SB Nation - Dan Dierking

The Bucket Stays: A Bloomington Road Trip

BoilerTMill — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 04:27:40 -0000

As regular readers know, I love going to see Purdue on the road. Unfortunately, my road record is not the best. In fact, coming into today I had not seen Purdue win a game away from Ross-Ade Stadium since going to Illinois in 2006. Since then I have seen us lose at Hawaii, Michigan, Indiana, Michigan State, and Wisconsin. Like many other streaks this season, my five game road losing streak is now done. As always, we have the road trip diary, even though it was just an hour in the opposite direction.

A belated thank you to Purdue football broadcaster Joe McConnell. Joe called his final Purdue game today, retiring because of failing eyesight after being the voice of the Boilers for the better part of the last two decades. McConnell is a class act who helped grow this young Boilermaker's fandom while in high school. Thank you, Joe. You will be missed.

I am a pilgrim in an unholy land

12:09pm - Indianapolis - Instead of enjoying at least half of the Miami-Duke game before leaving, we're forced to leave now because of the notoriously bad Bloomington game day traffic. I hope we make kickoff. I text Chris Summers' dad (a former co-worker). He responds; "Traffic is already bad." Crap.

12:25pm - We decide to hit the Pita Pit in downtown Indy. Unfortunately, no quick off the street parking can be found. Not the best start to the journey, as I was craving a pita with teriyaki sauce.

12:45pm - Chick-fil-a will do.

1:39pm - Eschewing the clusterf*** that State road 37 becomes on game day, we decided to go towards Nashville, IN and make the turn to Bloomington in Beanblossom. Beanblossom is the home of Bluegrass legend Bill Monroe's Museum. There isn't much else there, but this town goes apeshit over him.

2:11pm - Though state road 45 is the curviest road in the state of Indiana, we avoid all the traffic and we are tucked behind the centerfield wall of IU's baseball stadium. I rule. For good measure, we're parked next to a fellow Boiler, meaning the giant Purdue tire cover on my Jeep has company.

2:14pm - Walking out onto 17^th street we see the insanity confirmed. Once again, I rule. Time to look for tickets

2:24pm - Walking up to the stadium we have the completion of a joke made six years ago. When I took Mrs. T-Mill to Bloomington for the first time in 2003 I pointed to the stadium at the top of the hill. Her response: "Where's the rest of it?" As we see IU's new addition (very nice, by the way) we finally see the rest of it.

Nice of IU to finally finish their stadium.

2:57pm - This is becoming an odyssey. Each scalper is trying to charge $60 per ticket. We can walk over and buy them for $50 from the ticket office. one guy asked for all the cash we had. As Mrs. T-Mill said, "That's called a stick-up." Maybe it wasn't a good idea to have each of us wearing Purdue jerseys.

3:21pm - We resign ourselves to waiting until after kickoff for a better deal. This is especially true after some jackanapes, when we turned down $75 per ticket, said, "This is IU, we pay to get into games. I thought you were a good program." We have bathroom break at Assembly Hall. It is my first time entering the building. I feel dirty.

3:40pm - Success! Just as we're about to give up and walk back to the car we hear Jaycen Taylor's first TD. We also find a guy with two seats not together for $35 each. We grab his last two and hightail it to the stadium to sit in an empty corner. Patience is a virtue.

7:47 1^st quarter - We're finally settled into the open seats in the Northwest corner of the stadium, just in time to see David Pender block a field goal attempt. He is one of many seniors that played very well today.

6:04 1st - Jaycen Taylor is officially playing like a man possessed.

5:04 1^st - Dan Dierking finishes the drive with a nice catch, his first TD of the year. Boilers up 14-0 (first time I have seen a lead on the road since Hawaii). Is a blowout in order?

4:56 1^st - Nope. Our piss poor kickoff coverage returns as my grandmother could have had the same length of return that Tandon Doss just had. 1. She died last September. 2. She got around in a motorized scooter the last five years of her life.

3:02 1^st - It means nothing as the D forces a 3 and out. What follows is the ugliest punt sequence you will ever see. IU has a bad snap. Chris Hagerup bops it around against no rush before finally getting it off. It is partially blocked by a very late rush, Purdue touches downfield, but recovers. This is why both teams are 4-7.

14:23 2^nd - Darius Willis just gashed us on a play that looked exactly like Marcus Thigpen in 2007. ugh.

12:30 2^nd - The D holds, forces a field goal, which IU misses. Meanwhile, the four drunk IU students behind us have been obnoxious, stepped on Mrs. T-Mill's coat, derided their players by name, called West Lafayette a cesspool, and stated, "We need to come to games more often." This is all in the last 15 minutes. We were told Wisconsin had awful fans but they were great. Indiana actually stopped tailgating to show up and they were obnoxious.

Spelling is a graduate level course at IU.

6:46 2^nd - Easy pick by Torri Williams. It is awesome that he ended his career on a very high note.

2:03 2^nd - Taylor keeps running hard. He sets up a nice TD pass to Jared Crank (his first). It should be noted that with this TD, Elliott threw his 22 touchdowns to eight different receivers this year. We're getting outgained in yardage, but we're up 21-0. Meanwhile, the IU jackasses behind us keep talking trash as we ignore them. I plan to just point to the scoreboard if they call me out.

1:58 2^nd - The word GIBBONEY is written down as we give up a big return again. Most teams get better at coverage as the year goes on. We got worse. This is after being one of the best in the nation before he came.

0:40 2^nd - They feature this sign on the scoreboard. Okay, we'll take it. Thanks!

Thanks! We will. It's ours anyway...

0:35 2^nd - A coverage scramble leads to a near TD (called back on review) it sets up IU's first score. Stuff like this can't happen next year. At least we're up 21-7 despite getting outgained.

15:00 3^rd - Dierking is deep on returns? This is new.

14:49 3^rd - ATM! ATM! ATM! ATM! MONEY! MONEY! (Translation: I am very happy that Al-Terek McBurse just returned the 2^nd half kickoff for a touchdown. These are my shouts as he runs.) After this, I say that if we're truly Purdue we give it right back to Doss.

13:23 3^rd - A good three and out here. I continue to cross myself every time Aaron Valentin is back to return punts. As previously stated, I am not Catholic.

9:25 3^rd - More drunk fans behind us keep saying, "IU Fuck Purdue." This is in addition to the dozens of Puck Furdue shirts we saw walking around. Again, this is a classy place.

7:11 3^rd - More poor tackling. Even though we're up 28-7 I am still worried.

6:39 3^rd - Shades of Wisconsin as we bite on the reverse.

4:28 3^rd - Indiana shows that it has a hairy scrotum by going for it on 4^th and five down three scores. It pays off with a TD to Mitchell Evans. The jackanapes behind me celebrate like IU just won the Big Ten. I feel like reminding them that 14 is a smaller number than 28.

Counting: Another graduate level course at IU.

2:41 3^rd - Keith Smith plays pinball wizard with a big catch over the middle. We're already in scoring position again.

1:51 3^rd - "IU Fuck Purdue! IU Fuck Purdue! IU Fuck Purdue! IU Fuck Purdue!..."

1:30 3^rd - Carson Wiggs bangs home a Figgie. Up 31-14. We should have this.

0:11 3^rd - It looks even more in hand as we force a three and out again. Pete heads to the Bloomington Mall to have the new P engraved at Things Remembered.

Between 3^rd and 4^th quarter - Wisconsin has Jump Around, which is awesome. Purdue has Shout, which is okay. IU has John Mellancamp as the students sing Jack & Diane. No wonder they can't hold fourth quarter leads. This lulls them to sleep. Maybe they can recruit Jack because he was gonna be a football star. It might help.

13:34 4^th - Savvy move here. We put in Frank the Tank Halliburton to punish them for a few plays. He has some nice runs, but it only leads to a missed field goal. At least we took 5 minutes off the clock.

9:47 4^th - In the timeout after the missed field goal we have trivia FAIL. They ask, "What was the year the Bucket was first awarded?" The correct answer, 1925, isn't even a choice. They say 1930. For the record, that is the first year IU won it.

9:15 4^th - We give up a big pass (shit)

8:47 4^th - Chappell gets a big run (more expletives)

8:04 4^th - Demarlo Belcher touchdown. My butthole officially tightened. An IU basketball commercial follows. I loudly comment that it is nice they are deciding to field a team this year.

7:53 4^th - Why are we throwing the ball?

6:59 4^th - Three and out. We didn't even take a minute off the clock. The stadium is alive again.

6:09 4^th - Kawann Short finds the plug with a huge interception. When is the last time we had a defensive tackle with two interceptions on the year?

4:07 4^th - Elliott is sacked. It is a good sack, as we take 2:05 off the clock, move field position, and force them to use a timeout. Summers' final punt is a good one downed inside the ten. Thank you, Chris!

