Feature image from @BoilerFootball

The beginning of each Purdue season under Jeff Brohm have been whirlwinds.

In 2017, after 9 wins in its previous 48 games, Purdue fell 7 points short of upsetting Louisville and Heisman winner Lamar Jackson. Purdue went on to steamroll both Ohio and Missouri (on the road), stunning everyone who saw Purdue play under Darrell Hazell and sending imaginations about a Purdue future under Brohm sky-high.

Purdue opened the 2018 season with three straight home losses vs Northwestern (close), Eastern Michigan (Brohm’s worst loss), and Mizzou (heartbreaker). A miraculous 6-3 finish gave Brohm his second bowl berth at Purdue. (I think that bowl game got cancelled by the weather or something, don’t worry about it.)

And now we’re here in 2019. Every Purdue prognosticator on the interwebs was saying the same thing: our young but talented Boilermakers need a 2-1 start, because dreams of breaking that 6-win ceiling could take a hit in the second half of the schedule.

But Brohm’s Purdue teams continue to be unpredictable (in a much different way than Danny Hope Purdue teams). The Boilermakers crumbled at Nevada, a bizarre season opener and a heartbreaking 4th quarter collapse dooming Brohm to his third straight 0-1 start. As J Money and Boilerdowd asked on this week’s Handsome Hour, was 0-5 that difficult to imagine? With TCU-Minnesota-Penn State on the horizon, today’s game versus Vanderbilt stood to unexpectedly define the season.

And it seems like our Boilermakers learned a difficult lesson last week, standing strong down the stretch and banking a 42-24 win that was much more nerve-racking than the final score might suggest. A win is a win, though, and expectations for a 7+ win season are still alive.

A few things that stood out from today:

Why are 4th quarters so stressful?

PURDUE AT NEVADA: End of the 3rd - Purdue 31, Nevada 17. Final score – Purdue 31, Nevada 34. Seventeen 4th quarter points, all by Nevada.

PURDUE VS VANDY: End of the 3rd – Purdue 28, Vandy 10. Final score – Purdue 42, Vandy 24. Twenty eight 4th quarter points, split evenly.

Why do they make things so stressful?

After a third quarter featuring some wonderful pressure from Purdue’s defensive front (more on that later), and two touchdown passes from Elijah Sindelar (more on that later), the Boilermakers found themselves up 18 with only one quarter left to play.

Not a single Purdue fan was relaxed.

The beginnings of déjà vu were setting in during the 4th quarter. A quick Purdue 3-and-out. A 22-yard punt. A 90-second Vandy touchdown drive that didn’t cause them to break a single bead of sweat. A Purdue 3rd-and-6 at midfield, and 3rd-and-16 at the edge of field goal range (more on these plays later). A one-play, 75-yard touchdown drive by Vandy.

The nerves weren’t great. Thankfully, Purdue has a superhero to save quarters like this.

Rondale Moore is the world’s only football player

That 3rd-and-6? Rondale grabbed a 20-yard laser from Sindelar. That 3rd-and-16? Rondale grabbed the ball, used the referee as a screen, and turned on the turbo-boosters for a touchdown.

After that one-play Vandy touchdown closed Purdue’s lead to 9 with nine minutes left to play, it was Moore’s time again. This time, he showed off unbelievable coordination to pull in this 70-yard Sindelar bomb as Vandy’s hapless corner flailed like a fish, setting Purdue up for the game-sealing touchdown:

13 receptions, 220 yards, and a touchdown. Rondale is a Heisman contender, incredibly handsome, and a Boilermaker.

Elijah Sindelar: Jekyll & Hyde

If there was a single game that showcased all of the highs and lows of Sindelar, this might have been it. Let’s do a Sindelar-only edition of Good/Bad/Ugly:

The Good: The statline (34/52, 509 yards, 5 touchdowns and 1 interception) is truly remarkable, even in this era of football.

His touchdown pass to the perfectly-named Payne Durham was simple and great:

This pass, to Hopkins for a touchdown, is a perfect example of how to set up a gifted tight end for a score without laying him out for a big hit:

And there were a handful of plays Elijah made to David Bell, Amad Anderson, and the tight ends that kept the chains moving and kept Vanderbilt at bay. With 52 passing attempts against 18 team rushing attempts, the entire offense falls on Sindelar to control, and he came through in the end.

The Bad: The 3rd quarter interception was among the most baffling plays I’ve ever seen, following a low snap. It was like Sindelar thought he was playing a completely different sport. Let’s say, handball. It’s like Sindelar thought he was playing handball. I don’t really know what handball is, but it seems appropriate for this moment.

Let’s be honest, that Rondale sky-pass wasn’t a great idea, and only works out because Purdue has the best receiver in the country under that pass.

Not to pick on Vandy corners, but boy did they bail Sindelar out more than once:

Sindelar frustratingly missed an open Hopkins on a few early passes, and severely misplaced a few passes aimed at David Bell in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. But, we’ll talk about those later.

The Ugly: It’s not really ugly, but this laser touchdown pass to Hopkins threaded through FIVE outstretched Vandy defenders. It’s such a perfect single-play summary of Sindelar’s cannon-arm and nerve-wracking decision making, making a gravity-defying but dangerous play while the Rondale check-down was wide open. I’ll take the 7 points, and if he can consistently make this throw he’ll be on an NFL roster next year. Either way, I’ll bet it comes up in the QB room next week:

(At least) Five bad snaps

There isn’t much to say here – I trust Viktor Beach as a blocker, but from what I could count there were three unexpected snaps that Sindelar somehow corralled, and two low-snaps that altered the play (one of which led to that bizarre interception, one nearly led to a safety). The options on this roster at center are limited, so Beach has no choice but to improve that consistency and avoid potentially game-turning errors.

David Bell

I’ll keep this short and sweet – Bell, finishing with 4 receptions and 82 yards, is a budding star and would be the apple of our eye if Purdue didn’t also have the best receiver in the country. In particular, his ability to adjust in the air and fight off SEC-sized corners is amazing, and I can’t wait until this receiving core blossoms into the best position group in the country.

Nick Holt & the Defensive Front 7

Listen, I get it. It’s really hard to determine whether Nick Holt being on the sidelines, instead of up in the press box, has a quantifiable effect on the outcome of these games. Purdue blew plenty of leads in 2017 and 2018 with Holt on the sidelines, and there is only one data point with Holt up in the press box.

But I really can’t get past the fact that this front 7, led by George Karlaftis and Marcus Bailey and Ben Holt and Derrick Barnes, looked fierce and hungry all game. It seemed like every Vandy drive ended in a pressure-forced incomplete pass, with the entire group flexing to a cheering Ross Ade. And that energy, excitement, and hunger comes right from their DC. Holt’s strength isn’t in his schemes, it’s his energy that gets his defense attacking, especially in front of a ravenous Purdue student section.

I care what the reason was, Holt should stay on the sidelines.

Happy Birthday, Tyler

Happy birthday to our captain and our friend. We miss you a whole lot.