[NU Sports] Back from the Cow Pasture

[cherron604 at aol.com]

Some quick observations after the pleasant trip to Lafayette:
 
- The playing surface at Ross-Ade was an embarrassment.  There are Chicago Public League fields in far better shape.  Divots, ruts, bare dirt, feeble grass - I have not seen a field in such awful condition since the Bears Soldier field a few years back - and that was after a Rolling Stones concert in a downpour.  Purdue should be ashamed of hosting a game on such a miserable surface.
 
- Ross-Ade remains a place of mixed feelings - the new pressbox is impressive, but almost overpowering.  And I miss the old block letters PURDUE in the North end-zone.  The bigger down-side is probably the Purdue fans - despite the programs limited success (certainly between the Agase and Tiller eras), the fans, with their cutesy 'synchronized' chants and cheers, the silly cheerleading PA announcer, and the inane steam whistle are a pretty annoying bunch.  I must say, however, that everyone in the parking lots was very polite, they only seem to get cloying when they are in a group, chanting en-masse.
 
- I love the victories, and BB and TS are special talents, but this defense is maddening.  I know they hit some people harder today, and ball-hawked better on some interceptions, but remember that in the past three weeks:
 
   - we blew a 16 point lead just before the half to Penn State.  Part of this mess (that I hadn't seen mentioned previously) was that, with that 16 point lead, and the clock running, the Cats faced a 4th down pretty deep in their end of the field.  With under two minutes remaining in the half (and the clock RUNNING), RW punted the ball with 23 seconds showing on the play clock.  Couldn't he have waited til 5 or 6 seconds remained ?  As it was, Penn State scored just before the half, and the collapse had begun.
 
   - we almost blew a 17 point lead with something like 4 minutes remaining in the game against the Badgers.  No defense should ever do that.
 
  - Today we succeeded in blowing an 18 point half-time lead (topped off by a 98 yard TD drive) before recovering with the late touchdown to win.
 
It would be very interesting to see if any other program had blown (or nearly blown) three double-digit leads in as many weeks.  It would be different if this were a one-time glitch, an unexpected bad stretch that the program hadn't experienced previously.  Unfortunately, it is just a continuation of the trend of RW defenses - frequently in the bottom 5 or ten defenses nationally.
 
No program that aspires to be of championship caliber can countenance such regular disarray and chaos in their defense.  While it might make for exciting games, cardiac finishes and and the like, it is a sign of a definite weakness in the program.
 
In fact, a cynic might argue that the large double digit leads are an indicator that the skilled positions - the talent on the field that some keep telling us can't possibly compare with the talent that our conference mates can recruit - are as good as or better than their conference opponents, while the double digit collapses point to great weaknesses in coaching and managing the leads in those ballgames.
 
Let's hope RW can right the ship heading into Lansing next week - or maybe we can try blowing a 20- or 21-point lead ?
 
Chuck Herron   Tech '85