Purdue vs. Indiana Photo Gallery

Here are some pictures from the last home game this season for the Boilers. Going into the game you had the feeling that it was the end of an era. Today that was confirmed when it was announced that Danny Hope would no longer be Purdue’s head football coach. I will have more on that later. What is important here is that we retained the bucket, and did it with a very good display of offense. I was lucky enough to be on the field at the end of the game so I tried to include a few celebratory shots here as well. A bittersweet day to be a fan for sure.

Coach Hope surveys his troops for the last time

Coach Wilson and Coach Hope meet at midfield prior to the game. Imagine what their conversation was about

The best damn band in the land takes the field

Robert Marve leads the team onto the field for the last time

The team overtakes the special as they come out

Coach Hope with Antwon Higgs during the National Anthem

 

Antwon HIggs with a rally cry during the opening kick

Raheem Mostert with a big run. It was nice seeing him back on kicks again yesterday

Rob Henry and Akeem Shavers run the read option

Akeem Shavers with a nice run

Antavian Edison tries to find some running room

Antwon Higgs getting pumped up during a tv timeout

Max Charlot enjoying his last time on the Ross Ade sidelines

Indiana had some good moments too as you can see here

Robert Marve slings it around for one last time in Ross Ade stadium

The Golden Girl twirling at the half

The Golden Girl twirling at the half again

The Golden Girl twirling at the half yet again

Robert Marve congratulating O.J. Ross on a nice run after catch for a touchdown

Ryan Isaac on the sidelines. I really wanted a shot of the Neil Armstrong sticker that the team wears on its helmet

Frankie Williams makes a Willie Mays style interception here deep in Indiana territory

Crosby Wright drags two IU defenders down the field during his 58 yard run

Wil Lucas makes a fumble recovery to give Purdue good field position yet again

The line of battle

Gary Bush finishes off a touchdown run

Akeem Shavers with the ball yet again

Another shot of the line of scrimmage

Matt Light leads the crowd in ‘Shout’

Stephen Houston lost part of the I on his helmet making it appear as if he had a field goal post on it

Bruce Gaston kissing the bucket

The team takes the bucket to the fans

More fun with the bucket and the fans as Charles Torwudzo enjoys the moment

The fans, BJ Gaston, and the bucket

Another shot of the students and the bucket

Crosby Wright sees that Purdue has its bowl ticket punched

 

Purdue Is Bowl Eligible!

Purdue celebrating becoming bowl eligible in 2006

After a couple of years sitting at home during the holidays Purdue has put itself in position to head to a bowl with their win over Indiana earlier today. I did not go to the game because my one man road trips are really not too cost effective. I figured I would save that money to head to a bowl to see the Boilers. I have seen the team on the road every year since 2004 so the streak is on the line with this bowl game. You should never celebrate a .500 season, but right now it is progress, and that is all you can ask for.

Marve Helps Keep the Celebration Weekend Going

Robert Marve celebrating with the fans after the win

With all of the focus on basketball this weekend the football game against Ohio State was kind of lost in the shuffle for me. This morning I was even thinking of just watching it on TV. Of course that thought lasted just a few minutes before I pulled on my Purdue gear and headed out the door. I only got to my doorway before remembering one crucial part. I went back in and put the shirt that was given out prior to the 2009 game on. Jokingly in my head I said that it could be on the field twice. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that it could actually happen.

Purdue 21 – #23 Illinois 14

The team celebrates with the fans after the game

Normally I like to come up with some sort of a witty title for my game posts. After the way this season has gone so far I thought that the score would do. This team has looked good some days, and then had days like last Saturday that make them hard to watch. I love the effort they put forth in Happy Valley, but they just couldn’t get over the hump. You want them to do it so bad that you feel awful when they don’t get it done. From almost the start today though they got it done. This game went a long way to help put away the awful memory that was my road trip to Illinois last year. In that game the Illini had their way with us. We had them over the barrel for a half, and if we had not gone into a shell in the second half I am sure that we could have made it look worse.

Purdue vs. Minnesota Photo Gallery

My nice seats right behind the Purdue bench made me a little trigger happy with my camera. Here are a few pictures that I liked from the game for one reason or another.

I don't know what Danny Hope was saying to his team prior to the game, but it sure worked

Albert Evans goes up to snare a pass during warm ups

Purdue vs. Notre Dame Photo Gallery

It has been a while since I posted a gallery separate from a post. I had such a cool seat at the end of the game though that I decided to post a few more pictures that did not make the cut of the post. I would normally have cut this post in half, but I decided to have just one long post.

Despite a course full of cars some golfers decided to tee it up anyway

A panoramic view of the field just before the teams entered