The Parker Era Begins – The Nebraska Predicto

No gimmicks this week – it’s an all-new Purdue approach! Gerad Parker is in charge, yo!

Okay, well, maybe it’s not an all-new approach, team, etc. But the head coach is different. I always wonder, too, where is Darrell Hazell this Saturday? Is he still in his home in West Lafayette that I assume he has? Will he be out raking leaves and ensuring his lawn looks absolutely pristine, only to be run over and destroyed by a 4X4 from a nearby fraternity stunt?

Regardless, our Boilermakers travel to Lincoln this Saturday for a 3:30 PM game that will air on ABC in some markets. Look at that, prime television real estate! But against the undefeated, ranked team that Purdue humiliated in Ross-Ade last season. Gulp.

So what does the BS team think will happen? Glad you asked…

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Michael:

No gimmicks this week, so I guess I'll focus on football :-(

Hazell is out, Parker is in, and Purdue once again faces turmoil. This next hire is a big one - as we've been covering at BS (many shouts to Aneesh) - but we still have a lot of season to get through before we even reach that point.

Unless Parker unlocks some brand new amazingness, Purdue is still Purdue. There's a lot to like about Parker, but most of what plagues Purdue is beyond the scope of his control. The biggest issue is the lack of talent and depth on the roster. Hard to overcome that.

Nebraska is good and they'll punish Purdue. I anticipate a bloodbath.

Nebraska 48
Purdue 13

Dave:

So, to be fair to Parker, it's really more of an interregnum than an era. Parker was in a perfect position to become a caretaker coach: taking someone other than a coordinator means that you're creating less of an impact on game-day preparations. Unfortunately for the Good Guys, this was also an ideal week to make a change, as the next game - in this case, Nebraska - has the least chance of being negatively impacted by a coaching change, even if only because Wisconsin comes to West Lafayette this year.

In large part, that's because Nebraska is not who we thought they would be, and definitely not the team that gave up 17 more points to the Boilers than they did to any other opponent, including Michigan State and UCLA. Instead, they look very much like a team that could challenge Wisconsin for the West Division title, if it weren't for the fact that the NU-UW game is in Madison this season. The worst game in their 6-0 start was a 3-point squeaker over Oregon that looked pretty good at the time, but looks progressively worse as the Ducks fall each week (that game started an 0-4 slide for Oregon). It's also the only game Nebraska's played poorly enough to lose; in the rest of their games, they've kept opponents safely at bay, even if Indiana had other ideas last week.

Normally, it's difficult to know exactly what to expect from a team that's just had a midseason coaching change: it doesn't happen during the season often enough to get anything more than anecdotal experiences. Even if it does give the Boilers motivation, that alone wouldn't be enough to close the gap between Parker's men and the Huskers. Nebraska is reasonably similar to Iowa in that they can run the ball steadily, which is something Purdue allows with frightening frequency. A good bit of those yards will come from the backs and from Armstrong, so it's not like the OL is a bunch of Wisconsin-style road graders, which would be good news, but ... then there's passing. Armstrong is directing a passing attack that is both explosive and efficient. Either one of those would be bad news for the Boilers, whose Achilles heel everywhere on D seems to be efficiency, but the combination suggests that there will be some coverage busts on Saturday: staying home will mean a succession of first downs, and pressing will mean long completions.

This wasn't a game that Hazell would have won, and it's not a game the coaching change was designed to win, either. It'd be nice to see something Saturday that gives hope for the next coach, but the biggest flicker of hope is already visible, and that's the change itself. Bobinski showed that he understood what needed to be done; the good news is that 2017 will be a new era, but the bad news is that the second half of 2016 will be similar to the first, even if the man in charge is different.

Nebraska 47
Purdue 8

Boilerdowd:

Since last season’s unpredictable win over Nebraska, J and I have agreed that this season’s game in Lincoln was a Sharpie win for the ‘Huskers.

The needed coaching change to Parker last Sunday does not change my opinion.

Nebraska is highly-ranked and looks good this season…but I will say that I think their ranking is inflated at this point. And while they deserve to be ranked, I think the high teens would be a good place for them to land, not the top-10.

Ranked or not, good teams beat Hazell-coached teams…and six days of Coach Parker’s leadership doesn’t change depth issues and bad habits that have been forming over the past 3+ years.

Nebraska runs all over the good guys…

Nebraska 42
Purdue 17

J Money:

I have a weird feeling about this game. If it were Hazell still, I would expect a monumental drubbing. But with the change, I expect some renewed energy and while the Huskers certainly remember being embarrassed in Ross-Ade last year and plan to avenge it, you can also be the Boilermakers remember it, too. Could that lead to a more confident team that won’t be affected when things aren’t going well? I think it just might.

No, I’m not going crazy and predicting a win, but I think Purdue will be just feisty enough to keep it interesting longer than Nebraska is comfortable with.

Nebraska 33
Purdue 30

Neeshbomb:

The Hazell era is done, and Purdue is exciting again.

Not exciting in a traditional sense, because the actual football will still probably be crap. But exciting because Purdue is in that great transition period where stupid sports blogs can toss around names of FIFTY+ candidates and possibilities are endless.

Will Purdue pay Les Miles, and could he become Akers 2.0? Could they entice hot coaching names like Brohm, Fleck, or Taggart? Crusty old guys like Pelini, Schiano, Golden, or Edsall? Could they travel back in time to December 2015, fire Hazell and hire Dino Babers (who was always the perfect guy for this job)? OMG is that Lane Kiffin's music????

(I mean, the most likely scenario is someone like Bob Diaco or Ed Warriner, and we'll all just sigh and move on.)

But that's all the more reason to hold on to this moment, because right now the quality of the Purdue job is entirely in the eye of the beholder. They're in the Big Ten West, so it's an easy schedule! But they don't even have lights! But Tiller showed that you can be creative and win at Purdue! But come on, Purdue ain't hiring nobody!

This is the fun part of being a fan. The rampant speculation.

Meanwhile, this is probably the worst time to be a player, and they've got an awful matchup this weekend. The decision to turn the reigns over to Gerad Parker is an incredibly intriguing one, signalling that Mike Bobinski works entirely differently than Morgan Burke. The midseason firing, plus resisting the urge to hand the team over to Terry Malone, gives onlookers the stark impression that Bobinski wants to put his own stamp on the program. The selection of Parker also highlights that locker room enthusiasm was the highest priority.

There's always a chance that the adrenaline high of playing under Coach Parker makes this weekend's game more competitive than the 23.5 point spread would indicate. But I just think Nebraska is way too talented for that dreamland-state to last more than a quarter.

Spread: Nebraska -23.5

Purdue 25
Nebraska 52