Spartan Nation 2009 Football Scouting Report: Purdue Boilermakers
Spartan Nation 2009 Scouting Report: Purdue Boilermakers
Biggest Game: November 21, 2009 at Indiana
Predicted record: 3-9 (1-7)
Projected Big Ten standing: 11th
Returning Starters: 12; OFFENSE 5, DEFENSE 7, Lettermen Returning 49
Head Coach: Danny Hope 1st Season at Purdue Lifetime: 0-0
Top assistant: Donn Landholm
Number of Players on the All Spartan Nation Big Ten Teams: Two; DT Mike Neal and KR Aaron Valentin.
Analysis: Hope was a good coach at Division 1AA EKU, but while some coaches get a dream job, this is a nightmare. The Purdue fans loved Tiller at first, but after years of bowls and success, they forgot they were Purdue. Wanting more, Tiller was treated like crap and for all intents and purposes was essentially pushed out. I even asked Tiller at the Big Ten meetings two years ago about people’s unrealistic expectations and he admitted that, “It hasn’t been easy.â€
Now Hope comes in to a place that has struggled with recruiting since the youngsters could see the writing on the wall and avoided the place with Tiller on the way out. If Hope has some success, it won’t be a repeat of all that Tiller did, and they will call for his head. I was talking to another division one head coach and he told me that it will be like when Indiana wanted more than former coach Mallory could give and they hadn’t shown life until Terry Hoeppner came along.
The cupboard is bare and the fan base has an inflated sense of identity, this will be a long season for the Boilers. Their biggest game will be against archrival Indiana on November 21. Indiana will have either announced that their coach isn’t coming back or already fired him and this win could at least give the Boilers something positive in the Hope regime from year one to hang their hat on.
The emotion of either an outgoing or fired coach, and the big rivalry at home will give the Hoosiers the victory in that toilet bowl to give coach Hope the title of the Big Ten’s eleventh best team to end the season.
Hope is a good man in a tough spot. Tiller took Purdue to ten bowls in twelve seasons. Hope may get three years, and will be lucky to make one in those three. Again, Hope is a very good man, but he better not unpack his bags.
Predicted Win/Loss:
1.Toledo WIN
2.at Oregon LOSS
3.Northern Illinois WIN
4.Notre Dame LOSS
5.Northwestern WIN
6.at Minnesota LOSS
7.Ohio State LOSS
8.Illinois LOSS
9.at Wisconsin LOSS
10.at Michigan LOSS
11.Michigan State LOSS
12.at Indiana LOSS
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