Boilers Bury The Buckeyes

Ok, now that I have written all that I need to write for the Exponent and done our new weekly segment "Water Break Live" I feel I can add to the blog. It was definitely a crazy celebration in West Lafayette this past Saturday and why not? Purdue finally got the proverbial monkey off its back by defeating a ranked oppoent having not beaten one since 2003, and defeated its highest ranked opponent since defeating No. 4 Kansas State in the 1999 Alamo Bowl. The game has been very well documented, but here's a few extra notes.
What a rush!- For the first time since I have been at Purdue (since the fall of 2005) the field at Ross-Ade Stadium was rushed by happy fans. The players were all clearly thrilled, Joey Elliott and Ryan Kerrigan most notably, and gave fans high fives and hugs until over 15 minutes after the band finished playing "Hail Purdue." Coach Danny Hope appeared to have stolen a few children and held them up with a big grin on his face, he may be running for president.
You take what you can get.- For all the talk of which games Purdue should have won this year, if you had to pick one, it would seem Ohio State would be the best one to come through on. Now, I am not talking about personal preference. Sure, some people just love beating Notre Dame because they are a hated rival, or some people really wanted to beat Oregon this year because of last year's heart-breaking finish, but when it comes down to it, the Buckeyes were the best team to beat. First of all, Ohio State is currently in a class of its own in Big Ten play. While that has not meant as much as usual lately, beating the 800 lb gorilla in your conference is a much bigger win than defeating a trendy pre season pick out of the Pac 10 or an overrated Notre Dame team. Had Purdue defeated Oregon it would have been attributed to the Ducks' downward spiral after the Boise St. debacle, and had they defeated Notre Dame it would have just been about Notre Dame once again underachieving. Add in the fact that it was a huge recruiting weekend, and you get the biggest possible win for the 2009 season.
Bowl hopes still alive- I spoke with senior corner Brandon King Sunday and he told me that bowl hopes are still very much alive in the Purdue locker room. While Saturday's game was certainly evidence that this team will not quit, is it really reasonable to expect Purdue to win at least four out of its last five to become bowl eligible? Though I'm very optimistic when it comes to this team, I don't think that is a realistic goal at this point. If they had two more wins I would say bowl eligibility is the main goal, but it seems like a bit too steep of a mountain to climb right now. This Saturday brings a very beatable Illinois team to Ross-Ade, but after that the schedule gets significantly more difficult. Nevermind the fact that there have been no "gimme" games for Purdue yet this season. On Halloween Purdue could walk into a literal house of horrors against the Badgers in Madison, and the next week brings an even tougher challenge as Purdue will travel to the Big House in Ann Arbor where they haven't won in over 40 years. The next week is a home game against a Michigan St. team that I cannot seem to figure out, but will still be a challenge no doubt due to their physical nature, and the last game is a road trip to Bloomington to face the hated Hoosiers. I think it is reasonable to expect wins against Illinois and Indiana, and maybe one of the other three games, but to expect four or five wins, I think that is asking a bit much of an inexperienced team.