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Hammer and Rails

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Purdue Football: Illinois Preview – Can Purdue Find a Way to Run Inside?

Illinois fired its defense coordinator after the Ohio State game. Say what you will about Kevin Kane, but he usually gets more than 9 players on the field, and you can’t say the same for former Illinois defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck (ducks’ flying tomato). Illinois still hasn’t announced Hauck’s replacement. I’m guessing we won’t know […]

Enzo Shahrvin eligibility no longer a waiting game

We’re excited to continue to partner with SpaceVault for all your local storage needs in Lafayette, Indiana. SpaceVault Self-Storage is more than just a spot to store your extra stuff. We’re a local partner here to make things easier for everyone in Lafayette—residents, students, and businesses alike. SpaceVault started in Lafayette with a pretty simple idea: […]

Boiler Alert! Predicting Purdue at Illinois

Purdue football just isn’t really a ton of fun to talk about right now. So, instead of talking about it to open the show we talk about Zach Edey being cleared to return to the NBA and also the upcoming men’s basketball Big Ten media days. Basically, we decided to eat dessert first. Then, we […]

Purdue Football: Depth Chart Review – Notre Dame – Defense

The same thing that plagued the offense plagued the defense. Notre Dame invests substantial sums of money to be good on the offensive and defensive lines, and that’s where this game was won. This goes against the rest of the Hammer and Rails staff (and patrons), but I don’t put much blame on Kane here. […]

Purdue Football Depth Chart Review: Notre Dame – Offense

I’m not sure I need to say much about this performance, or rather, I’m not sure there is much to say that doesn’t boil down to Notre Dame having significantly better talent across the board. Still, the difference between an estimated 40-million-dollar roster and a 20-million-dollar roster is most noticeable on the offensive and defensive […]

2026 Purdue Football Game 5: Purdue (1-3, 0-1) vs. Illinois (2-2, 0-1)

This is a game that Purdue could win…right? Illinois just fired their defensive coordinator because the defense was bad. Must be nice. But clearly Illinois isn’t meeting the expectations that the staff and the fans had for them coming into the season. So, maybe Purdue has a shot? The Purdue offense has talent that can […]

Boiler Alert: 33 Minutes Ranting About Purdue Football

Purdue football is not in a good place. You know this. I know this. Anyone who is even a casual fan of the sport knows this. So, what is the athletic department doing? What has the athletic department done? What should the athletic department do? Ryan and I get into all of that in this […]

This Whistlestop Tour: Week 4 of Big Ten Football

Is there hope for Purdue going forward? The Boilers are now through four of the six promised games in the renewed Notre Dame series and so far it has performed significantly better in South Bend than in West Lafayette. That’s sad, really. Danny Hope and Darrell Hazell all fared better against the Irish than the […]

How to Watch Purdue (1-2) vs. #3 Notre Dame (3-0) & Fan Discussion

Purdue and Notre Dame. An old rivalry rekindled today as the Fighting Irish look to keep rolling following a 3-0 start to the season while Purdue is trying to find something, anything, to hang their hat on after a 1-2 start to the 2026 season. It’s not the start Purdue’s fans were hoping for but […]

Purdue basketball: Pressing player questions (Bigs edition)

We’re excited to continue to partner with SpaceVault for all your local storage needs in Lafayette, Indiana. SpaceVault Self-Storage is more than just a spot to store your extra stuff. We’re a local partner here to make things easier for everyone in Lafayette—residents, students, and businesses alike. SpaceVault started in Lafayette with a pretty simple idea: […]

Week 4 Big Ten Preview

My apologies for not getting the preview up last week. My Friday was blown apart because my dad ended up in the emergency room late Thursday night before he was transported to Indy for emergency surgery to remove a huge blood clot on his lungs that was stressing his heart. Dad came through incredibly well […]

Know Your Enemy: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

With the game against the Fighting Irish fast approaching Patrick Sullivan from One Foot Down stopped by to answer my questions, some serious and some not so serious, about Saturday’s game. Enjoy! Given the recent emergence of IU as a football power, have you noticed a drop in ND football fans as those fans chase […]

Boiler Alert! Predicting Purdue Football vs. Notre Dame

With Ryan out on sick leave, due to a lost voice, I step up and carry this entire episode on my back. Don’t worry, I can ramble with the best of them. It will be a shorter episode though as when you’re just one guy there’s only so much I can say. However, I want […]

Staff Roundtable: How Do You Solve a Problem Like the Purdue Defense?

Things aren’t looking great for the Purdue defense. Kevin Kane is drawing ire just about every day on every corner of the Purdue internet. Yes, there’s a Purdue internet. So I asked the staff if Kane was the problem or if the players are the issue. Here are their responses. Ledman: I really just think […]

Purdue basketball: Pressing player questions (Guard edition)

We’re excited to continue to partner with SpaceVault for all your local storage needs in Lafayette, Indiana. SpaceVault Self-Storage is more than just a spot to store your extra stuff. We’re a local partner here to make things easier for everyone in Lafayette—residents, students, and businesses alike. SpaceVault started in Lafayette with a pretty simple idea: […]

Opening Odds: Purdue (1-2) vs. #3 Notre Dame (3-0)

A 1-2 start is likely the worst case scenario for a Purdue Boilermaker program looking to shift the perception of what their football program looks like. Following a breakdown in the late stages and overtime to Wake Forest, Purdue followed that up with arguably one of the worst performances on defense in the program’s history. […]

Purdue Football Depth Chart Review: UCLA – Defense

I’m not sure what to say. Barry Odom has built a career on turning around defenses. I was confident he’d be able to put something together in his second year at Purdue, and I was wrong in that assumption. I know defensive coordinator Kevin Kane is getting all the heat, and rightfully so, but there’s […]

Hammer and Rails Reacts Survey: That’s Gotta be Kane!

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NCAA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Purdue fans and fans across the country. Purdue football is in the midst of a two game losing streak. There’s plenty of blame to go around. The offense played well against UCLA but […]

Purdue Football Depth Chart Review: UCLA – Offense

Ryan Browne has been a revelation thus far. Barry Odom put his trust in the returning signal caller, and he continues to play like one of the better quarterbacks in the Big 10 early in the season. The late-night kick and gleam from the lights reflecting off the empty Rose Bowl bleachers didn’t stop him […]