Coffee Break: Just how good is Purdue?
Card fans have been deluged with a constant stream of ‘positives’ and ‘negatives’ about the Purdue game and I’m sure we can all recite them by now.
I can hardly remember a bad game by a Cardinal football team in the last 50 years that did not involve penalties and fumbles. Saturday’s game in Indianapolis was certainly an example of that premise. Because of those miscues and mistakes it’s difficult to get a bead on the future for this Card team because it’s impossible at this point to determine the strength of Purdue.
How good are the Boilermakers? They have been the nadir of the Big Ten for several seasons winning only nine games the last four years, the same number of the UofL wins last season. During that period they lost to non-P5 teams Bowling Green, Central Michigan and Northern Illinois. They haven’t had a winning season since 2011 (7-6) and only two in the last ten. Their last bowl win was in 2007 against Central Michigan 51-48 in the Motor City Bowl.
Attendance has suffered in West Lafayette as well. In 1987 when the Cards tied Purdue there the attendance was over 63,000. Last season against Wisconsin the attendance was 30,465, less than half of normal attendance in the 80’s and 90’s. Purdue has been on a downward spiral for several years.
But Boilermaker fans see a bright future with the hiring of Jeff Brohm. Discussions with fans at the game in Lucas Oil Stadium were extremely upbeat over the performance of their team. Most said it was the best showing for several years and they were looking forward to the season.
Some Card fans are not as confident about the future of UofL football. As the season progresses both fan bases will be asking the same question: “Just how good is Purdue”?
We will find out more tonight when Purdue hosts Ohio.
