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Hammer and Rails

Purdue's Okayest Blog

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Purdue Football Hires Veteran Defensive Coach

Purdue continues to retool their defensive staff by adding a veteran to the staff. Barry Odom announced the hiring of Dave Steckel as a Senior Defensive Analyst. There is familiarity between Coach Odom and Coach Steckel going back to Coach Odom’s Missouri days. From 2015 to 2019 Steckel served as the Head Coach of Missouri […]

Non-Conference Opponents’ Update: December 26

Happy Boxing Day, everyone! The paucity of games the last few weeks due to Finals and the holiday break has delayed this normal column, but since our last update Purdue has gotten a nice boost from a blowout win over a ranked Auburn team and Texas Tech upsetting previously undefeated Duke to make that win […]

Purdue Football: Barry (Odom) Raised a (Kevin) Kane

* If you’re wondering about the title, I stole most of it from Bruce Springsteen. During the frigid winters in Finland, it’s common for people to maintain holes in ice-covered lakes and ponds for swimming. They sit in a sauna (a staple of Finnish life), and once they are sufficiently steamed and/or dry roasted, they […]

By The Numbers: Purdue 88 Auburn 60

It was another dominating performance for the now #5 ranked Purdue Boilermakers as they dismantled the Auburn Tigers 88-60 inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the Indy Classic. With five players scoring in double digits and Braden Smith adding in 14 assists, the Tiger defense was befuddled most of the night as the Boilers scored 1.704 points […]

College Basketball Rankings: December 22

Purdue is back in the top 5 this week, and it owes a huge thank you to Texas Tech for that. Not only is hte win over the Red Raiders a little bit better now, they stormed back ot beat Duke and knock the Blue Devils behind the Boilermakers in this week’s poll. Surprisingly, it […]

Purdue 88, Auburn 60: Postgame Video

I think that the 23 point home loss Purdue suffereed at the hands of Iowa State pissed them off a little. Since that loss the Boilermakers have wongames by 28, 20, and 28 points, all over high major opponents. Minnesota and Marquette at least were in Mackey Arena against teams that are struggling, but today’s […]

Game Wrap: #6 Purdue 88 #22 Auburn 60

The Purdue Boilermakers got a big non-conference win against the #22 Auburn Tigers 88-60 in the Indy Classic. A year after getting run out of the building in Birmingham, the Boilers nearly led wire-to-wire and never trailed after a CJ Cox three pointer with 16:29 left in the first half on their way to a […]

Purdue Football Announces Coaching Staff Moves for 2026 Season

We are 3 weeks into the football offseason and Purdue has announced several moves to the coaching staff under Barry Odom, including the return of a familiar face. The moves are as follows: Kevin Kane – Hired as Linebackers Coach and Defensive CoordinatorZach Crabtree – Hired as Offensive Line CoachCornell Ford – Moved from Wide […]

Indy Classic Game Preview: #6 Purdue (10-1) vs. #21 Auburn (8-3)

Purdue welcomes Auburn to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday for the fourth iteration of the Indy Classic. Last season, Purdue traveled to Birmingham to play a similarly semi-neutral floor matchup where the Tigers raced Purdue, 87-69. That loss was a turning point for Matt Painter’s Boilers and has been referenced throughout last season and into this […]

Purdue Defensive Coordinator Moving On

Following a disappointing 2-10 season that saw Purdue go a second consecutive season without winning a B1G conference game, Purdue and Head Coach Barry Odom announced that Defensive Coordinator Mike Scherer has left the program to seek out other opportunities. Scherer had previously been the defensive coordinator for Odom at UNLV and had played for […]

Omer Mayer’s time is right now

It doesn’t start out pretty. Oscar Cluff has positioning, but two bodies are holding him and Benter’s pass is where it needs to be, high, above the heads of the Marquette defenders, but Cluff has to bat at it first and the ball goes towards the corner. Cluff, mobile for his size, is able to […]

NBA

Big Ten Basketball Power Rankings: December 16

Welcome to Finals Week, where the staff of Hammer & Rails works to create content while no games are actually happening. It’s not quite the desert of mid-June, but as the players work fervently on cashing in more NIL deals and increasing their brand Finals this week there is not a lot of actual sports […]

NBA

Purdue Football Finds Their Wide Receiver Coach Within

Purdue didn’t have to turn over many stones to find their next wide receiver coach. Enter Bilal Marshall, the Purdue Alumni and a young coach that is considered a star on the rise. Last week, Purdue relieved Lamar Conard of his duties at running back. Long time assistant to Barry Odom, Cornell Ford is expected […]

By The Numbers: Purdue 79 Marquette 59

Purdue controlled everything in this game from the outset as Marquette had no answers for the Boilermaker big men inside on both ends of the floor. Led by Oscar Cluff’s 22 points and 11 rebounds, Purdue dominated the interior to the tune of a 36-22 advantage while also limiting Chase Ross, the Big East’s leading […]

Purdue 79, Marquette 59: Postgame Video

The last few seasons Purdue and Marquette have played some pretty memorable games thanks to the Gavitt Games, a couple home-and-homes, and the Maui Invitational. The Golden Eagles have been a stern test in each of those seasons, so beating them by 20 points (and that being the closest margin for a large portion of […]

Quick Hitters – Big is back in Boiler land

On a day where the snow hit West Lafayette just before a two p.m. tip-off, a mostly filled Mackey Arena got to watch a familiar rivalry with an unfamiliar scent. This Marquette team is not like the Marquette teams of normal for Shaka Smart. In a world of transfers, Smart tried to buck the system, […]

Marquette (S)No(w) Problem for Purdue – 79-59

Games are never easy when you’ve got a coach like Shaka Smart on the opposing sideline. Purdue came into a snowy Mackey Arena being intimately familiar not just with Marquette, who they’ve played each of the past three seasons, but also with Shaka Smart who famously faced Purdue in the NCAA Tournament at a different […]