Purdue Football Regular Season Postmordem

Is it possible to capsulize Purdue's entire 11-game regular season in a three possession sequence late in the 4th quarter of one game? I say it is. With less than half of the 4th quarter remaining in the October 16th game vs. Wisconsin, Purdue held a 17-7 lead.

Purdue fans were very upbeat. The team was 5-0, and had won most of those games handily. Mentions of a Heisman trophy for quarterback Kyle Orton, along with a Rose Bowl berth, and possibly even a trip to a BCS bowl, were more than just whispers.

With time running out, Wisconsin took possession and had to move fast to have any chance of winning. A bad pass over the middle, right to a Purdue defensive back...dropped. A game-sealing interception that didn't happen. That was the turning point. Wisconsin slices through the Purdue defense and scores quickly. 17-14.

Purdue gets the ball back but isn't able to move the ball well. It's 3rd and short in their own territory. Orton goes for the 1st down on his own...he has it...but he's hit and fumbles. Wisconsin takes the ball and runs it back for the score. 20-17 Wisconsin, just like that.

And that would be the final score, the beginning of a plunging spiral. Purdue would lose the next week's game in an eerily similar fashion...a close game vs. Michigan decided by a late Purdue turnover. Purdue's confidence is shot. Orton is sidelined with a nagging hip injury. Embarassing losses to Northwestern and Iowa follow the next two weeks.

Wins vs. Ohio State and Indiana to cap off the regular season were nice, but provide little consolation for what might have been. When Purdue's offense is on, it's capable of beating any Division I team, in my biased opinion. It's unfortunate that offense wasn't in high gear during the middle of the season, and therefore won't be displayed on the national stage in January.