Well everyone, people seem to be losing confidence in the coaching staff and I want:

1. Treat such concerns as valid and
2. Tells you to cool your jets. That’s not even an intentional joke in aerospace engineering.

Purdue hosts a resurgent Nebraska team at noon. Nebraska recently got ranked for the first time in what feels like forever, they have solid young talent and quarterback, and they are looking to bounce back from an overtime loss.

Purdue is coming off one of the most nasty losses I’ve seen in a while after the run game showed some life far too late in the game after Graham Harrell finally decided which offensive direction he should lean. We’ll shout more about him later, because I’ll be honest: what he does as a guy trying to pull off a semi-aerial assault makes little sense.

Let’s start with the defense first.

You have to put pressure on Dylan Raiola, but given the secondary play the last two games, you can’t sell out putting pressure on the freshman quarterback. Especially given the lackluster approach around (that’s very nicely put, I say “bland” when I really want to use a string of expletives), I just don’t know how that’s going to happen.

The child can also run. I mean, look at him, he went to four different high schools and committed to four different colleges. He is good at fleeing and making quick decisions. I’m clearly not in a good mood right now, please indulge me.

This brings me to my next point: I still think the defensive line has the ability to move people. You have to attack that offensive line with passion. I have not seen that yet in the two games against formidable opponents.

In case of violation:

I love having a talented tight end, but the fact that Max Klare has been by far the biggest threat is strange. He’s great, but this isn’t a Rob Gronkowski situation: he’s just bigger and faster than everyone. We went out and got some bigger side receivers after trading some talented slot receivers last year who were forced to play out of position.

And again, like the d-line, it’s frustrating because I think those new receivers could be used better and perform better. But we are approaching game four and the first conference game of the year. The adjustment period should be over.

Since football is the ultimate team sport with moving parts, my next point in the passing game is the offensive line. The Boilers OL actually looked B+ in the run game, especially in the second half, but the pass pro left a lot to be desired.

Hudson Card has shown he can be accurate when given enough time in his pocket. but he just didn’t have that in the losses to Notre Dame and Oregon State.

Nebraska’s defense is cracking up front. They allow less than 100 yards rushing per game and rank 30th nationally in total defense with a total of 286.8 yards per game. So if the o-line can’t help Card potentially take advantage of the Huskers’ more vulnerable secondary, it could be another long afternoon.

I know we’re all in a doom and gloom episode right now, but on a positive note, I’m excited to be here watching some fall football in about five minutes. A Boilermakers victory seems unlikely, but I think it’s still Pur-doable. Let’s gather around the televisions in some black and some gold and give them a solid BOILER UP.

UPDATE: 12:18 ET

Okay boilers. I see it. I enjoy this bend-but-don’t-break defense. Keep it up.

So far things are going well, especially in secondary school.

12:48 ET

Say what you want, but Ryan Walters looks like he could beat us all up.

Thieneman plays a solid game. Also enjoy what I see from Karlaftis.

I said a few weeks ago that Porath was perfect on PATs, but it would be interesting to see where they trust him on field goal attempts. We were one of the last two teams in FBS without a field goal attempt, and in our first lineup, Porath stands up from the right hash and kicks it directly forward for a missed field goal far to the right. Hopefully a learning experience.