Update On Women’s Volleyball

Indiana Hoosiers could not pull of a win against the Fighting Illini this past Friday in Bloomington. The Hoosiers fell to Illinois 3-1. That puts Indiana with a record of 0-1 in the Big Ten Conference and Illinois -with 1-1 record. Minnesota Gophers hosted Northwestern in Minneapolis and beat them with a 3-0 match. Minnesota is now 2-0 in the conference, and Northwestern stands with a record of 0-2. Ohio State traveled to East Lansing, Michigan, where they lost on the road against the Spartans. The match was 3-1. Michigan State is 1-0 in conference, and Ohio State is 0-2. Penn State creamed Purdue University on home soil with a 3-0 win over the boilermakers. Penn State is now 1-0 in the Big Ten, and Purdue is 1-1. In Iowa City, Wisconsin fell to the Hawkeyes with the final match score of 3-0. Iowa is one of the four teams in the Big Ten Conference with a 2-0 start. Wisconsin on the other hand is one of the four teams that has a record of 0-2.
Saturday, Penn State, with a record of 2-0 in the conference, beat Illinois, 1-1 in conference, 3-0 on home soil. Michigan State hosted Michigan where the Spartans pulled off their second win in the conference. Michigan State pulled the win off with a 3-1 set. Their records now stand at, Spartans 2-0, and Wolverines 1-1. The Hawkeyes of Iowa, beat Northwestern with a 3-1 set. The standings of these two teams are Iowa 2-0, Northwestern 0-2. The closes game of the weekend was Purdue Boilermakers and Indiana Hoosiers. The final score was 3-2. Both teams battled it out and took it to all five sets, but the Boilermakers pulled off the win. They now stand with a 1-1 record, where Indiana is 0-2 in the conference. The last game was Minnesota Gophers against Wisconsin Badgers. The Gophers pulled the win off with a 3-1 set. Minnesota is now 2-0 in the Big Ten, and Wisconsin is 0-2.

Click here for the upcoming schedule.
http://www.bigtennetwork.com/sports/wvolleyball/Schedule.asp

BSU 5-0 Can They Keep It Up?

Ball State University proved that they are a good team this by starting off the season with a 5-0 record. One of those wins was against a Big Ten School, Indiana University. People are saying that Ball State is one of the better college teams this year in the state of Indiana. Can this be true?
They started off their season with a 48-14 win over Northeastern. Then a win over Navy, 35-23. The cardinals then traveled to Akron, Ohio where they defeated them 41-24. The Hoosiers hosted the Cardinals on September 20, where Ball State pulled off the win with a score of 42-20. That was the high light game of the season thus far. Yesterday was the Cardinals homecoming against Kent State, where they improved their winning record to 5-0, with a score of 41-20.
Ball State Cardinals will be on the road next week, traveling to Toledo, Ohio. Toledo has a record of 1-3, so Ball State should be in favor of winning this game. But the question is, will the Cardinals let their perfect season get their heads and blow against an underdog team? We will find next week on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Is Forte up to the Challenge?

Hello everyone and welcome to another Sunday packed with Football news. Today the Bears are going to take on the Philadelphia Eagles. As we all already might know the Bears haven't had the greatest start this season. They are 1 -2, and both of their losses are losses that were a result of poor defense. The first game this season as many of you already know was against the Colts, and the Bears dominated and really showed what they were made of during that game. On both sides of the field the Bears played amazing, but after that game the team has gone somewhat downhill. 

In the last two weeks the Bears have been in the lead late in the game, and for some reason the defense slips and allows a win. Last week when they played the Bucs the offense wasn't on top of its game in the first half and the defense was doing a great job holding the Bucs. Then the second half the offense really stepped up and put on a spectacular performance. Orton was playing great, completing a bunch of great passes. The passing game was actually starting to show how great it could be and Orton proved to everyone that he could really be a clutch player. Sadly when the offense starting playing so well the defense flopped and didn't perform. What the Bears need, is to find a common ground and play consistently. The defense has to keep their intensity and play the their best from start to finish. Also the offense has to play as well as they did last week, especially against this week when they take on the ferocious Eagle's defense. Last week the Eagle's defense was really on top of their game, they sacked the Steelers QB a total of nine time and ended up taking him out of the game with and injured hand. 

