Three Thoughts From The Weekend: Purdue’s substance, reliability and more

GoldandBlack.com’s Three Thoughts from the Weekend column runs every Monday morning, with analysis of Purdue football, Boilermaker men’s basketball, recruiting or whatever else comes to mind. In this week’s edition, we discuss Purdue’s win at Virginia Tech, the morality of college sports and more.

ON PURDUE GETTING THE BALL ROLLING

That was a big, big win for Purdue on Saturday, for a bunch of reasons, but as with any season, its importance will ultimately be proven by what the Boilermakers make of it.

Forget the nuts and bolts of it for a second: The improved offensive line play, the defensive dominance, the running success, etc, and just look at the big picture.

A major intangible was illuminated Saturday afternoon (and night). Purdue bounced back from a loss and played well, really well, right out of the locker room, on the road. There were clear improvements made as a result of the Fresno State outcome. Then, Purdue handled unprecedented circumstance like a champ. I don’t know what was more impressive: Purdue’s offensive and defensive execution to go up 17-0 or its ability to play mistake-free in a tie game in the second half.

The literal footing on that field had to suck, but when Purdue started to slip in the first half, it found its figurative footing when it had to. I don’t think Virginia Tech was as good as Fresno State, but the second half circumstances paralleled one another and Purdue flipped the script.

That’s substance. It’s hard to have a good, memorable season, as Purdue aims to do, without that. This one particular weekend at least, Purdue seemed to have it.

ON PURDUE’S MR. RELIABLE

Credit where it’s due here: Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen isn’t the flashiest — dare I say, sexiest — player on Purdue’s offense, but, man, he’s been important, really reliable, really consistent and really clutch. He’s been the Boilermaker offense’s most important chain-mover as a receiver to this point. Consider his performance at Virginia Tech through the lens of what Purdue so badly needed after Fresno State: Just possession.

Yaseen has been able to get open when Purdue has needed him and has made strong, contested catches at times when Purdue has needed those. He’s been such a key part of this team’s offensive foundation and a nice story.

You’ll remember the weekly in-or-out storylines about him the past few seasons during his arduous recovery from a knee injury. I can’t speak to what Purdue’s coaches thought coming into the season, but for us on the outside, expecting anything from Yaseen this season was a hard thing to do. Hope for the best, obviously. But he’d had such a hard time just being on the field that I’m not sure you could have really penciled anything in.

It’s only been two games, but he’s been a revelation.

ON MORAL DECAY

Look, let’s get the innocent-until-proven-guilty, two-sides-to-the-story disclaimers out the way regarding the Mel Tucker situation at Michigan State, then call it what it is: Another awful, awful headline for college football and, more importantly, gross episode involving the treatment of women.

Tucker has pushed back against harassment claims, but crime or no crime, a 51-year-old coach admitting to an “intimate” relationship with this young woman of all young women is just a situation no one should have been in. I know that sounds preachy and holier-than-thou and judgmental, and that’s generally not who I am, but this whole thing is gross and brazen and emblematic of the reality that coaches too often think they can do anything.

I say this every time a college coach is involved in something unsavory: How hard is it to just not be awful? If your moral compass isn’t up to the job, how many millions of dollars need to be at stake for you to find one that works?

Thing is, there’s so much money at stake with these men — Tucker being one of the poster-boys after he signed a ridiculous contract after one decent season — that they get treated like kings, too big to fail. They don’t hear the word “no” as much as generations of coaches before them did. And getting the royal treatment, with every entitled impulse stroked, too many of them act like Joffrey.

What can be done? Coaches are already contractually accountable for reprehensible behavior. But here’s an idea: Don’t view of them as some sort of beyond-reproach superior entities. They’re not. They don’t have to be good people, nor do any of us. We all have a choice.

But just don’t be awful. You’re too visible and you wield too much influence over young peoples’ lives and so many peoples’ careers. Just don’t be awful. That’s not a high bar.

Let me be clear when I say this: There is absolutely no comparison to be made between what Mel Tucker obviously did and what Jim Harbaugh did by violating NCAA rules or what Pat Fitzgerald allegedly did by not being aware of hazing in the program for which he was ultimately accountable.

But look how people reacted to those situations.

Michigan’s players made an obnoxious spectacle of “supporting” Harbaugh — he was suspended by his own employer — like he was some sort of political prisoner, some sort of martyr, like the fact that he allegedly/probably cheated didn’t matter. Those were kids acting like kids almost certainly influenced by a coach conditioned to wield limitless power and expect to skirt accountability at every turn. That’s the deal now that Michigan is beating Ohio State for once. They were egged on by a fanbase that made a cheeseburger-themed rallying cry on a social media so pervasive that the NCAA foolishly clapped back publicly.

At Northwestern, after Fitzgerald was, albeit messily, ousted, those coaches left behind wore T-shirts protesting his removal. Again, glancing right over the big picture and the severity of the matter and painting the accountable party as the victim. Great message to send the 20-year-olds in that locker room/carwash.

Tucker’s gone from Michigan State, as he ought to be. I’m choosing to believe that this all would have still come out had the Spartans not been 5-7 last season. Mark Dantonio was run out before him, as he should have been. Art Briles is radioactive, as he should be. And Joe Paterno died in professional shame. All these universities are sullied because their coaches couldn’t be trusted with power. Bobby Petrino, the most Tucker-like comp I can make here, found enough morally casual employers to un-cancel himself until he started losing. He now works with noted Jameis Winston apologist and enabler Jimbo Fisher.

I repeat it: How hard is it to just not be horrible?

Ultimate power comes with ultimate responsibility. If coaches can’t handle that, they should all be viewed — and treated — accordingly.

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