3:46 4^th - Belcher makes a circus catch, but is ruled out of bounds on the review. That is why these officials are great! The girlies behind us, who have no concept of football, shout advice like "Throw the Hail Mary!" and "get an interception" (even when we run the ball). They are swearing like sailors against Purdue with little to no knowledge of the game. The students from India in front of us know more.

2:41 4^th - The defense gets a big stop. It's our Bucket now.

2:14 4^th - After IU uses its last two timeouts to set up 3^rd and long and have one final chance Keith Smith breaks a big TD. He basically says, "Oh you want this ball back? Well, I am done with it now. You can have it."

Keith Smith does his best Mariano Rivera impression.

0:00 4^th - The Bucket stays where it belongs. The one day it is seen in Bloomington every two years is over.

I know I will have a more complete entry to wrap up the season, but this was a great dominating effort today. The senior class was outstanding. Boilerdowd texted me during the game and said Mike Neal was playing like it was his last game. He might have broken a hand, but he came back. He and Kawann Short had a dominating day in the middle. Pender had a blocked field goal. Elliott went over 3,000 yards. Chris Summers averaged over 46 yards per punt. Jaycen Taylor went out with maybe the best game of his career. Torri Williams had a pick. This game was for the seniors, and they came ready to play.

I don't think I have loved a group of seniors more than this one. They went out with a 5-7 record. They didn't go to a bowl game their last two years, but they have instilled an attitude of never quitting. They could have rolled over and died at 1-5 with Ohio State coming to town, but they didn't. If there is a group that ever deserved the Bucket, it is them. I will miss them.

On the other side of the coin, we got key contributions from some guys that will be here awhile. Kawann Short (redshirt freshman) had a fumble recovery and an interception. ATM (true freshman) had his huge kick return that looked easy. Keith Smith will be back. Jeff Lindsay and Kyle Adams will be back. Jared Crank threw some nice blocks and got his first career touchdown. All three linebackers had a good game and will be back.

The future is bright for Purdue. Next year will not be a bowl-less season as we have a lot to look forward to.

Our trip to Notre Dame is on September 4^th. I am so excited I am considering a lift of my vow to never go there.

The Bucket makes a rare appearance in Bloomington.

I am stripped of all but pride

BoilerTMill — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:14:04 -0000

by Tom Strattman - AP

about 1 month ago: Michigan State running back Edwin Baker (4) picks up yardage as he tries to get away from Purdue safety Torri Williams (2) during the first half of an NCAA college football game in West Lafayette, Ind., Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Tom Strattman)

View full size photo »

The above lyric from Metallica is appropriate. After today's 40-37 loss we have only pride and the Bucket to play for this season. While it is disappointing, it is far from a horrible thing considering where we were going into the Ohio State game. We went from questioning if a 1-11 season was probable to playing for a bowl in the penultimate game of the season. Now we can build for next year with a statement win over Indiana.

That is why I think this season is a success regardless of the outcome of so many games. Yes, games against Oregon, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, and Michigan State would absolutely be wins if not for our own mistakes. Still, this season was not the 1-11 disaster many were picking even before it started. This team has shown more heart than recent Purdue teams. This team has never quit. This team has performed above expectations and has a win over the Big Ten's Rose Bowl representative and a close loss against the likely Pac-10 representative. This is growth from last year.

As for the mistakes that cost us today's game, they were unfortunate, but they can be corrected. That is also a sign of growth. We were 3-8 at this point last season, yet we seemed to have no heart or direction. The eight losses were by 6 (in overtime), 17, 14, 13, 22, 11, 14, and 5. This year, our seven losses were by 2, 7, 4, 3, 6, 15, 37, and 3. To me, that is a huge step forward from where we were. We are now to the point where other teams are not beating us except for our own mistakes. The next step is to correct those mistakes. If we do so, we will become a very good football team.

Positives from the Michigan State game:

Joey Elliott - Can you imagine if he had been a starter earlier in his career? If anyone deserved to lead this team to a bowl it was Elliott. After his TD pass to Cortez Smith you could see the passion as he ran off the field. He has grown by leaps and bounds this year, and I will miss his attitude.

Cortez Smith - Cortez has had a phenomenal two weeks and is putting himself in position to fill Aaron Valentin's role next season. The guy knows how to get open and get first downs. We can always use a guy who can use the chains.

Keith Smith - Keith will be a top target for Robert Marve next season. We have plenty of other options too. This is why I am already excited for next year. We return a bunch of experience at the skill positions and Keith will lead the way.

Jeff Lindsay and Kyle Adams - This was another fine week from our tight ends. They kept the chains moving with several critical catches. It is nice to add these weapons and we need to keep them involved in the offense next year.

Dan Dierking - I've always thought Dierking was undersized as a running back, but he made two huge catches today. That running back continues to be wide open on the wheel route, as Bolden was uncovered several times if we had looked for him.

Michigan State - It is rare that I credit the other team, but dammit if I wasn't impressed by the Spartans today. We truly outplayed them, but they made us pay for every mistake and made some huge plays when they needed to. I thought the game was over after Bolden's second TD. We had an 11 point lead on senior day with under 12 minutes left. The defense was rested, so I thought they would come out fired up. What ensued was a frenzy not seen since The Fumble game. Sparty earned this one today. They won a hard fought game.

Negatives from the Michigan State game:

Special Teams - I want J.B. Gibboney gone. Things were better without him. The past two seasons we were among the top 10 in kickoff coverage without a special teams coach. Today we acted like it was illegal to tackle the returner. The breakdown on the block field goal was huge. I don't mind Carson Wiggs missing the 49 yarder before halftime. You can't hit them all, but the other stuff is getting ridiculous. Chris Summers at least had a good game.

The defense - They had a great effort ruined by just a handful of plays, but they were big plays. They held for field goals after two long returns, but all three offensive touchdowns were the result of big MSU plays. They had a chance to really make a statement when up 11 and it last one damn play. To be fair, MSU provided excellent protection all day, but still. We had breakdowns two plays after we would look great. Just frustrating.

Covering Keshawn Martin - I hope this young man has a comfortable trip home because I don't want to see him again.

Up next:

As I said above, I am still incredibly proud of this team. The season will finish better than people thought, but not as good as it could have been. It is still progress. While I as at the Black & Gold Mine after the game I was listening to the call-in show after the game. Those that are attacking Danny Hope and saying he won't learn or it won't get better than this need to calm down.

Danny Hope did not miss tackles on kickoff coverage. Danny Hope did not miss the block that caused the blocked field goal. Danny Hope did not fail to execute on the field. What we are seeing are things that can be corrected. As long as the coaching staff recognizes this and works to do it for next season we will be fine.

Is it really that bad that we have lost seven games, five by less than a touchdown. We have been much more competitive than anyone expected. It is a base to build on for what can be a breakout year next season. The talent will only get better, while the departing seniors have never once quit on this team. That attitude will hang around. I will only be worried if the same mistakes continue unabated next year.

Keeping the Bucket next week is paramount. Both teams are 4-7, but both teams were 3-8 last year and 62-10 happened. We must exert our will and show that we are still much better than Indiana to gain confidence going into next year.

As for next year, I am expecting a big leap forward. First of all, playing Toledo, Western Illinois, and Ball State should be three easy non-conference wins. As middling as the Big Ten has been this season we should count on at least three conference wins, and if we improve I think we can win five. Are you really going to count us out of any game except maybe Ohio State? We can even make a big statement by ending Notre Dame's national title hopes in week one.

We're playing for next season now. It is this team's choice as to which way it wants to go. If we choose to focus on the positives of what we accomplished while striving to fix small mistakes we will do very well. If we choose to be negative and blame others for our failures we can expect another bowl-less season in 2010.

Welcome to the Fold: Reggie Pegram

BoilerTMill — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:09:29 -0000

Saturday was productive in more ways than one as Purdue picked up its first running back commitment for the 2010 class. Pegram is a 6' 210 lbs running back from Dallas, Texas. This is a return to our recruiting roots, of sorts. Joe Tiller made his mark be recruiting the state of Texas well. He recruited Texas almost as well as Danny Hope has recruited Florida. There is nothing wrong with this, either. Pegram is only a 2-star commitment from Texas, but he had some pretty good offers on the table. Oklahoma State and Texas A&M were his best offers other than Purdue.

Pegram is an interesting specimen because he has been relatively unheralded by the recruiting services, but some Dallas area fans think he may be the best running back in the city. That is pretty high praise from people that know their football. That thread has a couple of good comments about his size and speed, but they tend to think he is a bit underused.

Pegram comes into a backfield that might be a little crowded, at least early in his tenure. Ralph Bolden has two years left after this season. Al-Terek McBurse looks poised to take over at least the #2 role and he has three years left. You also have Dan Dierking left with a year to go, though he has not been used much as a featured back lately. It will be nice to have some young depth behind those three. I suppose you could possibly throw Justin Siller into the mix if he returns, but does not play quarterback.

I have managed to find a few interesting links on the young Mr. Pegram. TexasFootball.com has a video link listed for him, but there is no opportunity to download the right plug-in. One of his linemen recently committed to Texas Tech, so he his far from the sole player on his team. His team currently has a 5-2 record going into a game at home against Ft. Worth Castleberry.