The Bear's QB Kyle Orton is aware of the challenge that he and his team are going to undergo this week. Orton is ranked 18th this season with a respectable passer rating of 79.0. He has completed 54 of 87 passes, for a total of 567 yards, he has thrown two touchdown passes and has been sacked a total of six times. This week if the Bears want the win they are really going to have to step up on the O-line. The offensive line needs to protect Orton and allow him to have enough time to throw the football. At the same time the wide receivers are going to have to do their job and find openings in the Eagle's defense. 

This week is also going to be a big test for rookie running back Matt Forte. The Eagles lead the NFL in sacks and with run defense allowing an average of 45 yards per game. Forte is really going to have to show everyone what he is made of, he has been a great addition to the Bears this season and has showed the team what he can do. However, he has yet to play a defense like the Eagles. So I am excited to see how the rookie will perform under such great pressure. He has done a great job this season and this game really has the potential to show how great Matt Forte can really be. The key to this week's game is going to be good O-line coverage, good defense from the beginning of the game to the end and how well Forte can perform against the merciless Eagle's defense.

will the Boilers come home with a W ?

So this week is an exciting week for all Purdue fans. This week our very own boilermakers travel to Notre Dame to take on the Irish in what should be an exciting game. I feel that the key for this game is defense. Purdue has to play tight defense and keep their focus on Notre Dame's key players. Wide receiver Golden Tate is one of those key players. Tate is a sophomore and leads the team in receiving this year, so far the sophomore receiver has had 15 catches for 303 yards and two touchdowns. The Boilermaker defense this year has been pretty good so far, they haven't allowed a 100 yard receiver this season. And with Notre Dame's offense playing the way it has been the Boilermakers really have a great shot at winning this game. 

This season the Irish's offense has had an extremely slow start ranking 107th in total offense. One of the main reasons why Notre Dame's offense has been so poor is because of their running game, or should I say their lack of a running game. The Fighting Irish played Michigan State last week, but really failed to put up much of a fight. The Notre Dame running game put up a total of 16 yards. As long as the Boilermakers keep up their defense I feel that they can bring home a win. Notre Dame's defense was also not at its best. Back to last weeks game against Michigan State, the Irish allowed Michigan States Javon Ringer to attain a total of 200 yards. Don't get me wrong the Irish's defense is good they are shifty and a type of defense that our offense is not used to, so as long as the Boilers play the game they have to and the defense keeps up the good work then I know that they can come out of this weekend with a win. 

Week 5 Power Rankings

Ahhh…you smell that. Yeah that’s the smell of Big Ten Conference football as the teams prepare for the opening of conference play this weekend. Here are my Power Rankings heading into Week 5.

1. “The” Ohio State University (3-1)- USC’s loss last night makes the Buckeye’s loss look that much worse, but injured running back Chris Wells will make his return this weekend for the defending conference champs. Along with Wells, QB Terrelle Pryor will lead the OSU offense this weekend. The freshman Pryor threw four touchdowns passes last week against Troy and look for him to get even more touches this weekend as the Buckeyes begin conference play against undefeated Minnesota.

2. Penn State University (4-0)- Oregon State’s win against USC makes the Nittany Lions look that much better as they smoked the Beavers earlier this season 45-14. This weekend brings the Fighting Illini to Happy Valley as PSU prepares for its toughest test of the season yet. The Lions have looked dominant so far, but we’ll see if that stands after this weekend’s premier conference matchup.

3. Wisconsin (4-0)- The Badgers are coming off a tough road win at Fresno State two weeks ago and had a bye last week. The bye gave time for injured players like tight end Travis Beckum to rest his hamstring injury. With Beckum back in the lineup this Saturday against Michigan look for the Wisconsin offense to be that much stronger.

4. Michigan State (3-1)- All you need to know about the Spartans is Javon Ringer. The senior running back is putting up Heisman like numbers and continued that trend last week when he rushed for over two hundred yards and two touchdowns against the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Look for him to put up big numbers again this weekend as the Spartans take on Indiana.

5. Illinois (2-1)-The Illini have another tough game this weekend as they head into a hostile environment at Beaver Stadium to take on #12 Penn State. Illinois did not look very impressive in their recent win against Louisiana-Lafayette, but dual quarterback Juice Williams is always a threat to put up big numbers and look for him to challenge the young linebackers of Penn State.

