While we all would like to poo poo the comments about our performance over the last ten games, it is undeniable. I have always ascribed the the theory that "The trend is your friend!" Unfortunately, it's not always easy to discern what trend line we should be following. If you're talking wins and losses then the fact we've lost 7 of our last 10 games and 3 of our last 6 at home is not a very encouraging trend. Likewise, when our last five losses have been by seven points or less one always asks the question, "Is the glass half full or is it half empty?"

In those five games we have fairly well dominated our opponents with 34 more first downs and 460 more total yards. We have scored more touchdowns from scrimmage (9 versus 8) and kicked as many field goals (7), but have only 1 non-offensive score (punt return) while our opponents have score three times on interception returns, twice on fumble returns and once on a kickoff return.

During that five-game span we've turned the ball over 20 times while our foes have only committed 10 miscues and a minus 10 in the turnover category is going to cost you some football games.

Yes, penalties and third down inefficiency hhave hurt this team. In some ways, Saturday's loss to Wake Forest reminded me of the Illinois game last year because we had so many chances to leap ahead by 21 to 28 points, but lacked the killer instinct and allowed the visiting team to remain in the game long enough to realize that they could win by playing to their strength and capitalizing on our mistakes.

Hence the reason I consider this team so "fragile" is the belief that they are at a point where they almost expect something major to go wrong at a critical point in a game because it has happened time and time again. If something bad happens Saturday early in the game they would respond positively as they did in South Bend. Most importantly, they must be aggressive offensively and take some chances when they're in scoring position to try and make sure they get points on the board.

Minnesota should not be taken for granted regardless of their non-conference schedule. If you consider the last six quarters we've played against them it should be no problem convincing our players the Gophers are a challenging opponent.

So here's my list of things I hope to see on Saturday:

1. Hard-running by Harris early in the game to setup the play action for Orton.
2. Test them deep early with Standeford and of they double on JS look for the open man with single coverage.
3. Softer touch by Kyle on passes to backs and TE's. Don't make the TE's reach for the sky and deliver the ball in stride in a catchable spot.
4. How about a TE reverse and pass by Rhinehart?
5. Shutdown the Gopher running game early and force them to pass.
6. Cover the TE who's their number one target.
7. Protect the football.
8. If the defense shows return let Odom try the fake punt again.
9. On short yardage plays don't be too proud and stubborn to use the robust goal line offense.
10. Jump on the Gophers early and get the crowd in the game and keep them in the game!
11. Let's create some defensive turnovers and get some easy points.

We'll know a great deal about the remainder of the season about 9 p.m. Saturday night IMHO!

Enjoy the article links below and I hope to see and hear many of you on Saturday!

-Barclay
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Boilermakers dig deep for answers
Team hits low point, but Tiller heartened by seniors' attitude

By Michael Pointer
michael.pointer@indystar.com

September 26, 2002

http://www.indystar.com/article.php?pufb26.html

"WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Because the 2002 college football season has not started the way Purdue coaches and players had envisioned, coach Joe Tiller called a meeting among the seniors Monday to talk about it.

"My purpose of getting together with them was not necessarily, 'Oh, are we in trouble?' " Tiller said. "I just wanted an inventory. 'Where are we . . . and what we can do to get better?' "

Tiller liked what he heard. Players talked about accountability and pride.

"If you have your older players recognizing that and preaching that, you have a much better chance of realizing it," Tiller said.

for the full story click on the link above

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Players need to emphasize emotional side
http://www.purdueexponent.org/interface/bebop/showstory.php?date=2002/09/25§ion=sports&storyid=emotion

"The Purdue football team wasn't supposed to be limping into the Big Ten season a measly 2-2. What is even scarier is that the Boilermakers could easily be 1-3 after the close-call win over Western Michigan.

The Boilers were expected to go at least 3-1 and maybe even 4-0, had they been able to get past the Irish.

But they are not; and many fans are asking, why?

There are lots of reasons to point at, mainly costly turnovers and penalties are to blame, but I have noticed something else missing from the last three games.