If you're looking at raw numbers theya re pretty good. He currently ranks second for Dallas-area running backs with 915 yards and 10 touchdowns. He is also a bit of a receiving weapon out of the backfield with five catches for 43 yards. His team does like to mix up the run and the pass, so he is used to playing in an offense that passes that ball. This will help with his blocking skills.

So what would his role be next year? Ideally, he would redshirt, but there is not a ton of depth behind Bolden, McBurse, and Dierking. Right now I would those three players on the depth chart in that order, with McBurse closer to Bolden. Pegram's size could get him to the field next season instead of earn him for a redshirt. At 6' 210lbs he is already bigger than Bolden (5'9" 194 lbs.) and McBurse (6' 198lbs). That might make him a bit of a punishing change of pace back where Bolden and McBurse tend to have more pure speed.

Let's go rob a Bank

BoilerTMill — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:05:14 -0000

I feel inspired this morning to rob a bank. It has nothing to do with me watching Point Break as I work on this preview, I promise. We are playing at TCF Bank Stadium though, so we need Joey Elliott to be our fearless Bodhi to steal a win here.

I'm doing things a little backward this week. Wednesday is normally podcast day, but I haven't heard back from the guys over at The Daily Gopher yet. I'll also be busy tonight at my normal podcast time, as I have tickets to see Katie Douglas do Purdue some good by winning a WNBA championship for the Indiana Fever. Yes, my addiction to basketball does run that deep.

In the mean time, there is still some football to talk about. It has been over two years since Purdue won a football game away from Ross-Ade Stadium. As it happens, we are facing the team we beat in our last road contest this weekend. Facing the Gophers at TCF Bank Stadium will be a little different from facing them in the Metrodome, but with a 1-2 record in the new gopher hole, Minnesota hasn't exactly shown that no one can crack this safe.

2008 Record: 7-6 (3-5 Big Ten)

2009 Record: 3-2 (1-1)

Bowl result: Lost to Kansas 42-21 in Insight Bowl

Blog Representation: The Daily Gopher, Buck Bravo, Golden Gopher Football blog

Series with Purdue: Minnesota leads 32-30-3

Last Purdue win: 9/22/07 at Minnesota 45-31

Last Minnesota win: 10/25/08 at Purdue 17-6

This is the last time we came home happy away from Ross-Ade

This year so far for the Gophers:

Minnesota is a team that has played better on the road than at home so far. They managed an overtime win at Syracuse (who is certainly not as bad as previously thought) and they won convincingly at Northwestern. At home, Minnesota barely squeezed by Air Force in the TCF Bank Stadium opener. Minnesota is the last team to give up a touchdown to a suddenly moribund Cal team, while Wisconsin did what Wisconsin does in the rivalry for Paul Bunyan's Axe: they won a close game.

Minnesota has been totally average of late. They have won the games they should have won, and lost the ones they probably should have lost. That is what gives me a little hope that we can finally stop this losing streak. Minnesota is a team that is hardly overwhelming. The same is true for almost everyone in the Big Ten, so who knows what can happen.

Minnesota offense:

The Gophers wanted to go back to being more of a running team when the season started, but through five games they have not had a lot of success in that department. This game should be a measuring stick for just how bad our run defense really is. As a team, Minnesota is averaging less than 100 yards per game on the ground. Duane Bennett (230 yards, 5 TD's) and DeLeon Eskridge (165 yards, 1 TD) have carried the ball the most. Most of Bennett's work came in an 89 yard, three score game at Northwestern two weeks ago. Eskridge had 14 carries for 60 yards against Wisconsin last week, which was by far his best week. We also need to keep an eye on Indianapolis' own MarQueis Gray. Gray is pretty much Minnesota's quarterback of the future. He steps in for a few snaps per game for Adam Weber. He has rushed nine times for 54 yards, but has yet to throw a pass. That does not mean he is not a passing threat, however.

Weber is one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the Big Ten. He took his lumps as a freshman during Minnesota's 1-11 2007 season, but he has matured into a solid signal caller. His rushing numbers are down this year, but he has been known as a runner in the past. So far he is 91 of 159 passing for 1,150 yards, six touchdowns, and six interceptions. Only Joey Elliott and Ricky Stanzi have thrown more picks than Weber. Weber has yet to put up huge numbers in a game this year, but you can count on him to throw for about 225 yards.

A main reason Weber has been able to throw for so many yards is Eric Decker. Decker is far and away Minnesota's best receiver. We actually did a pretty good job against him last year in a similar position, but everyone knows that he will be Weber's top target. We have to double team him and make someone else beat us. Decker's stats (43-639-5) represent more than half of Minnesota's passing game. Decker also has a seven yard touchdown pass to his credit. Troy Stoudermire (13-121-1), Brandon Green (10-130-0) and Nick Tow-Arnett (11-166-0) are other decent targets, but we must treat Decker as the first option on every pass play. So much so, even CFN had something to say about it today:

A little note for Purdue this week and the rest of the Big Ten. Minnesota QB Adam Weber is tipping his pitches. If I'm seeing this then I'm sure a highly-paid Big Ten defensive coordinator must notice the same thing. When a pass play is supposed to go to the left side, Weber dips his left shoulder when he's under center and has a severe body lean to the left when he's in the shotgun. When the play calls for the pass to go to star WR Eric Decker on the left side, Weber might as well be turned 90-degrees. -- CFN's Cavalcade of Whimsy

Our defensive line played a pretty good ballgame last week and they should be able to do the same against a good, but not great Minnesota offensive line. The Gopher O-line has given up 12 sacks on the year, and that is with Weber being a fairly mobile quarterback. Jeff Wills at 6'7" 375 is a massive tackle protecting Weber. Matt Stommes, Chris Bunders, Matt Carufel, and Jeff Tow-Arnett make up the rest of the line. Other than Wills, it is a relatively small line by Big Ten standards, so our defense should be able to make some headway.

Minnesota defense:

This is the key matchup of the game. As long as we are not giving Minnesota defense the ball like we did last week things should be fine. As bad as our run defense has been, Minnesota's has been worse. The fact they have faced possibly the nation's best running back in Jahvid Best may have something to do with that, as does Air Force's and Wisconsin's run-heavy attack. Minnesota is giving up nearly 175 yards per game on the ground. Though Ralph Bolden is not 100%, we have to exploit this with Jaycen Taylor, Dan Dierking, Frank Halliburton, or even Al-Terek McBurse. Boilerdowd made some salient points this morning about us needing more rotation in the running game. I know McBurse and Halliburton have yet to see the field, but this may be the week.

The Minnesota pass defense hasn't been that great either. They have generated 10 sacks, led by Eric Small with three, but they are still giving up over 200 yards per game through the air. Minnesota only has three team interceptions as well. Nate Triplett has two of those interceptions, so Elliott should be able to find some different receivers. The Gophers do have plenty of tackles for loss with 28 as a team. Lee Campbell, who is second on the team in tackles with 53, leads the team with five tackles for loss. Triplett leads the team in tackles with 56.

We have to run the ball this week until Minnesota proves it can stop us. This will help us with the time of possession that we keep losing as well as keep our defense more fresh. Our offensive line has to generate more of a push so we can run the ball as well. It is incredibly frustrating that we haven't been able to run the ball against teams we should have little trouble running against. Minnesota is like Northern Illinois in that regard. They haven't proven they could stop the run even when they know it is coming in all three losses.

Minnesota Special Teams:

Minnesota has already had to punt a whopping 23 times in five games. This is a testament to their offensive struggles. They use a dual-punter system as well. Dan Orseske has nine punts for a 44.6 yard average, while Blake Haudan has 14 for 41.6. They have combined to limit teams to just 3.4 yards per return. Minnesota's own punt return game is pretty stout. They have only returned three punts, but Marcus Sherels and Bryant Allen are averaging a combined 19 yards per return.

On kickoff returns Stoudermire is averaging 28.2 yards per return. Minnesota is also limiting teams to just 21 yards per return on kickoffs. We will need to have more discipline because Stoudermire is a threat to break one.

Finally, Eric Ellestad has been a solid kicker. He has not missed an extra point while connecting on seven of eight field goals. Range could be an issue, as he has missed his only attempt beyond 40 yards.

Intagibles:

First of all, it is Minnesota's homecoming. We should get used to this, as it is not a surprise that we will be the scheduled homecoming opponent for some time. It will be interesting to see what kind of atmosphere homecoming is for Minnesota in the first on-campus event since the early 80's.

Second, Minnesota does not want to lose a game to a team it feels it should beat. We fill that role perfectly right now. Yes, we have been more competitive than expected, but Minnesota has to be thinking what I am thinking. Until we actually finish a game and beat someone we won't believe it can happen.