6. Iowa (3-1)- The Hawkeyes are coming off a one point loss to a tough Pittsburgh team as they head into this weekend’s Homecoming game against Northwestern. Quarterback Ricky Stanzi has been named the starter, but don’t be surprised if Jake Christensen sees some time as well.

7. Purdue University (2-1)- The Boilermakers had a thrilling victory last week against Central Michigan, but they were losing with just a 1:18 left to play. The offense is not what it has been in years past, but the defense is picking up the slack. The Boilers travel to South Bend this weekend to take on an Irish team that got handled by Michigan State last weekend. I look for Cory Sheets to have another big game in a game I think the Boilermakers can win.

8. Minnesota (4-0) –One of the surprises so far this year has been the turnaround of Minnesota football. After a dismal season last year, Tim Brewster has the Gophers playing some good football and they have already surpassed their win total from a year ago. Minnesota has not been challenged thus far and play their first ranked opponent as they travel to “The” Ohio State University.

9. Northwestern (4-0)- The Wildcats only scored sixteen points, but still managed a win last week against Ohio. The defense played well and is definitely improved from last year. The Wildcats are still undefeated, but face their first real test in Iowa this weekend.

10. Indiana (2-1)- The Hoosiers had trouble defending the run this past weekend as they allowed four rushing touchdowns against Ball State. Look for the run defense to try and step up this week as they face Heisman candidate Javon Ringer and Michigan State.

11.Michigan (1-2)- Congrats to Michigan as they didn’t lose last week thanks to the bye. This week the Wolverines and their abysmal quarterback situation take on Wisconsin at home. Michigan is always tough at home and look for that offense to start clicking a little more as we get deeper into the season.

Big Ten Volleyball

The Big Ten volleyball started this past week on Wednesday, September 22. Let’s look at the stats thus far in the season before the Big Ten starts to be in action full time. There are two Big Ten teams that are undefeated as of right now. Penn State (12-0) and Michigan (12-0), both teams are obviously on a 12 game winning streak. Purude University Stands in the 3rd place spot with a record so far of 11-1. They are on a 7 game winning streak. Minnesota and Wisconsin are both at a record of 10-2. Illinois has a record of 9-2,and Ohio State’s record is 9-3. Illinois lost two on the road and Ohio State has lost one on the road. Michigan, Indiana, and Iowa all stand at 8-4 in the pre-Big Ten season. Northwestern stands in last place with a record of 6-5.
This week started off with #21 Michigan at Ohio State. This was one of the games that was broadcasted on the Big Ten network. The Wolverines took the match in three sets, leaving the Buckeyes with a loss on home soil. The 26th is a big day for the Women’s Big Ten Volleyball teams. Illinois is coming to Hoosier territory hoping to keep their winning streak of four matches so far. Minnesota Gophers are hosting Northwestern at their place. Ohio State is entering into Michigan territory, after their loss to Michigan on Tuesday. But this time they are competing against Michigan State Spartans. The Buckeyes are hoping to come back to get revenge of the loss against Michigan Wolverines. #19 Purdue Boilermakers are at #1 Penn State, hoping to start off the Big Ten season with an amazing win over the Nittany Lions. Wisconsin, ranked #18, is facing the Iowa Hawkeyes at the Iowa. All of these games are starting at 7 p.m. on Friday.
On Saturday, there are three four volleyball games, one of which will be on the Big Ten Network. Michigan at Michigan State will be televised on the station at 6:30 p.m. The other three games are Northwestern at Iowa, #19 Purdue at Indiana, and #18 Wisconsin at #12 Minnesota. All play starts at 7 p.m. On Sunday there is only one game at 1 p.m., and it is #20 Illinois at #1 Penn State.
Hopefully there will be a lot of stiff competition out there this week in women’s volleyball. The best type of volleyball game to watch is one that can keep a good volley going and when it ends, it is because the team is all over the place chasing the ball and not in their right positions. The game to watch this week seems to be on Saturday when #18 Wisconsin goes against #12 Minnesota.
I am going to bring updates and high lights of some of these games this weekend.

