Last week I posited that the game with Marshall to open the season was a crossroads game. While it was not a victory, it was probably one of the better played games under Darrell Hazell. Purdue had the game in hand and was in control, but was unable to finish. You can only say that about one other game during the Hazell era, and that was the single-point loss at Minnesota last year.
Naturally, frustration has spilled over. The negative side sees it as little improvement because a loss is a loss, and they are right. The positive sign sees a strong running game and several big plays as improvement, and they are right.