Finally, this is a game we should have won last year. Of all our losses, I think this was the worst one. Curtis Painter got hurt and we essentially had zero preparation for Justin Siller in case that happened. Minnesota hit on two big plays that set up their two touchdowns, but did little else the rest of the day. I think that if Painter had not gotten hurt we would have won and it could have salvaged the season a little. A healthy Painter gives us a win there and a possible win with better offensive play at Michigan State two weeks later.

Keys for Purdue:

I might as well start typing the same things here every week, but it is true.

Run the ball until they prove they can stop us
Hold on to the football
Don't even bother fielding punts. As soon as they kick it, I want all 11 guys to run off the field.
Cover Eric Decker

Boilermakings for 9/8

BoilerTMill — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:53:19 -0000

Now that football season is in full swing, it means other fall sports are in swing as well. As a result, We get a Boilermakings Tuesday before turning our thoughts toward Oregon.

Ralph Bolden is the toast of the nation - I suppose that being the nation's top running back after week one will do that. ESPN's Adam Rittenberg recently praised Ralph, He was featured in The Sporting News today, and he was of course named as the Big Ten's co-offensive player of the week. I don't expect him to put up the same numbers against Oregon, but if he does I have a hard time seeing us losing. Credit also needs to be given to the O-line and fullbacks Jared Crank and Dan Dierking for freeing him.

Plenty of Ralph Bolden to see here

Katie Douglas is up for WNBA MVP - This is a great honor for the Purdue grad, as she tried to lead the Fever to the WNBA title. Indiana has the best record in the East heading toward the playoffs, and before the season many people expected that the only thing that would keep them in Indianapolis is a WNBA title. Fortunately, Katie Douglas has not been seen shooting up the 8 Seconds Saloon over on the west side unlike some of her co-tenants at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Women's soccer climbs in the polls - The women's soccer team used its upset of #6 Texas A&M to achieve a #14 ranking in last week's top 25. With wins over Valparaiso (1-0) and Ball State (6-1) this past weekend Purdue should have little trouble maintaining its ranking. A trip to #4 Stanford looms on Friday, followed by a game at #22 Santa Clara on Sunday.

Volleyball goes 2-1 at Baylor Classic - The ladies' volleyball team may have fallen out of the top 25, but they were able to notch wins over Texas-San Antonio and Central Florida before losing 3-2 to host Baylor. Next up is the Kansas State invitational against Portland, Kentucky, and #21 Kansas State.

Final Four or Bust for the men's basketball team - Credit to the guys at Boiled Sports for finding this, but the basketball blog Rush The Court has come out with their Purdue preview. I agree with its assessment as well: Final Four or Failure.

Only one segment left of Livin' Large to enjoy - And Basketbawful has been a truly artful story teller for this entire series. I knew those guys from Kokomo were alright.

Painter makes the Colts' roster - He received lots of good news on a day when many former Boilers did not.

Tim Cary has us all covered - Tim posted some fine work from his visit to Ross-Ade last weekend. He has a great conversation with Curtis Painter, a feature on Jason Werner and Torri Williams, and a discussion with Carson Wiggs about his 59-yard field goal on Saturday.

Go Duck yourself - Addicted to Quack is beginning to move on and look forward to the Purdue game. We'll have more from them later this week as I work to set up another podcast tomorrow night.

The ranked losing streak will continue - No matter what happens, our wait to beat a ranked team will continue as Oregon fell out of both top 25's after their loss at Boise State. Personally, I think they should have held on to #25 based on defense alone, but I am wrong.

Suddenly not so bad - The Rivalry, Esq. sums things up best. We have gone from "Surely putrid" to "mildly intriguing" with our week one perfomance. This is all the more reaqson that an upset at Autzen would be very good for our program. I am thinking this is becoming almost as pivotal of a swing game as last year's was. A win in Autzen would be just as positive as us choking away last year's game was negative. Bring on the Ducks!

A look at the depth chart

BoilerTMill — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:39:18 -0000

With a little more than a week to go we have a good idea of how the depth chart will be when we kick off against Toledo in nine days. Honestly, there haven't been many surprises. We know some of the freshmen have been doing well, but we will truly have no idea until we take the field against Toledo. In the meantime, this is what the current depth chart looks like:

I have Delusions of grandeur for this team, but those are the best delusions to have. This handy poster also works for Notre Dame's National title hopes.

Quarterbacks:

1. Joey Elliott, Sr. (5)

2. Caleb TerBush, Fr. (RS)

There is no real surprise here, although the rhetoric from coach Hope is that Elliott will now be the primary guy and TerBush will only play mop up duty. This is a change from before camp, when it was thought there might be a platoon system. I like this. I would much rather settle on one guy and go with him rather than constantly rotate guys. I am sure Robert Marve would have something to say about that too. Rob Henry also seems to have emerged as the third string guy if needed. I think he will play only if necessary early in the year, but we may eventually reach a point where he will redshirt if he hasn't played at all. that would leave us with 5th year senior Chris Bennett as the #3 guy. If that is the case, expect a major battle for the starting job next year.

Running backs:

1. Ralph Bolden, So.

2. Jaycen Taylor, Sr. (5)

This position is very interesting, as Bolden seems to be hanging on to the number 1 spot. It may be semantics, as we know that Taylor will play plenty. The big mover seems to have been Frank Halliburton. Halliburton gives us a bigger option back there, and I would not be averse to some two running back sets. Dan Dierking will also see some time. The most interesting question will be Al-Terek McBurse. In Tuesday's practice report McBurse was not mentioned as one of the true freshmen likely to play this year. This may be our deepest position on the field right now. McBurse may be getting squeezed by the number of experienced backs in front of him. I doubt he will redshirt, but you never know.

Wide receivers:

1. Royce Adams, Sr.; Keith Smith, Jr.; Aaron Valentin, Sr.

2. Keith Carlos, Jr.; Gary Bush, Fr.; Antavian Edison, Fr.

This is an interesting dichotomy of experience vs. youth. Smith and Valentin are by far the most experienced players, so it is no surprise they are starters. Adams is a transfer from the defense, but has been here for three years. At least with Adams we have the option of switching him back to defense if depth becomes an issue. Edison has drawn rave reviews since camp opened, so I expect him to see the field a lot. Bush and Carlos were slightly late bloomers, but they have separated themselves from the other freshmen and from others like Waynelle Gravesande that have been here awhile. Everything I hear about Carlos is that he is electric with the ball in his hands, but he has a tendency have the drops at times. I would still prefer to have Smith as an outside receiver since he gives us the most size by far.

Tight ends:

1. Kyle Adams, Jr.

2. Jeff Lindsay, Jr.

I think Adams was missed greatly last year. We did not have a consistent safety valve at tight end like we did with Dustin Keller and our offense suffered for it. Adams and Lindsay should pick up that slack. If they can produce on the level of Tim Stratton, Charles Davis, and Keller I will be very happy. Colton McKey is also expected to contribute once his knee is better. Lindsay may be used as a bit of an H-back and is a great blocker.

Offensive Line:

1. Tackles: Dennis Kelly, So.; Zach Jones, Sr.; Guards: Ken Plue, So.; Zach Reckman, Sr.; Center: Jared Zwilling, Sr.

2. Tackles: Ryan Prater, Jr; Peters Drey, Fr. (RS); Guards: Rick Schmeig, Fr. (RS); Justin Pierce, Jr.; Center: Andrew Brewer, Fr.

I think this is where we will see the most improvement this year. If you think about it, we never had any consistency last season along the offensive line. We didn't even have it in spring practice. Injuries prevented that from happening all year. That will pay dividends this year as we have had consistency and plenty of guys have experience. All five starters were starters at some point last season. Prater and Pierce also got some experience, so there is a little bit of depth as well. I like that Drey, Schmeig, and Brewer are freshmen that could be anchors of the line in 2010 or 2011. This is how you improve the team in a hurry. Plue gives us a true road grader to generate tough yards on the ground. By necessity, we will likely run the ball more this year. As long as the line lets us run more I really don't care. I think it will be a benefit in the long run.

I pray our current offensive line does not replicate this picture.

Defensive Ends:

1. Ryan Kerrigan, Jr.; Gerald Gooden, So.

2. Robert Maci, Fr. (RS); Nickaro Golding, So.

I think it is more important for Gooden to have a good year than Kerrigan. Kerrigan is the known commodity. If Gooden can generate a pass rush on his own it will prevent teams from double teaming Kerrigan. Improved play from our defensive tackles is also critical. Among the backups, I am most disappointed in Keyon Brown. He had a fantastic bowl game against Central Michigan, but has done nothing since. As a senior, he got beat out by the redshirt freshman Maci on the two deeps. Golding should be an interesting addition. Kevin Pamphile has shown a ton of promise so far, but since this is just his second year playing football he will probably still redshirt unless he goes completely nuts in practice.