Making the Right Calls

First of all I’d like to congratulate Coach Tiller and Cory Sheets on their record-breaking performances over the weekend. What an exciting win for Coach Tiller to break the record on and an even more exciting touchdown run for Cory Sheets. That juke move that he put on was ridiculous. Also, it was a great play call by the coaching staff as everyone in the stadium was thinking pass and they decided to run it right down the middle for a 40 yard score. I don’t often agree with Coach Tiller’s play calling and decision-making, but on Saturday he made several decisions that I was pleased with.
The first decision was Tiller choosing to kick that long field goal right before the end of the half. A lot of people probably would have just threw up a Hail Mary and hoped for the best, but seriously when do you ever see that work? Instead of a Hail Mary Tiller chose to let freshman kicker Carson Wiggs attempt the field goal. When he came in I was like, “Who is this guy? There’s no way he can make this.” He eventually missed the kick, but not by much. He was right down the middle, but a few yards short and even though he missed I was thoroughly impressed. Coach Tiller had faith in Wiggs and showed it by letting him attempt the field goal. This was the first decision I was happy with.
The second decision Tiller made was one that I didn’t find out about until Monday when I read about it in the paper. With the offense was stalling out in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game Coach Tiller went to senior starting quarterback Curtis Painter and told him he had one more series to get things going or he would be replaced by backup quarterback Joey Elliot. Painter responded with a simple, “OK.” and ended up leading the Boilermakers down the field with a productive drive, capping the drive with a touchdown pass to Desmond Tardy. Why do I like the fact that Tiller threatened to remove Painter from the game? I like it because it put a little pressure on the easy going Painter and got some productivity out of him. If you treat Painter as if he can do no wrong, there’s no pressure on him to perform. I don’t want him to be in fear of losing his job whenever he throws an interception, but a little pressure here and there definitely can’t hurt things.

Women's Soccer

The Purdue’s Women’s soccer team is back on the winning streak after last games loss to Washington. Today they played Colorado College and defeated them 2-1. Alex Jenkins, a freshman forward, led the team with three shots, with two shots on goal. She scored one of the two goals this game. The second half was a tough one, literally because the Boilermakers were charged with 13 fouls just during the second half, which made the game total of 17 fouls. Colorado College scored their first and only goal towards the end of the game. Purdue stayed strong and did not let Colorado College score one more on them.
It was also Go Green Day at the soccer complex, and all the players wore “green” uniforms. The uniforms were then auctioned off during the game, and they raised a total of $1,180. This money will go towards Purdue's Celery Bog Initiative and the World Wildlife Fund. The girls soccer team will be in action again Friday on the road against Big Ten’s Northwestern. Then on Sunday at Wisconsin.

Two Records Broken In One Game

As most of you all know, this past Saturday, Purdue University played Central Michigan on our own turf. The first half of the game was so boring, but it all changed during the second half. Purdue seemed like they were slipping away and letting Central Michigan have the win. Coach Tiller only needed this win to break the record of the most Purdue wins as head football coach. It started to get really questionable if coach Tiller would get this record when Central Michigan took the lead late in the game. The final score of the game broke both records, while Kory Sheets ran in with the football. He broke the record of most career touch downs, 43, in Purdue history. Mike Alstott, who scored 42 from 1992-1995.Coach Tiller received his 85th win here at Purdue, surpassing Jack Mollenkopf from 1956-1969.
At the end of the game, Coach Tiller was recognized for breaking the school record of so many wins. His wife, along with his son were both out on the field after the game as the senior captains presented coach with the game ball in honor of the record. The game had a great ending compared to a not so good beginning. School records will continue to be broken throughout this season. Let’s just hope Coach Tiller’s record keeps adding on the numbers for a winning season this year at Purdue.

Boilermakers close call

So this weekend I watched the Purdue vs. Central Michigan game and let me start off by saying boy was I wrong. My prediction was was way off. I did not give Central Michigan the respect that they obviously deserve. The division two team really showed what they were made of and proved to everyone that they would not go silently into the night. The chippewas started off with a great start putting a TD on the board in the first couple of minutes of the first quarter. Our beloved boilermakers on the other hand didn't play as great as I thought they would. I mean don't get me wrong I know that we won the game and I don't mean to come off as some prick who wanted to not only win but kick the other teams ass. No that's not it at all, the reason why I  am saying that we did not play that well was because most people expected this game to be an easy win for Purdue and it was far from it. I mean Purdue faced the Oregon ducks who are nationally ranked and actually put up a hell of a fight. The boilermakers almost beat a team who everyone thought would destroy them. The way it seems to me is that Purdue only plays as good as the team they are facing. the past two games are perfect examples the Oregon game the football team played amazing they did well on both sides of the field, and they played that well against a very good team. Then you look at this past weekend and it is the same thing we played a division two team and almost lost the game, we almost lost a game to a team that almost everyone thought we were gonna annihilate. Now I am not trying to ramble and keep saying the same shit, I guess what I am trying to say is that this football team has to find its tempo and just go with it. They have to stop being so up and down and just play consistently.

