1. Once the Boilers got up 20-3, they went into their patented “conservative mode” and went 11 straight 3 and outs. Then near the end of the half, when they should have ran out the clock, they had Painter pass, he gets picked, and Oregon luckily only gets a field goal to end the half.

2. On the drive you describe, the last run by Sheets had him looking for a 1st down, when on 3rd and long and time running out, they should have had him run to set up the field goal position (ie LEFT instead of RIGHT). It was a bad angle with the wind against Summers.

3. You give Painter far too much credit. He was horrible. 207 yards in the air usually means a loss for Purdue. The knock on Painter is not only has he not won a big game, but also that he just hasn’t gotten any smarter in the 4 years as a starter. You compare him to someone like Kyle Orton (just a big arm when he got there, but along with Brees, probably the smartest QB in the Tiller era), and, well, there’s no comparison. Painter still locks in to his first option, doesn’t audible enough, and continues to struggle against good secondaries.

4. The difference in that game was the defense. Forcing turnovers, holds on 3rd down. Yeah, they gave up a ton of yards, but the “bend don’t break” defense held it’s own for most of the game. That’s what Boiler fans will take from the game, concern is still there for the offense. (Although I will say that Korey Sheets is a beast)

I am getting the feeling we have different expectations for the 2008 Purdue Boilermakers. I figured they would be a mirror image of the last 3 years, meaning good passing offense and no big game chutzpah to speak of. If you look at every big game they played under Painter, not only did they lose every single one, but the games weren’t even close (2006: Blowout losses to Notre Dame, Iowa, Wisconsin. 2007: Blown out by Michigan, Ohio State).

So when I saw “20-3” on the scoreboard in favor of Purdue, I was shocked in a good way. The Drive of the Week is supposed to highlight certain aspects which I feel a team did well at. Tardy and Orton catching balls, the offensive line showing improvement, and Purdue not rolling over against a big-time opponent were all positives.

I realize that Purdue should have put the game away in the 2nd quarter, but come on, this was a better effort than anything they put together against a ranked opponent lately.

My Points:

1. I was impressed with the end game drive by the Purdue offense. That was a solid drive, I don’t think that point is arguable.

2. I didn’t give Painter that much credit – I said that I would want a veteran quarterback leading my team if I needed one score at the end of a huge game. He made some great throws on this end game drive.

3. No angle was going to save that kick from Summers, he missed by 30 feet.

I saw this game as a “positive” step for Purdue; I am guessing you didn’t see it that way…

…my expectations are lower this year than year’s past. For the following reasons:

1. Virtually no experience at the WR position. Granted Orton is good, but Tardy has been behind Bryant for 3 years without much PT and the rest of the WR core has NO experience. Keith Smith is a converted QB/Safety, but might be an answer. Dropped balls by Valentin and Whittington killed a couple drives. It’s hard to have a good passing game with so much inexperience. I’ve said all along someone in that group needs to have a breakout season.

2. Jacyen Taylor’s season-ending injury. Many in the Purdue camp think Taylor’s a better runner than Sheets and gave us one of the best 1-2 punches in the Big Ten. Yeah, Sheets has been terrific, but I worry that he’ll be able to hold up for the entire season. And we have no proven back-up.

3. We’re painfully weak and undersized at the LB position. Usually a strength for us. Both of our first 2 opponents ran wild against us. I’m not sure that’s going to change any time soon.

4. Painter. Yeah, you would expect a 4 year starter to be a given. But he still struggles and hasn’t looked impressive this year so far. Maybe that’ll change against CMU, but quality opponents own him. You state that he had a great drive to end the game, but look at his performance in OT. Horrid.

It was definitely a “positive step” for the defense and Kory Sheets. But the passing game needs to make a statement against CMU and ND in the next 2 weeks to truly believe that this team will be competitive in the Big Ten.

What would have made that last drive “great” is Painter getting 15 yards closer so Summers has a chip shot against the wind, not a 47 yarder.