Defensive Tackles:

1. Mike Neal, Sr (5); Kawann Short, Fr. (RS)

2. Adam Brockman, So.; Nick Mondek, So.

Mondek and Short are in a battle for the other tackle spot opposite Neal, but in the end the whole team will win. Both players are going to play this year in a rotation, which will also keep Neal fresh. Neal is supposed to be one of the best tackles in the league, while Short was named to CFN's all-redshirt freshman team this summer. This is not a bad thing, considering how bad our run defense up the middle has been. Right now, we have a total of six guys that we can rotate in and out along the line. I fail to see how this is a bad thing.

Linebackers

1. Jason Werner Sr. (5); Joe Holland, So.; Chris Carlino, So.

2. Antwon Higgs, Fr.; DeVarro Greaves, So.; Dwayne Beckford, Fr.

Depth Depth Depth! We actually have depth at the linebacker position. Beckford and Higgs would have been starting in years past as true freshmen. Instead, they are promising guys that will play, but won't be counted on to be fantastic early with no one behind them. Werner, Holland, and Carlino could all be back next year if Werner applies for a 6^th year of eligibility due to his past injuries. Let's just wrap Werner in bubble wrap now before the opener please. We actually have enough depth to consider some 4-4 sets when facing good running games. This group has to stop the run, especially against teams that can't run like Notre Dame and Indiana. Too often we have been gashed not only by good running teams, but awful ones like Notre Dame's. If this group along with the experienced defensive line cannot stop the run we will not win many games this year. If they do stop the run, our defense alone is good enough to win five or six games.

Defensive Backs

1. Corners: Brandon King, Sr; David Pender, Sr.; Safeties: Torri Williams, Sr. (6); Dwight McLean, Sr.

2. Corners: Josh Johnson, Fr.; Charlton Williams, So.; Safties: Albert Evans, So.; Josh McKinley, Jr.

At first I was very concerned about depth here. All through the summer we heard about how we had our entire secondary back that was the number one pass defense in the conference last year. Then, in camp, we hear about them being gassed all the time and hurt. With no real depth behind them alarms began ringing in my head. Fortunately, some depth has come along. McKinley and Williams have seen the field, just not much last year. Johnson seems to be one of the biggest surprises among the true freshmen. Evans is an interesting commodity that was still recovering from a knee injury much of last year. E.J. Johnson could make an impact next year as a true freshman with McKinley and Evans.

Among the starters, It is fantastic we have so many starts returning with Pender and King. We need those two to produce more interceptions. McLean has the look of a guy that likes to hit people, hard. He is expected to make a big leap after being a littler overmatched last year. He could be the stereotypical guy that makes a big jump from year one to year two out of JuCo. Torri Williams needs to just stay out of trouble off the field. In what I hope is some karmic payback due, he is the last remaining player that played in The Fumble game, so he is due some good news in his career.

Specialists:

1. Kicker: Carson Wiggs, So.; Holder: Joey Elliott, Sr; Punter: Chris Summers, Sr.; Long Snapper: John Finch, Jr.

2. Kicker: Chris Summers, Sr; Holder: Kris Staats, Jr.; Punter: Carson Wiggs, So.; Long Snapper: Andy Huffman, Sr.

I think we were all impressed with Wiggs last year. He set a school record with a 53-yard field goal at Ohio State, so distance is not a problem. If he struggles, we do have an experience (if somewhat streaky) kicker in Summers to back him up. I think Summers will also benefit greatly this year from concentrating solely on punting. It may have been a bit much to ask him to do everything last season. Summers may continue to kick off as well. I am kind of surprised that Elliott is the holder, as Staats did a good job last season when Painter was hurt. I think Painter may have been part of the kicking issues as well, since many of the problems we had on placements went away once Staats took over. Finch may be the starter by default for now. He finished the season there last year, but Huffman was hurt and continues to be bothered by an elbow injury. Huffman just went on scholarship and had started over 30 straight games at long snapper before his injury

Returners:

1. Kickoffs: Aaron Valentin, Sr; Royce Adams, Sr. Punts: Aaron Valentin, Sr.

2. Kickoffs: Punts: Royce Adams, Sr.

Kickoff returns have been a major strength in each of the last two seasons. In 2007 we had three returns for scores. Punt returns have been an afterthought since Anthony Chambers graduated. We have to get more from this area. The same is true when it comes to coverage. We are good on kickoff coverage, but punt return coverage was terrible last year. We gave up returns for scores to Oregon and Michigan, so we have to improve there. Don't forget the blocked punt we had at Ohio State that became a touchdown as well.

We have plenty of speedy freshmen that could emerge here later on. McBurse, Ishmael Aristide, and other have been mentioned as potential returners. Eric Williams, a freshman wide receiver with speed, may find a niche here too.

Missing Media Day

BoilerTMill — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:15:50 -0000

It has been pretty quiet around here since practice started. I haven't done many updates because I know many of you readers also frequent my friends over at Boiled Sports. Boilerdowd has been on it with updates from the first few days of practice, so there is little need to repeat what he has said along with the few updates GBI gives us. Today is media day, however, and it shows that I am an idiot.

See, I had an opportunity to be there today as a card-carrying member of the media thanks to all you readers making this blog a serious force covering Purdue. Unfortunately, e-mail and time have conspired to prevent my attendance. My main e-mail account for the blog is through excite, and I have only been able to successfully access that account twice in the last two days. This is also preventing me from accessing a Q&A with the Michigan State blog The Only Colors. I also completely lost track of time and didn't realize media day was today until, well, yesterday at around 9pm.

Woops. So much for taking advantage of that.

Proof that the calendar feature on Outlook is a very good thing. You won't be seeing such pictures from today's Media Day, and I am an idiot for it.

So I offer my apologies to you, the reader, for my largesse. I will not make the same mistake when it comes to Basketball media day.

Many of you have e-mailed me about buying basketball tickets off of me and I thank you for that. Being basically self-employed means operating on tight budgets. The fact many of you are interested in buying some of my season basketball tickets off of me means you get great seats without paying an inflated price on Stubhub and I still get to go to a few games.

Speaking of tight budgets, it is looking like the long-awaited Oregon game trip is not going to happen. The only way I was going to be able to do it with Mrs. T-Mill is that I have a free companion ticket through Delta Airlines that I must use by March 31. Since I must book 30 days in advance, today is basically the deadline for that. Delta, however, is not cooperating with good prices or flight times. The only options I have are to fly into Portland for about $350 or fly into Seattle and drive down for $250. The Mrs. and I have done some planning we see that for the same amount of time we can rent a car for half as much and fly into Miami for just $200 and see her ‘Canes play Oklahoma on October 3^rd. Hotels, surprisingly, are incredibly cheap for that weekend in Miami as well. Plus, we might be able to stay with a friend anyway. Even if we have to get a hotel, the savings of at least $200 is pretty nice right now for the same length of trip. It means I have to give up Purdue-Oregon as well as our homecoming game, but when Miami is your backup plan you can never go wrong.

So getting back to fall practice for a moment. Here is what I like:

Antavian Edison - We knew we needed at least one of the Florida Freshmen to become a force on offense, and it looks like Edison is in the lead there. He doesn't have much size as a receiver, but we don't have much size at receiver period. We don't have a single receiver over 6'2". Keith Smith, Cortez Smith, and Tommie Thomas are the only players even that tall. We're going to have to get by on cunning and guile instead of simple physical dominance at this position.

Jeff Panfil - Two years ago I thought Panfil would compete for this year's starting quarterback job. He has since moved to tight end, and apparently he is making some noise with Colton McKey being out. We do have plenty of size at tight end, so maybe Panfil, Jeff Lindsey, and Kyle Adams can be our big receivers. If we're going to run more anyway it is nice to have their size on the field. Could Purdue be head toward some two tight end sets?

A focus on running - I am really encouraged by this. Something that has been very bothersome is our tendency in big games to completely abandon the running game. This year we don't have a choice. In my opinion, five of our best "skill" players are all at running back with Jaycen Taylor, Al-Terek McBurse, Dan Dierking, Frank Halliburton, and Ralph Bolden. There is depth and talent here to spare, while the passing game, our hallmark of the past 12 years, appears to be lacking. Let's run it then. Coach Hope talked about using Halliburton more, so why not. We have to learn that "I-Formation" and "two tight end sets" are not bad words. If we can run better out of the shotgun, so be it. The offensive change to take advantage of Kirsch in 2005 would have worked very well had the defense not been absolutely terrible during the six game losing streak. Instead, we abandoned it.

Was it the offense's fault the defense couldn't get one stop against Minnesota? How about slowing down Notre Dame that year? I always feel Kirsch got an unfair shake that season when the defense was putrid and more of a reason we lost six straight games. Personally, I think we would benefit greatly this year with a return to that style of offense. Line up Bolden and Taylor in the backfield with Elliott in the shotgun. What do we really have to lose? It's not like we're expected to be a dark horse national title contender like in 2005. This year's defense could actually be good unlike that team.

Names on the jersies? - This is a bit of a surprise coming out of media day. What coach Hope wants, coach Hope gets, I guess. I've grown used to not having the names there, and I follow the team so closely I essentially memorize the roster anyway.