Sitting On The Other Side

The first half, I sat in the student section in Ross Ade Stadium with my friends and enjoying the Purdue versus Central Michigan game. I was surrounded by a lot of drunk, annoying students who thought they knew what they were talking about while they were screaming belligerently to the football players and referees. Number one, drunk people are just generally loud and annoying to everyone around them, especially if they are sober. Number two, drunk people just fall over everybody that is near them in the stands. They do not care if you are their friend or not, they will just rely on you for support, trying to make it through the whole game. Number three, if you are lucky, you will get stuck in front of people who like to talk about politics while intoxicated, and man, that sure is a fun topic to discuss while people are not all with it. There are some perks about being around drunk people at the football games though. They bring life to the crowd. They are usually the ones who are starting the chants, keeping you up to date on what is going on in the game, and they are bluntly honest about anything and everything. Football games would not be the same at Purdue University if there were not drunk people walking around dressed up in their messed up costumes.
The second half of the football game I went and sat on the opposite side of the stadium with my parents, grandma, and cousin. I was getting a little tired of standing by a drunk guy that kept on stepping on my feet and screaming in my ears. I figured it would be way calmer over on that side, considering that was where a lot of the parents were sitting with their young children, but I was completely wrong. I figured older adults would be a bit more responsible for their actions than the students were. I sat down and starting watching the game, and all of the sudden a guy sitting in front of me was screaming defense like I have never heard it said before. I mean, it was slurred, annoying, and out of control. That was strike one against the “adult section”. Strike two happened when the two guys sitting behind us started talking about politics. When I say they are talking about politics, they are not just having a civilized conversation about them, they are disputing every little topic that is brought up. I was thinking to myself, people never grow up!
So my point is, it does not matter where you sit in the stands at a football game here at Purdue or anywhere else, you are going to get the same type of people around you no matter what age. I personally experienced both sides of the stands today, and there was not that much difference at all. I think in the student section it is a little bit more understanding why they are acting the way they are. I mean that is part of the college experience, but adults should not act like they are in college again. They are passed that stage. Adults just need to face the fact that they are not a young college student who can just go out and be belligerently drunk.

Can Orton lead his team to a Victory this week?

This week the Chicago Bears will take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home. The Bears started off the season with an outstanding win over the Indianapolis Colts, which surprised many people. Then their second game against the Carolina Panthers wasn't as amazing. The Bears lost in a very close game against a team that many fans thought would be an easy win. This week the Bears face a team at home for the first time this season. Another interesting thing that i am looking forward to see is how the Buc's offense does. As many of you know the starting QB for Tampa is Brian Griese who in the past was a backup to Rex Grossman. It will be interesting to see how Griese does against his former team. I feel that the Bears can pull a win this week, if they step up their offense. The Bears really need to work on their passing game. So far this season the Bears have had a really good running game and that has a lot to do with their new running back rookie Matt Forte, who is a beast. Their passing game on the other hand can really use some improvement. This season they have yet to throw a TD pass, their offense is basically their running game. I think that as long as the O-line does their job and gives Orton some time to throw the ball then they can really make something happen this week. With their running game as good as it is and their defense as good as it is all they really need is to work on that passing game and I feel that they will really be a force to be reckoned with. With all that said I feel that a victory is really dependent on how well the offensive line does in protecting Orton. 

Boilermakers have a chance to crush Crush Chippewas again.

