Speak With Data

So, my dad got married last Saturday. Purdue lost. I got married on October 1, 2016. Purdue lost. My sister got married on September 6, 2015. Purdue lost. Purdue football is 0-3 on my family's weddings. I'm sorry folks. It's all my fault. OK, superstition didn't sink the Boilers. No - the Boilers, despite putting up good performances in some areas of the game, did so awful elsewhere that they lost a perfectly winnable game. Of Penalties And Passing The two biggest issues that held the Boilermakers back were struggles with penalties and throwing the ball. On the day, Purdue had 9 penalties for 55 yards - and 6 of those penalties were on the offense. Compared to a season average of 6.14 penalties a game for 54.57 yards, this wasn't a good day for Boilermaker discipline [1,2,3]. It also pushed the Boilermaker offense back repeatedly. In a typical game, the number of penalties Purdue had would be bad (they rank 64th in the nation in penalty yards per game) but n...

Purdue continued its odd, odd string of games with a surprisingly close game against Wisconsin in Camp Randall, losing 9 - 17. Compared to the S&P+ prediction of a 17.8 - 36.4 loss, this score is not terrible. Well, except for the fact that it wasn't a close game by means of Purdue playing well; it was a close game in which both teams failed to take advantage of opportunities. It was a game that, unlike most fans, doesn't increase my optimism going forward. Let me and some numbers explain... [1] Badgers (Particularly Those Named Jonathan Taylor) Can Gallop 16-19 MPH [2] Wisconsin, as usual, possessed a strong running game with an elite running back. The current regeneration of the Wisconsin Time Lord Starting Running Back is Jonathan Taylor, who absolutely shredded the Boilermaker defense. He managed 219 yards on 30 carries, netting 7.30 yards per rush. The Badgers on the day had 302 yards on 50 carries, netting 6.04 yards per rush. That's a great day when facing a ...

I have a confession to make going into this article: I only watched the first half and then the last few minutes of this game. Some family was visiting from out of town, and it was decided that instead of watching a frustrating Purdue performance we could do a wine tasting instead (at Cooper's Hawk , which appropriately enough was founded by a Purdue alum, and has some incredible wines). Checking on the score at dinner we discovered there was the rain delay, and therefore we were able to catch the clinching pick-six after we got back to our apartment. This game was weird, with Purdue managing to win despite an inability to hold onto the ball during the first half. To comprehend this, time to get to the numbers. Elijah Arrives No, not that Elijah. But I mean, if Elijah Sindelar showed up to my apartment on Passover he would be welcome. Jokes aside, throughout the season I have been critical of Sindelar's performance , given he had under a 50% completion rate and his drives w...

So far, it appears no athletes have been arrested at this week at Where Else. So, that should count as a victory... Blough Us All Away Four games in, and we still are having a quarterback controversy. Blough suffered shoulder injuries in camp and against Michigan which have helped to limit his playing time, but Sindelar continues to get significant reps beyond a pure back-up role. This is a bit odd considering Blough's play has been significantly better than Sindelar's: Figure 1: By Drive Quarterback Stats [1,2,3,4] Figure 2: Passing Stats for Blough and Sindelar [5,6,7] Figure 3: Rushing Stats for Blough and Sindelar [5,6,7] Blough's accuracy has far exceeded Sindelar's, with Sindelar still under 50% completions on the year and Blough over twenty percentage points higher. Blough has out-performed Sindelar in almost all statistical categories, excluding his higher sack rate. Even with more sacks per dropback Blough is outperforming Sindelar as a pa...

Typically when a well-known figure passes, I tend not to be prone to speak words upon their passing. Me, random dude on my coach, probably isn't the person the figure had the most impact on; that would be there family, their friends, those who they encountered in their profession. I won't say what the Joe Tiller's family, friends, coaching associates, and former players have in recent days. I also didn't become a Purdue fan until matriculating in 2011; I wasn't following college football during the best days of Tiller, the initial success, the Rose Bowls, the nation aspirations. I can't speak to those emotional connections. But through the process of becoming a fan, interacting with others, and learning more of the history of the program, I came to have a appreciation for the special nature of that moment. A particular appreciation, as my experience with Purdue football has been one defined not by hope, success, and excitement; mine is that of Hope, failure, a...