Boilers try to learn from Saturday’s 37-0 loss
>>Print ViewPublication Date: 11/04/2009
sponsored by
Danny Hope is in a tough situation this week.
On one hand, he wants to forget about Saturday’s 37-0 loss at Wisconsin and move on to this weekend’s game at Michigan. On the other hand, he wants his team to remember the defeat and learn from it.
“I don’t want to just blow it off and say it was a bad Saturday because that’s too easy,” Hope said Tuesday. “You have to address what you didn’t do well and really go out there and focus on that. You have to turn the page and move on, but you have to look at what you didn’t get done well and focus on those things.
“We don’t just disregard it, but it’s not something you just continue to harp on. It’s not a negative thing, it has to be constructive or else you’re not building. We’re building, we’re not taking it apart.”
Senior quarterback Joey Elliott said the players weren’t too excited to watch film of the loss, but coaches told them they needed to see it to learn from it. That helped Elliott see it as a learning tool instead of a cruel reminder.
“A lot of things went sideways, but obviously it was a learning tool for us. Things just didn’t go right for us, but that’s going to happen every now or then,” he said.
Hope said he came to his office Saturday when the team got back and immediately started watching the tape. He watched it again with his assistant coaches Sunday morning, then again with the players Sunday afternoon. That’s no different than usual though, he said.
“I have a tough time going to bed at nighttime after a game without seeing the film,” Hope said. “I really struggle with that and always have, particularly as a position coach. I came in and looked at it Saturday night. I don’t know if tough to stomach is the best way to describe it. I’m disappointed that we didn’t play better. We didn’t do some things that we’ve done a great job with all year long for the most part. If we had done those things, we would’ve had a chance to compete in the game.”
Hope said just like every week, he pointed out the good and the bad. This week, however, there seemed to be more things the Boilers needed to correct. That doesn’t mean he was negative with his team though.
He thinks staying positive will help the team move on and prepare for a Michigan team that started the year 4-0, but is now 5-4 overall. Both teams need a win if they want to head to a bowl game. Purdue will be ineligible for the postseason with one more loss. Michigan needs just one win in their final three games, but travels to Wisconsin and hosts Ohio State to conclude the regular season following this Saturday’s matchup.
“I think it’s always important to move on so that your focus can be on the right things, but you have to learn from the past so hopefully it will make an impression so we go out there and do even better in practice and make sure we do better in the games as a result of it,” Hope said. “I think it will make an impression, but we’re ready to move on and we already have moved on. We’ve done a good job with that in the past.”