that: should have — stunned the Buckeyes and won in Ohio Stadium for the first time since the Reagan Administration. But there's also no denying it to be yet another example of the schizophrenia inherent in this program under Danny Hope, linois the next week, then Notre Dame, Northwestern and Minne- sota, all in maddening succession, Purdue finding ways to beat itself each and every time. What chance did the Boiler- gives up 62 to Wisconsin one week, beats the Buckeyes (albeit the 6-6 Buckeyes) the next. Then it gets cracked by a just-OK Iowa team at home with bowl eligibility on the line. Earlier this season, Purdue was generating top-25 consid- eration after starting 3-1. After losing its first two Big Ten games by a combined 55, it might have earned bottom-25 consideration. Then it comes a PAT away, one petitiveness of that afternoon was the lingering question: Where was that the past two weeks? Such questions have to stop makers have then against roll- ing Ohio State in the middle of October? Yep, they won, sucker-punch- ing a sleepy Buckeye team that got off the bus in body, but not spirit. Overlooked or not, Purdue won that game. Overshadowed by the elation that afternoon was the lingering now, because every game from this point forward is a land mine. If Purdue is to make anything beaten the Boilermakers are a combined 26-4. The five remaining on the The four teams that have schedule are 17-18; three of them are, like Purdue, looking for their first Big Ten win. stupid little PAT, away from making Urban Meyer 0-1 against Purdue. Overshadowed by the com- of this once-promising season, Saturday's performance at Ohio State has to the standard. Not that Purdue played per- fect, but it played well enough to win, just like it sort of did at Notre Dame. Warren Hill, ME '63 Jim Hill, MET '95, MBA '03 Jim Billard, LA '90 Brian Teyema, ME '87 Scott Dierking, IM '77 Russ Nelson, BCM '00 David Pikey, PH '97 Angela Billard, ED '90 Bill Silfies, MBA '03 Nick Muscolino, MET '06 Matthew Crawford,MET '05 Bob Hill, BCM '06 Ryan Stojkovich, BS '97 Mike Ivanovic, AS '81 Anthony Borgnini, ME '07 Anthony Camasta, MET '04 Beth Beigelbeck, SM '97 Deborah Toth, MET '07 Daniel Block, ME '08 Daniel Gasser, BS '04 Jason Jones, MET '08 Nick Johnson, BCM '09 Bryan O'Neill, BCM '09 Steven Sitkowski, BCM '10 Chris Summers, ME '10 Isaac Townsend, ME '10 Don Wunderlich, ME '13 Chris Gushurst, BCM '11 Joe Motuliak, MBA '11 Taylor Spaulding, ME '12 Grant Fillipatch, MET '12 Jessica James, BS '13 Robert C Krier, MET '13 Andy Mack, BS '15 Kevin Morrisroe, ME '15 Michael Rish, BCM '13 Martin Smith, MET '13 the best of the worst in that sense, have to take advantage. If they don't, this season The Boilermakers, probably will be considered a waste and some hard decisions will have to be made. No more turbulence. j Neubert can be contacted at BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com We're proud to be Illinois' largest HVAC contractor and to have 37 outstanding Purdue alumni on our HVAC/Plumbing team. THE HILL GROUP CARLE HOSPITAL – Urbana, IL The Hill Group was chosen for the HVAC, medical gas piping, plumbing, fire protec- ton, test and balance, and commissioning for this new nine-story, 378,000 square foot hospital. hillgrp.com GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 23, EXPRESS 8 • 5 PURDUE PRIDE