COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Boilers vow to bounce back after pasting

In the aftermath of Purdue’s lopsided loss to Notre Dame, defensive end Rob Ninkovich summed up the state of the Boilermakers. - - College Football - -

“There’s only one direction to go right now, and that’s up,” he said.

After consecutive losses, Purdue will try to pick itself up when it returns to Big Ten play against Iowa on Saturday. The Boilermakers (2-2, 0-1) will try to avoid falling to 2-3 for the first time under Joe Tiller. - - College Football - -

“We’re soul searching. We have to find what the big problem is,” Ninkovich said on Tuesday. “This week is the the most important week of practice we’ve ever had. We’ll see who’s focused on what we need to accomplish, and who’s not.”

Said running back Brandon Jones: “We haven’t wanted it that bad, but the attitude changes. It starts today.” - - College Football - -

Amid all the gloom and doom, Tiller retained optimistic.

“That’s the way I think getting up in the morning,” he said.

“What are your options? We have to get back to fundamentals on both sides of the ball, get back to work and get the guys better. It’s not like there’s a waiver wire.” - - College Football - -

The play of the defense has remained at the heart of the problems. After Laurence Maroney and Minnesota ran roughshod over the Boilermakers, Brady Quinn and the Irish shredded them.

“I think the single-biggest thing that is most disturbing as coaches is that we’re not playing at a high energy level,” Tiller said. “Is it that they think they have experience and think plays will come their way? Perhaps it is. - - College Football - -

“The thing that makes you scratch your head the most is the effort level. It’s not for 60 minutes, but there have been lapses in the game where the effort level was not what we’re used to seeing. When we have to coach effort, we’re in trouble.”

The pass defense, in particular, has continued to be leaky. The secondary has made mistakes, but its burden also has been increased by the lack of a strong pass rush. - - College Football - -

And though Drew Tate is no Quinn, the elusive Iowa quarterback is no slouch, either.

“They have an experienced quarterback and receivers, and they’ll probably throw the ball around,” Tiller said. “I can’t imagine anyone who’s seen us play would do any different.”

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz downplayed Purdue’s various maladies, including its defensive woes.

“One of their constants has been their defense,” he said. “Everyone likes to talk about their offense and offense in general, but defense has always been a strength of theirs and, frankly, they’re not that far off. - - College Football - -

“They are an outstanding football team, recent events aside.”

Like the Boilermakers, the Hawkeyes (3-2, 1-1) had lofty expectations entering the season, and both teams have disappointed so far.

“We have to worry about ourselves, we can’t focus on our opponents,” Tiller said.

“We’re going to keep stepping to the plate, keep taking our cuts and see if we can make something positive happen. We’re not going to send up the white flag. We’re going to keep trying different combinations and keep working.” - - College Football - -