It's time for Purdue to stop messing around, win its last two games, become bowl eligible and hope to spend the holiday season far from home.
If you can beat Ohio State to break a 19-game losing streak against ranked opponents and win at Michigan 38-36 on Saturday for the first time since 1966, you can beat Michigan State and Indiana (a combined 9-11).
Granted, a 6-6 record won't guarantee a bowl, but after a 1-5 start and a 37-0 mess at Wisconsin, it would be a dramatic turnaround.
Why all the drama? We'll answer that question with a few of our own:
♦Michigan stinks. Purdue should have won the game.
First, that's not a question. Second, don't be negative. The Boilers made key plays when it mattered most. That's improvement.
♦Can anybody stop defensive end Ryan Kerrigan?
No. The guy is called “Superman” for a reason, and he showed it by saving the Michigan victory by sacking quarterback Tate Forcier on the 2-point conversion try that would have tied the score at 38 in the closing minutes. Kerrigan leads the Big Ten in sacks, with 10. He's also among the conference leaders in tackles for loss, fumbles forced and total tackles.
♦Do Purdue's Danny Hope and Michigan's Rich Rodriguez have a “Coaches of the Big Ten” drama going on?
Possibly. According to a story by Mike Carmin of the Lafayette Journal & Courier, after the game Hope brought offensive lineman Zach Rechman with him to shake Rodriguez's hand.
Why? Rechman was suspended for a game after his late hit on Northern Illinois' Sean Proger on Sept. 19. A week earlier the Big Ten had suspended Michigan linebacker Jonas Mouton for a game for his late hit on a Notre Dame player. Rodriguez said he would watch Big Ten games closely to find similar acts. He said he had seen an example, but didn't give details.
Rodriguez said Hope brought Rechman over, “like I was the reason (Rechman) was suspended for that one game … I didn't have anything to do with that … (Hope) said, ‘Thanks, Coach, I really appreciate what you did.'”
Hope e-mailed Carmin later and declined to comment.
Rodriguez said he was “disappointed” in Hope's action. It's not his only disappointment. The Wolverines (5-5) have lost five straight Big Ten games, are in danger of their second straight losing season and are under NCAA investigation for allegations of breaking rules on the number of hours players can participate in football.
No wonder Rodriguez broke down after his news conference.
♦Have Boiler receivers found their mojo?
Looks like it. Against Wisconsin they dropped nine passes. Against Michigan they caught just about everything to help quarterback Joey Elliott have a career day by going 28-for-39 for 367 yards and two touchdowns. Keith Smith had 11 catches. Seven receivers caught passes overall.
The big key is keeping this up in the final two games.
♦Should Hope call for an on-side kick in every game?
Why not? It worked against Michigan. Purdue trailed 30-17 when tailback Ralph Bolden scored on a 10-yard run late in the third quarter to cut the deficit to seven. Hope called for the on-side kick and the Boilers recovered. Elliott stunned the Wolverines by hitting Cortez Smith for a 54-yard TD pass on the next play. That put Purdue ahead 31-30.
Total elapsed time for the two touchdowns — nine seconds.
Total impact on Purdue's season — priceless.
