Purdue Reaches First Back-To-Back 8+ Win Season In 15 Years 

Nov 29, 2022 - 12:34 AM

Purdue at Indiana" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/CAXchMTfKAc8mTb5VSEVFIuK3Ts=/0x1672:3565x3677/1920x1080/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71684916/usa_today_19509826.0.jpg" />

Purdue’s gutsy win on Saturday, keeping the Bucket, and clinching the Big Ten West puts them at 8 wins on the season. Last season Brohm led the Boilers to a 9-4 record after their offensive showdown in the Music City Bowl. Having an 8+ win season is good, doing it two years in a row is downright tough. No, maybe not for teams like Alabama and Georgia but we aren’t them and we know that.

In fact, Purdue hasn’t had back-to-back 8 win seasons since Joe Tiller where they went 8-6 and 8-5 in ‘06 and ‘07. He did it again in ‘97 and ‘98 where they went 9-3 and 9-4. Before that, you have to go way back to the 1978-1980 seasons where we went 9-2, 10-2, and 9-3 under Jim Young.

If you search “Fire Brohm” on Twitter you’ll see a lot of grumbling fans. They come out of the woodwork after a loss but I even saw it after the win on Saturday; people aren’t pleased with what he’s done for this program. And to you I say, (insert mean comment). To put it in perspective, Brohm had as many wins last season than Hazell had during his 3 1/2 year tenure at Purdue. We went from sitting last in the Big Ten to heading to the Championship game on Saturday in 6 years.

The ones who went to school during the Tiller years are the lucky ones. They saw success in the program. They got to experience Purdue in the Rose Bowl. Unfortunately, that was not my era. I was at Purdue when the only good thing about football Saturdays were the tailgates. You couldn’t pay people to fill the stands and I remember distinctly when Hazell became coach, him going around to fraternities begging them to come to games.

Good things don’t come easy and they usually don’t come fast. It takes a coach time to build a program, to build a culture. And Brohm is doing just that. You can be critical of things he does but also understand how much he has done for our program and Purdue as a whole. Both things can be true.

Remember to enjoy a packed Ross-Ade on Saturday afternoons. Take in the fact that we are even getting a shot to play for the Big Ten Title. Because believe me, it wasn’t always like this