Offensive line play - To me, this is the most critical area of our success. If you have a good offensive line in college football it can win six games by default. Just look at Ken Dorsey's career. The dude is a stick and has struggled in the NFL (because of poor offensive lines) but at Miami he lost only twice as a starter. The biggest reason: He had an offensive line that made sure no one came within five yards of touching him. If we had a great offensive line I could stand in the backfield and chuck the ball around. The coaches are raving about Ken Plue's improvement, but from a sheer stability standpoint we should be better. Remember, we didn't have a healthy line even in spring practice before the 2008 season. We used 7 different starting combos. Health has not been much of a factor this year, including in the spring. This group got to gel together in the spring, and will make us a much better football team in three and a half weeks.

Rob Henry - I am thrilled with the news he may not redshirt. He was there all summer, and I would not be shocked at all if played at least a little this year. Right now he is my favorite to be the starter next year. Yes, I am man-crushing for reasons other than the fact he wearing #15.

Areas for concern:

Guys getting praised for effort and work ethic - This comes from years of being undersized in sports I play. I am the only person I know that has had a church basketball league scouting report read: "No one works harder than Travis..." That's the polite way to say I suck, but I try really hard out there. So far we have had a number of guys praised for their work ethic, which is really a good thing. Unfortunately, we need results to come from that work ethic.

Wide receiver - As much as I am excited about the running game, we are Purdue. We make our offense run via the pass. I was fully expecting a couple of guys to come in and wow people on the first few days of practice, but so far Edison is the only one. We knew this was going to be a concern though. As long as we can balance the offense and have enough of a passing game from Valentin, Smith, Edison, and the tight ends we cans till be successful. I have no problems with controlling the clock on the ground, playing solid defense, and winning games 17-14. To me, that is our most successful formula this year. The days of throwing down 50 without breaking a sweat are over. As long as we win the game I don't care if we score 5 or 50. All that matters is having more points than the other team at the end of the day.

Facebook - Finally, we have a great shame. Yes, I have joined facebook. And yes, I became in addict in just two days.

Know thy Opponent 2009: Wisconsin Badgers

BoilerTMill — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:00:45 -0000

This could be the year I finally correct a grave oversight. It has long been my goal to see Purdue play at every single stadium in the Big Ten. I have added one new stadium each year since the 2001 season (save 2004). Indiana (2001), Illinois (2002), Ohio State (2003), Minnesota (2005), Northwestern (2006), Michigan (2007) and Michigan State (2008), have been crossed off my list, but I have missed out what is supposed to be the best campus experience in the Big Ten. I had a chance to go to the 2003 Wisconsin game with some friends, but turned it down because, well, I am an idiot.

The Minnesota trip is too far to add TCF Bank Stadium this year, especially since I am going to Oregon, so Wisconsin will have to be the new Big Ten venue I add. I am about 50/50 on going, but if I do go I should see a pretty good game. Strangely enough, the result of this game could be determined by the kickoff time. Purdue has performed very well in day games at Wisconsin, but has struggled in night games. That is why I am praying for a good old noon kickoff for what is another critical swing game.

2008 Record: 7-6 (3-5 Big Ten)

Bowl Result: Lost to Florida State 42-13 in Champs Sports Bowl

Blog Representation: Bucky's 5^th Quarter

Series with Purdue: Wisconsin leads 39-29-8

Last Purdue win: 10/18/2003 at Wisconsin 26-23

Last Wisconsin win: 10/21/2006 at Purdue 24-3

Last Season for the Badgers:

Like Illinois, I haven't paid a ton of attention to Wisconsin for the past two seasons. Our last two games with them were easy wins for Wisconsin. Then you have THAT GAME in 2004 that still makes my stomach queasy. I prefer to think of happier times, such as 2003 in what was our last really good road victory on Ben Jones' last second field goal. It was the last time we defeated a ranked opponent away from Ross-Ade Stadium.

Wisconsin was mediocre at best last year. After nearly beating Ohio State in a nationally televised night game they struggled mightily. That was preceded by an agonizing loss at Michigan and followed by blowouts against Penn State and Wisconsin. Once a top ten team, they needed three missed extra points to defeat 1-AA Cal Poly in overtime to finish the regular season. That is not exactly the mark of a team on a roll. The best win of the year was a 13-10 victory at Fresno State.

In addition to numerous Big Ten opponents, we get to judge Wisconsin against an additional common opponent this year. They open the season at home against a feisty Northern Illinois team that we play two weeks later. Fresno State, Wofford, and a trip to Hawaii round out the non-conference schedule. The Badgers did not elect to schedule the 13^th game that going to Hawaii allows.

Wisconsin offense:

I do have a bit of a special insight on Wisconsin's offense because of starting quarterback Dustin Sherer. The fifth year senior, like most Badger quarterbacks, has patiently waited for his time in Madison. From 2002-2004, however, He was the starting quarterback at Hamilton Heights high in Cicero, Indiana. As it happens, I was covering a ton of games for the Kokomo Tribune during that time. Hamilton Heights is in the same conference as 7 of the 12 teams the Tribune covers. As the dominant team in that conference (the small school Mid-Indiana Conference) I ended up covering several Hamilton Heights games. He was 33-7 as the starter for those three years, but only two of those losses came within the conference. That is not a surprise though. The conference was very top heavy at the time, with Hamilton Heights, Lewis Cass, and Western being far and away better than everyone else. Many of his stats came in blowouts of inferior teams.

My last image of Dustin Sherer is a little hazy since it was five years ago.

It has been a long time since I have seen Dustin play while he waited his turn in Madison. He got his first start midway through the season and does have a record of 4-3 as a starter. Like many Wisconsin quarterbacks, you know what you are getting. He is a solid game manager that won't go apeshit for 500 yards and 5 TD's, but he won't make many mistakes, either. He finished the year with 1,389 yards and six TD's against five picks. The completion percentage of 55% could be better, but Wisconsin is a running team anyway. Also of note, we will see his younger brother, Chad, later in the season as a linebacker for Indiana. His other younger brother, Tyler, is the current Hamilton Heights quarterback.

One of the most difficult things about Wisconsin is that you know what you are going to get, yet they are still very difficult to stop. That has been Wisconsin's style since before the days of Ron Dayne. They are a power running team, everyone knows it, yet they still put up good numbers even though other teams know what they are facing beforehand. John Clay and Zach Brown are the latest backs in a very long line. Clay ran for 884 yards and nine scores, while Brown (305-3) was a solid reserve. Considering who we have to face before this game, it will be a relief to not have to worry about a running quarterback. Sherer is about as immobile as they come with 19 yards rushing on 49 carries and a score last year. If you take out the fact he had one 30 yard scamper, he is even less of a threat to run. This offense still ran for 2700 yards last year, making run defense a major priority. If the run defense that played at Notre Dame shows up, expect a long day.

Wisconsin's best teams have been the ones that have had a legitimate deep threat in the passing game. It was something the Badgers lacked a season ago as they didn't have a single pass longer than 50 yards. Garrett Graham (40-540-5) is the top returning receiver, and he was a tight end. That is a good thing considering that Wisconsin does not mind long, plodding drives that eat up the clock. If anything, their offensive attack goes away from our strength (pass defense) and attacks a weakness (run defense) we have had for years. Nick Toon, son of NFL great Al Toon (17-257-1), gives Wisconsin a bit of a deep threat. David Gilreath (31-520-3) also provides a speed element. Gilreath defines the term all-purpose player. He had a season long 90-yard rush for a score and he excels as a return man. We simply cannot allow him to have the ball in space.

Wisconsin's offensive line is always big and ready to pave the way for the running game. Each projected starter stands taller than 6'4" and is well over 310 pounds. They only move where they want to move. They gave up 29 sacks a year ago, so protection was a problem. Center John Moffitt, left tackle Gabe Carimi, and right tackle Josh Oglesby all have starting experience at their respective positions. Oglesby is a star recruit who has struggled with a knee injury, while Carimi is essentially a fixture at the left tackle position with 19 starts. They are very good on the ends, but guards Bill Nagy and Jake Bscherer are relatively unproven. There is not a ton of developed depth, so the pass protection could struggle if there are injuries by the Purdue game.

Wisconsin defense:

The best word to describe the Badger defense is, "meh". Nothing really stands out, which is what you expect from a 7-6 team. The defense folded late when it needed a stop against Ohio State, and then took the next two weeks off against Penn State and Iowa. The most telling statistic was being unable to stop Cal Poly's running game in the final game of the season. I'm sorry, but there is absolutely no excuse for a Big Ten team to ever struggle with a Division 1-AA running game. Cal Poly ran wild on them and should have won in Madison.

It is hard to think the defense will be better with only one starter returning on the defensive line. O'Brien Schofield had 40 tackles and five sacks a year ago, making him a solid piece to build around. He'll start on one end with J.J. Watt on the other. We've seen Watt before, too. Since all things Purdue football seem to involve Central Michigan, Watt returns as a transfer from the Chips. Watt is more of a run-oriented d-end. Jeff Stehle and Dan Moore are projected to start at tackle, but Jeff Butrym should play as well. None of them had outstanding stats in reserve action. This is not an overwhelming line, so we should be able to generate a ground game of some sort.

