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deserved Top 25 consideration. Then the bottom fell out. Back-to-back blowout losses at home to Michigan and Wis- consin to start Big Ten play forced Burke to put moves in motion for a new coach. rallied to win the final three games of the season to become bowl eli- gible, it was too late. "We came into the year feeling Even when the Boilermakers we would be an improved football team," Burke said. "I think we were. lar season. • Kyle Charters: "Robert Marve has been a joy to watch the last The following are our thoughts now at the end of Purdue's regu- three weeks, giving Purdue a much-needed jolt of energy when al- most none seemed to exist before. It's a shame his career has only one more game left. You can't help but think Danny Hope's misman- agement of the QBs — and injuries played a part, but not the whole part — were a big factor in his dismissal. Danny Hope as leader of the program. That'll sting for players who supported him and wanted to finish a roller coaster season with him on the sideline at a bowl game. Instead, Patrick Higgins will run the show for the next month. It'll be interesting to see how quickly the next 'real' boss will come in and what his impact will be pre-bowl. • Alan Karpick: "It goes without saying that this is an important • Stacy Clardie: "Purdue football will move forward now without " " hire for Morgan Burke to make. Yet, the calm and in control demean- or that Burke and interim coach Patrick Higgins showed during the press conference started the healing of what was a difficult event for everyone involved with Boilermaker football. Burke said a day later that he hopes the fan base can come together as 'a family. like Purdue giving a coach only four years, then firing him after back- to-back bowl bids. In this case, however, it was evident very quickly that Danny Hope wasn't the right guy for this program and the longer it went, the deeper the program might have slipped into irrelevance. That part was easy. Now comes the hard part. be as necessary as finding a quality head coach." • Brian Neubert: "Ordinarily it would be difficult to back a school ' That will " We said we wanted to reduce the variability of our play so we were more consistent against all teams in the league and we wanted to move up a rung on the ladder. We clearly did not do that. "… We've had success in the last four-and-a-half years under Danny's leadership, every phase of the program he's articulated. I guess what I'm telling the fans is, look, we know we haven't been as consistent in our play and per- formance as we expect to be and as we want to be. I felt at this point in time a change in the leadership was probably the right thing to do. "It's a phenomenal feeling. Seeing the guys with the Bucket is one thing and winning games is another thing, but seeing people give all-in when no one says you can, that was the great feeling. You say you're proud of teams. I'm very proud of this team. This will be the team I talk about when I talk about playing at Purdue." Senior quarterback Robert Marve And so Burke will shell out at least $600,000 to send Hope on his way. Hope will be paid through Dec. 31 and also get all the benefits he's entitled to, including a bonus for the bowl game even though he won't coach in it. That'll be Patrick Higgins' ship to steer. But only for a time. The next coach is coming soon, GO BOILERMAKERS GO BOILERMAKERS GO BOILERMAKERS want to go back to Pasadena," Burke said. "That's what it's about. We've got to put ourselves in a po- sition to do that. The infrastructure that has been built I think will be very attractive. and he much will be expected. "Make no bones about it, we " j " CERAMIC • ENGINEERED HARDWOOD LAMINATES • MARBLE CARPETING Specializing in • Homes • Businesses • Churches • Schools Where Contractors Buy Their Flooring Builders! Call our Contract Department and ask for our Contract Specialist 3437 State Road 26 E. 765-447-9393 800-403-6889 FAX 765-448-9978 Across from the Post Office GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 23, EXPRESS 13 • 2 GO BOILERMAKERS GO BOILERMAKERS GO BOILERMAKERS GO BOILERMAKERS GO BOILERMAKERS GO BOILERMAKERS GO BOILERMAKERS GO BOILERMAKERS GO BOILERMAKERS