This weekend our beloved Boilermakers are taking on Central Michigan's division two Chippewas. This is going to be the third time the Boilermakers and the Chippewas meet in 370 days, with the Boilermakers coming out with a win the two previous times. The game this week should be nothing more than a spirit raiser after last weeks loss to Oregon's ducks. I'm not saying that the Chippewas are going to be a cake walk, but what I am saying is that this weeks game has the potential to help ease the pain of lasts weeks unfortunate loss. If we play this weeks game the same as we did in the first quarter of lasts weeks game with the offense playing as amazing as they did then the Boilermakers will not have much to worry about. As long as the defense does what they have to do and the offense plays the way that we all know they can then we should be ok. Last weeks loss to the number 16th ranked Oregon Ducks really put a damper on not just the football team's spirits but to every boilermaker fan out there. The game this week can help everyone put that loss behind us. Don't get me wrong the Chippewas are a good team but if you ask me they are not on the "big ten" level. Their record this season is 1-1. Their first game was against Georgia where they lost no where they suffered a 56 to 17 loss. The boilermakers have a fairly easy game this week so they should take advantage of it and use this to give them a winning record. Hopefully this week our kicker can actually do his job and make and score a couple of points, regardless of that I still see a win this week. My prediction for this game is the boilermakers take it 35 to 7. 

Sideline Interactions

As many of you have probably heard during Notre Dame’s 35-17 thrashing of the Wolverines last Saturday, Charlie Weis was hit by one of his own players and tore his MCL and ACL.I don’t think your leg is supposed to bend that way, ouch. He did make it through the rest of the game with a wrap on his leg and crutches under his shoulders. Weis says the injury shouldn’t affect him and he plans to coach on the sidelines for the rest of the season. This isn’t the first time that a coach has been hit by a player. Last year in a loss to Wisconsin, JoePa broke his leg when a Wisconsin player came tumbling towards the sidelines and crashed his helmet into the legendary coach.Man that looks painful and I’m sure it didn’t help that Paterno was like eighty years old at the time. The injury forced Coach Paterno to leave the sidelines and coach from a press box for several weeks following the incident.

These are two incidences where players hurt coaches, but what about a coach attempting to hurt a player. The incident I am talking about is the famous Woody Hayes punch in the Gator Bowl of 1978. For our younger readers Woody Hayes was a famous coach for “The” Ohio State University who sometimes let his fiery emotions get the best of him. Hayes hated to lose and after a Clemson interception, he lost his temper. The Clemson player was tackled by the OSU sideline and Hayes greeted him with a punch in the throat.Hayes quickly apologized for his actions, but was fired the day following the incident bringing an end to the legendary coach’s career. In one of his final press conferences Hayes was quoted as saying, “Nobody despises to lose more than I do. That's got me into trouble over the years, but it also made a man of mediocre ability into a pretty good coach.” This is probably the most famous Coach-Player sideline interaction and I’m sorry it happened to such a good man.

"The" Overrated State University?

Well at least one team showed up on Saturday as the Trojans trounced the Buckeyes 35-3 and proved their worthiness of a number one ranking. The Buckeyes were pathetic totally only 207 yards of offense and getting embarrassed on the national stage for the third time in three years. OSU could never get any rhythm on offense and looked terrible with senior quarterback Todd Boeckman. When Boeckman was in the game USC showed him no respect, blitzing almost every play. His lack of mobility led to four Trojan sacks and only three Buckeye points. The only bright spot for OSU was freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor. He took some playing time from Boeckman and added a new dimension to the OSU offense. Pryor was able to keep the USC defense on their toes and showed some promise in only the third game of his career. This brings up the question, should the true freshman Pryor be moved into a starting role? I think it’s a little too early to make the move yet, but don’t be surprised if by the end of the season Pryor is moved to be the main signal caller.

Looking ahead I still wouldn’t count the Buckeyes out just yet. Remember, they didn’t have injured running back Chris Wells on Saturday and the Buckeyes are playing for their third straight outright conference championship. I still think the Buckeyes are the favorite to win the conference, but don’t count out teams like Penn State and Wisconsin.

Here are my Big Ten Power Rankings heading into Week 4

1. “The” Ohio State University
2. Wisconsin
3. Penn State
4. Iowa
5. Michigan State
6. Illinois
7. Minnesota
8. Purdue
9. Indiana
10. Northwestern
11. Michigan

Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda

Expanding on G.I. Jane’s article about Saturday’s game, I would like to share my opinion on the Boilers’ performance. In my post last week I talked about Oregon’s overpowering offense and I predicted the Boilers would get blown out. I was wrong. They hung with the Ducks and even had a SEVENTEEN point lead in the first half. I don’t think I’ve ever seen our defense play as well as they did. They bent, but never broke and they continued to come up with big play after big play. The only problem was Curtis Painter and the offense could not take advantage of these mistakes. Purdue was handed four turnovers, but only scored three points off those turnovers. I was glad to see Purdue playing so well against a good team, but it made me sick to watch us blow almost every opportunity we had and a SEVENTEEN point lead.
Looking back at the game there were so many plays where if one thing would have changed I’d be talking about a Boilermaker victory instead of a loss. The one play that sticks out in my mind happened right before the half when Purdue was up 20-3 with about a minute left to play. Instead of running the clock out and going to the locker room with a SEVENTEEN point lead Coach Tiller decided to throw the ball. This led to Painter throwing an interception and Oregon getting a cheap field goal right before the half. These three points were the difference in the game. If Oregon doesn’t get that field goal the game never even goes into overtime and the Boilers end their losing streak against ranked teams. But no, instead the streak lives on and the Boilers suffer a devastating defeat.
Overall, Purdue played great and I was really happy about that. However, we did blow a SEVENTEEN point lead and this made me sick. With all of that said, the season moves on and now Purdue must bounce back this weekend to play a familiar foe in Central Michigan.

Redskins Shock Brees and his Saints

Today I watched the Saints take on the Redskins. We all know that Purdue's beloved Drew Brees is the QB for the Saints, but this week he could not lead his team to a win. Brees had an overall completion rate of 66.7%. Brees also had 216 total passing yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, however this was not enough to match the redskins Jason Campbell who had completed 24 of 36 passes for an overall 321 total yards. The Saints played well and had control of the game for pretty much of the whole game, it wasn't until late in the fourth quarter with less than 3:30 left in regulation when Jason Campbell threw a 67 yard TD pass to Santana Moss putting the Redskins in the lead for the first time in the game. Making the score 29 to 24 and also giving the Redskins a come from behind victory over the Saints. Maybe next week the Saints wont get such a surprising shock late in the game.

The Bears smash the Colts

Hello everyone and welcome to our first issue ever of the Purdue Sports Brigade. If your into sports of all types then this is the place for you. The topic for this week is the Da BEARS!! I mean how bout them Bears? As we all know the Bears QB Kyle Orton went to Purdue and had a pretty good career there with 8,918 passing yards and 60 touchdowns. This past week the Colts hosted the Bears in their brand new Lucas Oil Stadium, which by the way is amazing. I think they could have come up with a way better name, but thats neither here nor there. Last week the Bears put on a spectacular performance beating the Colts 29 to 13. The defense played an amazing game forcing the Colts to a safety in the second quarter. Brian Urlacher lead the defense with a total of 8 tackles. Kyle Orton could have played a little bit better with an overall 61.9% completion rating and a mediocre QB rating of 83.4. Regardless of the stats last week the fact of the matter is that the Bears went into that game as huge underdogs and came out on top. 

T-Shirt That Says It All

So I was walking to the Purdue vs. Oregon State game yesterday and read someone’s shirt, and it said “I wake up earlier for Purdue football games than I do for class”. That got me thinking about it, so I looked around at all the people around me, and it seemed like it was true. Most students just wake up and put sweat pants on or even go to class in the clothes they slept in. But all the students around were all decked out in Purdue attire, hooting and hollering chants for the Boilermakers. So in all honesty, that t-shirt was true. I never get up and get ready for class. I am one of those students who just wake up and throw the first clothes they see on your body and run out the door. But for the football games, I make sure I give myself enough time to get all decked out for the tailgate parties, and then the game. That t-shirt explains it for most of the students here at Purdue. Football games are the high light of the week. Too bad students are not as enthusiastic to go to class like they are to attend the football games.

Boilermakers vs. Ducks

The Purdue vs Oregon football game was such a great game. I did not expect Purdue to play as well as they did against the Ducks. The first quarter was pretty promising to the fans that we were going to do well against the 16^th rank team, the Oregon Ducks, with a lead of 20-3. Then towards the end of the second quarter, Purdue seemed like they were not in the game as much as they were in the previously quarter. The boilermakers stayed ahead of the Ducks all the first half, then after that the Ducks kicked it into gear and tide up the game to 20-20. Then both teams kicked field goals and made it so that tide the game up to 23-23. Purdue had the chance to end the game with a field goal kick 37 yards away, but Summers missed the kick, which then led us into the first over time. The Ducks got the ball first, and the Boilermakers stopped them and which that made them have to kick another field goal. The score was then 26-23. The Boilermakers had their chance to score once more, but the Ducks stopped the Boilermakers, which made Purdue have to kick a field goal. So that led the game into double over time with the score of 26-26. This time Purdue got the ball and had their chance to score. Unfortunately, the Boilermakers did not make the field goal. Summer once again, missed the kick. The Ducks went on and scored the last touchdown of the game and beat the Boilermakers in a double overtime with the final score being 32-26.

