Purdue at Illinois - Finding the Light

Because we have to.

Because, for whatever god-forsaken reason, we are Boilermakers.

And that means no matter how hard we get beaten, no matter how bad the future looks, no matter if there is no focus, fight, or finish, we keep fighting  anyway.

Because hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies. 

And because those white jerseys are sexy as hell.

Doom and gloom has been widespread throughout Boilermaker country in the past week. Deservedly so. Overheard at Harry's last week, "Purdue Football is a basket of deplorables." Not sure what that means but let's roll with it. Now more than ever, people are searching for reasons to care about Purdue Football. Again, deservedly so. We just lost one of our worst games of the last four years to a team that we absolutely should not have. DJ Durkin and the Terps made a damn fool of us. But guess what? It's time to move on. Something a lot of us, including myself, struggle to do. This Saturday, we travel to Champaign to take on Lovie Smith's Illini. 
 
The Illini so far have not looked great. Their lone win this year has come against Murray State. However, their three losses have come against UNC, WMU, and NEB, all teams that are very good this year. So, their record may not be indicative of how good they can  actually be. 

Wes Lunt has been solid so far going 74-120 with almost 800 yards and 6 TDs with only 1 INT. RB Kendrick Foster has lead the way on the ground so far, with 25 carries for 221 yards and 3 TD. 

By the numbers, ESPN favors Illini at 73.1%. Vegas has the spread at -11 in favor of the Illini. Over/Under at 54. So Hammer that over. There is no real reason for Vegas to support the Boilermakers right now. For us to have any shot at winning this game, David has to be on. The OL is going to have to perform well in order to get David enough looks at his receivers. The Illini do have a great pass rush so that is no easy task. 

Its not going to be  good on Saturday. Not going to lie. One of two things is going  to happen: both teams are going to look like ass, and the team that looks like less ass will win, or the Illini will run a train on us like last year. My suggestion: watch IU at Ohio State because it will be fun seeing a bunch of young bloods roll over the Hoosiers. 

Prediction: Purdue 31 - Illini 30

Alright now I'm going to level with you guys for a second. This article was admittedly very difficult for me to write. Not because the content itself was difficult but because of the amount of negativity that has enveloped the Purdue fan base in the last week. Its poisonous. And it hasn't been just last week. In my entire 4 years here, there has never been complete positivity in this fanbase.  Even when something appears to be working in basketball (see beating Maryland and MSU at home) something is always wrong (losing  to Iowa at home, Biggie's questionable shot selection). But the unfortunate truth is that sometimes, there is no light. Even when you try to find the light, it just may not be there. There is not one single reason to be happy about Purdue Football. There isn't. The field is a mess, the coaching is unbelievably pathetic, most the good players are hurt, and the administration continues to turn a blind eye from the product on the field. There is no overnight cure for this. Firing Hazell means nothing if we don't get a good replacement for him. Even then, this replacement will take more than a year to truly implement a good, working system. However, this replacement can't implement a working system if he doesn't have support from the top. And it is extremely evident from the last week hearing from former players and Purdue insiders, that there is systemic apathy for Purdue Athletics. Coaches are ashamed of university cars that they drive on  recruiting trails, coaches compare our facilities to a mid level OVC team. It's just not good. You aren't going to find this solution by bitching about it on twitter. No blogger is going to have the solution. When the problem is truly this pervasive, department wide change needs to happen, top down. And that just won't happen. Not in today's NCAA landscape. Purdue athletics to the rest of the college athletic world is a joke. A complete, pathetic joke. Our attendance is consistently the butt of a joke. Our facilities are consistently the butt of a joke. The time to change house was 20 years ago. Not now. It may be too late to be perfectly honest. Similar universities like Northwestern, U of I, Indiana have already set into motion plans that will vastly be improving the state of athletics at their university. Unless the mindset that football actually matters for financials and the University's image is set in to place, nothing will change. But again, I'm just a blogger. I don't know the solution. None of us do. Even if you think you do, you don't. Amidst this period of apathy and depression, all I can ask is to continue to be fans. I'm not ready to give up my fandom of this team. For whatever reason, even though the administration has proven  time and time again that they don't care about us, I am still attached. We all need to be. For the sake of our sanity. For the sake of the university. For the sake of something. Just anything. We need to find that light where there is none. 

With that said, try to enjoy the weekend. And hopefully, we can all enjoy the game.