Emotion.

I have not seen many Boilermakers visually upset after a loss. Granted, I saw an upset Joey Harris after Notre Dame and I was told of a distraught Berin Lacevic after Wake Forest, but aside from those I can't recall anyone angry"

for the full story click on the link above

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Tiller focusing on the positives

By Tom Kubat, Journal and Courier

http://www.boilerstation.com/football/stories/200209250purdue_football1032931837.shtml

Purdue coach Joe Tiller had a meeting with his seniors on Monday to, as he put it, "take an inventory."

He wanted to hear from the players what their take was on the 2-2 start to this season.

For the most part, he liked what he heard.

"A half dozen of them said, hey, coach, we've just got to be more accountable. We have to be more responsible with what we're doing," Tiller said.

Despite the disappointing start to the season, Tiller stressed the positive to the players during the meeting."

for the full story click on the link above

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Purdue Boilermakers

In the huddle

by Michael Pointer

September 25, 2002

http://www.indystar.com/article.php?iuhuddle25.html

The opponent: Purdue (2-2) plays host to Minnesota (4-0) at 5 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2 in the Big Ten opener for both schools. The game is Purdue's homecoming. Minnesota QB Asad Abdul-Khaliq leads the nation in passing efficiency rating (185.8), having completed 50-of-76 passes for 185.8 yards with 10 touchdowns and one interception.

Friendly foes: The Boilermakers under Joe Tiller are 5-0 against Minnesota, including a stunning 35-28 overtime victory last year. Tiller said the combination of that streak and Minnesota's hot start -- even if it did come against a weak non-conference schedule -- should have the Gophers confident and motivated. "I think we'll play one of the most emotional teams we've played in West Lafayette in quite awhile," he said.

More contact in practice: Tiller and his staff usually end contact drills once the season begins. But they put the Boilers through a 15-minute scrimmage-type drill on Tuesday, addressing the team's fumbling problems. "We're trying to put them in a little more competitive environment and seeing how they respond," he said. Tiller said only one of Purdue's 14 fumbles was excusable -- Joey Harris' first-quarter fumble last week against Wake Forest. Harris was falling when an opponent's helmet hit the ball.

for the full story click on the link above

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Tiller seeks fumble cure

Practices will now end with scrimmage

By Tom Kubat, Journal and Courier

"Needless to say, coming off a five-turnover performance in Saturday's 24-21 loss to Wake Forest, the Purdue football team will concentrate on the 'F' word in practice this week.

Fumbles.

And how to drastically reduce them.

After four games, the Boilermakers have fumbled 14 times and lost 10 of them.

Purdue coach Joe Tiller and his coaching staff have a plan on how to try to cure the disease.

"We're going to try to incorporate a little more live -- ones against the ones -- stuff in practice, without putting our entire team at risk for two-plus hours," Tiller said Tuesday. "We're going to wrap up our practices with 15-minute, live scrimmages. Keep score and try to make it competitive."

for the full story click on the link above

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Standeford on record pace

Junior wide receiver could break several Purdue marks

By Tom Kubat, Journal and Courier

http://www.boilerstation.com/football/stories/200209260purdue_football1033017131.shtml

"Barring injury, or the Purdue coaching staff switching to a wishbone attack, it's entirely possible that Boilermaker junior wide receiver John Standeford could break the school career records for receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.

With at least eight regular season games remaining this season and his senior year still ahead of him, Standeford currently needs 69 catches, 1,169 yards and 16 TDs to break all three records.

As many as seven high school recruits might be in the Ross-Ade Stadium stands Saturday, making their official visits to Purdue.

Those scheduled to be on campus for sure are quarterback Scott Carroll of Liberty, Mo.; offensive lineman Andrew Crummey of Van Wert, Ohio; wide receiver Byron Williams of Camden, N.J.; running back John Wall of Dallas; defensive end Mike Macellari of South Bend (Clay); and running back Jerome Jackson of Saginaw, Mich.