It was a game that I am glad I did not miss. Purdue played really well against a ranked team, considering they have lost the past 14 games against ranked teams. The way they played today gave the fans a taste of how they can play when it comes time for the Big Ten games. For being the underdog in this match up, Purdue Boilermakers played a really hard game.

OSU vs. USC

This is definitely the game of the week and probably of the season as #1 USC takes on the 5th ranked Buckeyes of “The” Ohio State University in this highly anticipated September matchup. OSU is coming off a week where they barely squeaked by Ohio while the Trojans are coming in with two weeks of dominating performances. One of the bigger stories surrounding this game is the status of OSU Junior running back Chris “Beanie” Wells. Wells, a Heisman candidate, injured his foot in the opener against Youngstown St. and sat out last week’s game. He is listed as doubtful to play on Saturday and if he doesn’t than it is also doubtful that Ohio State will put up much of a fight. OSU only racked up 273 yards of offense last week without Beanie and if that stat continues this week, this game will be over at halftime. However, if the Buckeyes do have Wells they may be able to control the clock and keep the explosive USC offense off the field. Personally, I think Wells will play and this whole injury thing is OSU coach Jim Tressel just trying to keep the Trojans guessing. Even with Wells in the lineup I think USC is still too much for the Buckeyes and the Buckeyes lose once again on the national stage 38-22.

The Grand Opening

List of Similar Blogs
1. blackandgold.com
2. bigtennetwork.com
3. cfn.scout.com
4. ncaa.com
5. espn.com
6. sbnation.com
7. fanblogs.com
8. oldgoldfreepress.com
9. yourcollegeteam.com
10. sportsline.com
11. nomas.com
12. boxing.fanhouse.com

Purdue Sports Brigade

The Purdue Sports Brigade will be dedicated to bringing college sports fans the latest in Purdue and College Sports. It will be like most sports blogs in that we will cover most of the same events, but what will separate us from the rest of the pack is that we will actually be in attendance to most of these events. This gives us an advantage because we will be experiencing the events first-hand. G.I. Jane will be covering Purdue women’s sports including basketball, soccer, volleyball, and cross country. G.I. Joe will be focusing on the Boilermakers who are competing at the professional level as well as major Purdue and College sporting events. Colonel Sanders will be blogging about Purdue football and men’s basketball as well as rival teams in the Big Ten. The Colonel will make predictions about the upcoming games and give feedback on the teams’ overall performances. Our juicy and controversial topics along with our gripping writing style will leave our readers begging for more. Along with our captivating writing our blog will include pictures and videos of the events. Purdue Sports Brigade is looking forward to providing you with the latest news in Purdue and College sports.

Ducks On the Pond

This week in Purdue Football brings the Ducks from the University of Oregon into town. This is a game that I have really been looking forward to since I saw it on the schedule one year ago. I was excited to see that Purdue was actually playing someone tough in their out of conference schedule. I mean yeah Notre Dame is a big game every year, but they flat out stunk a year ago. Oregon should provide an early season test that will let fans know what kind of team Purdue has this season. I’m don’t want to start out 5-0 like last year and get my hopes up, just to have them crushed by embarrassing performances once we enter Big Ten play.

Anyway looking at the actual game I think Purdue might be in a little trouble. I thought we played terrible in the first half last week and if we start like that again, this one will be over pretty quickly. Oregon comes in with the nation’s number one offense averaging over 55 points per game. That is a scary number to think about. The Ducks love to run the ball (44 times against Washington two weeks ago) and if they control the clock and keep our offense off the field, this one could get out of hand. The weather forecast looks like rain and this definitely favors Oregon with their ability to run the ball.

I’m not saying that Purdue doesn’t have a chance, I mean they are playing at home and they’re due to beat a ranked team eventually (Purdue has lost 14 in a row to ranked teams), but the chances of that happening this week are pretty slim. Oregon looks like the real deal and I say they win in a blowout, 42-24.