Jayce Taylor, Dan Dierking, Al-Terek McBurse, and Ralph Bolden need to know: Cal Poly ran on these guys. So can you.

There really isn't an overwhelming presence at linebacker, either. Jaevery McFadden, Culmer St. Jean, and Blake Sorenson are about as middle of the road as they come in the Big Ten. All three of them are first-time starters at their respective positions. McFadden has the most experience, but it will be his first time in the middle. His 84 tackles led Wisconsin in 2008.

As far as the secondary goes, as long as we don't throw to Niles Brinkley we are fine. Brinkley had four interceptions to lead Wisconsin last year, and he wasn't even a #1 corner. Aaron Henry will man the other corner position, but he did not play at all last year after an ACL tear. Jay Valai is another player returning after surgery at one of the safety positions. He had 56 tackles last year, but may be a bit undersized at 5'9" 200. Chris Maragos will likely man the other safety position and he is a convert from wide receiver.

Honestly, there isn't one player on the Wisconsin defense that truly scares me. Most guys are recovering from injury, are first time starters, or are converted from another position. They could be good, but essentially everything has to fall into place for this defensive unit to be great.

Wisconsin Special Teams:

Wisconsin relied heavily on its kicking game last year and Phillip Welch was able to deliver. He hit on 20 of 24 field goals with a long of 52 at Michigan. He is just a sophomore and should give Wisconsin points any time they are inside the 30. Brad Nortman is also a sophomore as the punter and averaged nearly 42 yards per kick. He is an expert already at pinning teams deep. He should develop into an all-Big Ten level of punter, if not a Ray Guy award winner.

As mentioned before Gilreath is an excellent returner even if his numbers didn't show it last year. He will handle both punts and kickoffs, making him a dangerous player when he gets the ball in space. Last year Wisconsin was the worst team in the nation at kickoff returns, but Gilreath is expected to drastically improve that.

Intangibles:

This is where I would trumpet home field advantage, but we have proven that we can go up to Wisconsin and play a damn good football game if we want to. Since we lack a road win at Ohio State or Michigan in the last 20 years, I would argue that Wisconsin is our best road victory in that time. We don't play with much fear up there, and this year's Badger team is not one that is overwhelming. In our last trip to Madison we handed the game away by starting a freshman (Curtis Painter) in his first career start when offense was not the problem. To me, this looks like a winnable road game, maybe even more so than Minnesota.

The general consensus has Bret Bielema on the hot seat, but I have a hard time believing that. He was handpicked by current athletic director Barry Alvarez, and Alvarez is pretty much the savior of Wisconsin football. It would take an awful season for Bielema to get fired. Neither team has a ton of high expectations on them at this point. Wisconsin's are higher, especially given the relatively easy schedule.

Game Outlook:

It should be simple. If we stop the run we stop Wisconsin. Unfortunately, very few teams do that. We haven't exactly been the best run defense lately either. With its running game Wisconsin can control the clock and win game simply by keeping the other team off the field. Should our offense struggle in the slightest it will be an easy formula for a Badger win.

There is also the factor that is Halloween in Madison. Adam Hoge of Bucky's Fifth Quarter seemed a little wary of going to the game because of that fact, and he is a Wisconsin fan! It will likely be the most hostile road environment we will face all year since Minnesota is an unknown, Michigan isn't particularly loud, Oregon is a one-time deal even though it will be tough, and Indiana is, well, Indiana.

Prediction:

The Halloween in Madison scares me a little. That, and Purdue always struggles when I see them play on the road in a new Big Ten venue. Their record in the seven games mentioned in the opening paragraph is 1-6 with four of them agonizing losses. That happens again here. Wisconsin 24, Purdue 20

A way too early look at the 2009 Schedule - Week 6 - Purdue

GopherNation — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:37:11 -0000

After this game, the music dies. No offense to Purdue fans but this is the last game on the schedule before we hit the Big Ten buzzsaw. The Boilermakers at home is a must win before we head to Happy Valley and Columbus, return home for Michigan State and Illinois, get a break with SDSU and then we travel again to Iowa. Because of our brutal schedule and because Purdue is the consensus 10th best team in the Big Ten this is the most overlooked game on our schedule. Well, NOT TODAY my friends. With the help of Travis over at Hammer and Rails we are going to look at the Boilermakers.

With so little buzz coming out of Purdue this year and with all of the "experts" predicting a 10th place finish for the Boilermakers, I started my questioning with Travis on this very subject.

TDG - Nobody is very high on Purdue this year as they seem to be the consensus pick to finish 10th in the conference (thank God for Indiana huh?). I want you to tell me what we are all missing. Why will Purdue actually be the surprise team of the Big Ten? Or what has to go right for the Boilermakers to have a successful season, defying all of the experts?

HnR - Attitude is the key here. No one expects anything, especially the media. I was given press access for the spring game and it was disappointing in the press box, but exciting on the sidelines. The press was openly mocking the team, saying Danny Hope and Bill Lynch could be the worst coaching pair in Big Ten history.

Once I went down to the sidelines though I was encouraged. This team believes in itself a lot more than it did last year. There are no stars, while last year was mostly Painter and Sheets. Everyone is on board with Coach Hope's new philosophy, as Boiled Sports points out, former walk-on Adam Wolf came up with the marketing idea of O.N.E. (Opportunity Now for Everyone). This team is truly a team, and I think we have been missing that for awhile. I firmly believe we will be much better than people think. The defense has a ton of experience, while our running game is deeper than it has ever been. That will give Elliott time to learn the game, but I think as a fifth year senior he will be just fine in the offense. All we need are a few consistent receivers. Personally, I think we can get six wins and get to a bowl.

So maybe Travis is just drinking the kool-aid, or maybe he is seeing something the rest of the pundits do not. Everyone, not intimately familiar with a school's program takes a look at returning starters, star players, key positions, recruiting classes, etc to make their "accurate" predictions. What can be missed are the teams capable of playing above their ceiling because the sum of their parts is truly greater than it's pieces. I don't think anybody is predicting Rose Bowl for the Boilermakers, but they are certainly talented enough to win more games than expected and make a bowl game.

I am no different in that I look first at returning starters, then I see if any of the returners are returning all-conference or pre-season all-conference, then I look at key positions (QB, OL, defense). But I'm not intimate enough with any of our opponents to know them like their fans do. So I ask more from Travis...

TDG- Just 11 returning starters, is the glass half full or half empty?

HnR - Half full. I love our defense. We appear to have real live linebackers for once and our defensive line has become a strength. Our secondary is among the most experienced in the Big Ten, and I think this is the year it finally comes together. It really showed some things last year in a few games, but the offense was awful. I pick the Minnesota game as an example. They basically gave up two big plays and those led to both touchdowns. The rest of the day our defense played fantastic, but the offense gave it zero help.

On offense, we essentially get a starter back that is not listed in running back Jaycen Taylor. Taylor tore his ACL in fall camp last year and had to redshirt. He will give us experience at a position with a lot of depth in Ralph Bolden, Dan Dierking, and true freshman Al-Terek McBurse. Joey Elliott, as a fifth year senior is about what you want as a first-time starter at quarterback. In him, I see some shades of Billy Dicken circa 1997.

Purdue on Offense

When looking at Purdue's offense the obvious place to start is with what is missing. Gone are the Boilermaker's leading passer, rusher and receivers; Curtis Painter, Kory Sheets, Greg Orton and Desmond Tardy respectively.

TDG - Who is going to step in and replace last year's leading passer, rusher and receiver? Are these changes exciting or are the met with fear and trepidation?

HnR - As mentioned, Joey Elliott will be the starter. He has been Painter's caddy for the last three years, but likely would have gotten a lot more time had he not separated his shoulder against Northwestern. I think he will be the perfect caretaker before Caleb TerBush, Rob Henry, or Robert Marve takes over in 2010. He has done well in mop-up action the last three years, but has never started. He does know the system inside and out though.

Taking over for running back Kory Sheets will be a tandem of Taylor, McBurse, Bolden, and Dierking. Bolden had a great spring while Taylor was still limited. McBurse enrolled early to go through spring practice, but ended up not taking part because the NCAA didn't officially clear him until late April. Personally, I think we will rely a lot more on the running game than we have in the past because it should be a major strength. As for receivers, your guess is as good as mine. Aaron Valentin and Keith Smith are the top two returning players there, but every spot is wide open. JuCo transfer Keith Carlos will likely see some time, as well as a number of our Florida Freshmen.

Our biggest problem last season was that we never had a consistent offensive line. Seemingly everyone was hurt and missed spring football in 2008, but we were finally healthy here this past spring. It should help immensely.

For what was a promising and experienced offense, 2008 was rather disappointing in West Lafayette. The Boilermaker offense was 4th in total offense (2nd in passing, 10th in rushing) and 7th in points scored. Contributing to the disappointing 2-6 Big Ten record.