Jackson's teammate, linebacker LaMarr Woodley, also may visit."

for the full story click on the link above

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Stubblefield's mind at ease again

Passing test, first hit in game relaxes Purdue wide receiver

By Tom Kubat, Journal and Courier

http://www.boilerstation.com/football/stories/200209261purdue_football1033017131.shtml

"Purdue wide receiver Taylor Stubblefield was more nervous about passing his medical exam last week than he was getting hit for the first time in a game this season.

Stubblefield made his 2002 debut during last week's 24-21 loss to Wake Forest last Saturday, after missing the first three games recovering from a skull fracture suffered in early July.

He had taken a six-hour medical test a couple of weeks earlier but was not cleared to play. He passed a two-hour abbreviated version of the test last week and was given the green light.

Stubblefield spent a restless Wednesday night before leaving for the Thursday afternoon test at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis."I was really stressing over that test," he said. "I was really, really nervous. When I got to the test site, I was shaking."

for the full story click on the link above

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Tiller retains positive attitude toward kicker despite misses



By Jason Tomcsi
Sports Editor
http://www.purdueexponent.org/interface/bebop/showstory.php?date=2002/09/26§ion=sports&storyid=index

Head coach Joe Tiller is standing by his kicker.

Despite missing three field goals in the fourth quarter, Tiller said Berin Lacevic isn't going anywhere.

"He's a good kicker," Tiller said. "He's going to kick a lot of field goals at Purdue."

Lacevic missed from 46, 40 and 44 yards in the 24-21 loss to Wake Forest.

The 44-yard miss came with 21 seconds left in the game and Purdue trailing by three.

Tiller said he does not think the missed field goals are Lacevic's fault, but he was disappointed by them.

"I'd rather he missed two to the left and one to the right," said Tiller. "That would demonstrate that he's made the right adjustment in terms of not kicking to the left."

for the full story click on the link above
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Purdue's Johnson preaches un-linebacker-like values
By Steve Warden
The Journal Gazette
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/sports/4115162.htm

"Purdue linebacker Landon Johnson stands behind the wide, wooden podium and nervously twitches his long, thin fingers. He leans one way, then another, then back again, as though he's a wind sock and there is some silent breeze that is waving him to and fro.
Clearly this isn't his cup of tea, fielding questions from a media contingent. He forces a smile and tries to elaborate on different subjects thrown at him (his own humility, for one), but all in all, he looks as uncomfortable as a high school freshman giving a five-minute impromtu speech on the presidency and foreign policy of Millard Fillmore.

"I don't hate it, but it's not my favorite thing to do," he says, now relieved and away from the formality of the media moment. He prefers to talk the way he plays - one-on-one.

It's never been much of a union, Landon Johnson and the spotlight. In a "look-at-me" athletic society in which some players are more concerned with choreography on the field than geography in the classroom, where even 12-year-old Little Leaguers blow their own trumpet, Johnson is the antithesis of self-promotion."

for the full story click on the link above

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WTTV-4 expands IU, Purdue coverage

By Terry Hutchens

terry.hutchens@indystar.com

September 25, 2002

http://www.indystar.com/article.php?wttv25.html

"Last season, only two Purdue non-conference games were televised and 10 of 16 games in Big Ten play.

WTTV-4 carried 10 of those games, with the other two on national television.

This season, WTTV-4 will carry 19 Purdue games beginning with the Nov. 30 Louisville game in the Wooden Tradition at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Fourteen of Purdue's 16 Big Ten games will be televised by WTTV-4. The other two will be carried by ESPN and ESPN2. Both Indiana-Purdue games -- the first, which will not count in the Big Ten standings, scheduled for Dec. 14 at the RCA Dome -- will be carried by WTTV-4.

A total of five Purdue games will not be televised in the non-conference season. Included are the Nov. 22 season opener versus Miami of Ohio and the Dec. 6 opener of the Boilermaker Invitational against Middle Tennessee State. Three other home games -- versus Belmont (Dec. 18), Colorado State (Dec. 30) and Montana (Jan. 4) -- will not be televised."

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