As Travis noted above, there is no star power on this offense. A year after Sheets and Painter have moved on, maybe this offense will be able to gel and play together as a unit. Passing the ball has never been a problem at Purdue and I would expect Joey Elliot will be just fine throwing the ball around. Much like our Gophers, the real question will be can they improve on what was one of the worst rushing games in the conference? Also like the Gophers there are a few guys willing, able and eager to carry the ball. But will the offensive line improve and will one of their backs step up and be the reliable back who gets the bulk of the carries?

Purdue on Defense

The Boilermaker defense was equally as unbalanced as the offense. Very good against the pass and terrible at stopping the run.

TDG - Tell me about the defense. Last year they lead the B10 in pass defense, but were last against the run. Can we expect more of the same this year or are changes being made to bring this to a happy medium?

HnR - The pass defense was so good because the run defense was so bad. Who needs to pass when we can't stop the run? It was especially embarrassing at Notre Dame when we gave up 200 yards to a team that had no running game for 15 straight games before that. It got better though as the season went on. The numbers were high because we played Oregon, who can hang 400 rushing yards on anyone. At Ohio State we did a great job of keeping Beanie Wells and Terrelle Prior in check. Ohio State didn't have an offensive touchdown all day, but unfortunately our offense didn't make the trip. We got our only three points on a school-record 53 yard field goal. The run defense should be better, especially if the offense can stay on the field by utilizing the running game more.

That seemed pretty obvious, why would teams bother to pass the ball when there was very little resistance on the ground. Unfortunately our ground game managed to accumulate the fewest yards against the Purdue defense. 109 yards rushing against the league's worst rush defense is pretty embarrassing and it just points out badly we needed to see a change in philosophy. This game will be a very good judge of how effective our new ground game really is. I expect the Purdue defense will be more focused on stopping the run but I have higher expectations for our ground game and bigger strides should be made there.

Let's get to know the Boilermaker defense a little bit...

TDG - Can I get a paragraph summarizing each positional group (DL, LB, DB).

HnR - Our defensive line is led by end Ryan Kerrigan. He looks to be the next in a long line of defensive ends that we consistently send to the NFL. I also like tackle Mike Neal a lot because he plays with a ton of intensity. Redshirt freshman Kawann Short could have a breakout season, as there are some seriously high expectations for him. Gerald Gooden has also shown some good things at the other end position.

At linebacker we should have our best group in years if Jason Werner is finally healthy. We've been waiting for Werner to get over some back issues for three years, but each time he is healthy in practices coaches have said he is our best linebacker. Unfortunately, he was "a few weeks away" for every game last season and didn't play at all despite being supposedly healthy when camp started. Joe Holland and Chris Carlino are both sophomores, but they learned by fire last year as freshmen. Carlino was especially impressive by doing very well as a true freshman in the middle. Incoming freshmen Dwayne Beckford and Antwon Higgs are both very promising and each was able to enroll early and go through spring football. They give us depth at a position that is young and will only get better.

The secondary is by far the best unit on the defense. Safety Torri Williams has battled injuries and legal troubles his entire career, but he was granted a 6th year of eligibility by the NCAA after missing all of 2005 with a broken leg, all but he first half of the first game of 2006 with a shredded knee, and half of 2007 with a torn Achilles. As long as he doesn't steal anymore condoms, drive drunk, or help buddies in bar fights he should be fine. Brandon King and David Pender are two very good senior corners, while Dwight McLean should make a big leap in his second year out of JuCo.

Sounds like Travis is excited about his team improving on last year's 2-6 conference season. The DL is young but could be on the verge of a breakout season, the LBs are the best they've seen in years and the secondary is their best unit. I'll grant him that the secondary is experienced and they were successful a year ago. But the rest of the defense is either young or has injuries keeping him from taking big strides. This defense is lacking depth and experience. But this defense can improve and most of that improvement will come from an improved offense. Last year's offense was brutal and much like the 2007 version of the Gophers the offense put the defense in a number of brutal situations. Will the defense be better? At this time of year everyone believes their team will be better for whatever reason. It's possible but my money is on a lower half caliber defense coming out of Purdue this season.

What to Expect

This is one of those classic games where both teams and fan bases believe this is at minimum winable and most likely a win because the other team is mediocre at best. I don't know if this game is a lock, but this is another must-win for the Gophers. A team we beat a year ago, a team that is not returning a ton of starters and a team that we are playing at home before we head to Happy Valley and Columbus. This schedule is going to get ugly and the success of the season hinges on games like this. I know I harped on this in the Wisconsin preview, but this is really a must win.

I expect that the Gophers will desperately try to establish the run. That is going to be a key in all games this year but this one in particular will showcase that this team is not just capable of running the ball but dominating a game by controlling the ball and running until the other team stops you. Purdue was terrible against the run in 2008 and we barely notched 100 yards on the ground. If this team is more than just committed to running the ball, but actually are capable of it, then expect that to change.

After reading Travis's thoughts on what he sees as the cohesiveness and the unity of the 2009 Boilermakers, I am more nervous about this game than I was prior, but we still win this game.

Minnesota - 31
Purdue - 10

what say you?...

Poll

Results of the Purdue Game?

Gophers win big

36 votes

Gophers win a tight one

23 votes

Gophers lose

21 votes

80 votes | Poll has closed

An Early Look: Purdue

Sam @ WWAHT — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:00:16 -0000

Cloned from Tiller's 'stache. DIABEETUS!

With ascendancy of Danny Hope to the head job at Purdue, it's difficult to tell whether things are going up or down for the football program. The simple answer is that things will probably largely stay the same. In his first few months, Hope has touted building a pipeline to the talent-rich, speedy state of Florida, and in the '09 class it worked out okay: they nabbed 14 prospects from the Sunshine State, four of them three stars and the rest a bevy of two-stars (according to Scout). Overall, it was the 63rd best class in the country. At Ohio State, that's an atrocity. At Purdue, it's MOTS. Expectations are different in West Lafayette, undeniably. Most Boilermakers fans are at least hoping (er... wishing?) he somehow improves on Tiller's record against the best teams on Purdue's slate in his final four years:

(Chart courtesy Dr. Saturday)

The game against Ohio State on October 17th will be Hope's first team's third chance to really impress the fanbase and the country at large, after an early road date with the Ducks in Eugene, Oregon and a home game against Notre Dame. By the time this game rolls around, Ohio State's offense should be a cohesive unit, but then again, last year I thought it had jelled before Purdue held Ohio State without an offensive touchdown for four drowsy quarters in Columbus. In 2007, when the line play was far better, Purdue held pre-meltdown Boeckman and a healthy Beanie Wells-led offense to just 23 points. Two does not a trend make, but nevertheless, I have a feeling Purdue knows how to stop, or at least slow down, the Ohio State offense. Players you should care about, relevant and interesting stats, my prediction, and a short interview with a Boiler blogger after the jump.

Boilermakers you should care about:

Korey Sheets has graduated, having exhausted his 32nd year of eligibility and headed into a retirement home a comfy north-central Indiana retirement home. There are no immediate saviors availabe for a rushing offense that finished 86th in the country last year, but Dan Dierking is going to try, damn it. His job: provide some semblance of a balance to an offense starting anew with senior Joey Elliot, who last year got beat out by converted running back-cum-goner Justin Siller, who torched Michigan before self-immolating against Michigan State and Iowa, only to get kicked out of school in the offseason. Elliot completed 8 of 15 passes last year for 81 yards, so it's safe to say he's at least a bit of a question mark. On defense, this guy:

Rehring: "Sigh. I need something to wake me up. Tea, coffee, rack of lamb...."

... by the name of Ryan Kerrigan absolutely chewed up whoever Ohio State put on him in Columbus last year, notching two of his seven sacks on the year and constantly applying pressure to a bewildered Pryor. He's probably going to demand double teams again this year. David Pender and Brandon King are not shutdown DBs, but they're solid three-year starters who headed up the Big Ten's 2nd-best pass defense in terms of total yards allowed last year. Before you let that stat scare you, remember that Purdue also had the worst rush defense in the conference last year. Still, they held Ohio State to 125 yards on 42 attempts - fewer than 3 YPC - so I wouldn't take anything as a given.

Interesting / Relevant Statistics and facts: (numbers garnered from College Football Stats and the NCAA Statistics Website)

Purdue truly defined the aerial assault-oriented team in at least one way last year: anything pertaining to the ground attacks, either their own or their opponent's, didn't look good on paper. Purdue finished last in the conference in rush D, but they also finished 2nd-to-last in rushing offense. They were held to fewer than 5 YPC by 9 of their 12 opponents, and scored 12 of their 19 rushing TDs against defensive powerhouses Indiana, Michigan, Central Michigan and Northern Colorado. Ohio State, Iowa, and even Minnesota held them without a rushing touchdown.

Purdue surrendered more than 100 yards on the ground to every single freaking opponent in '08, allowing more than 200 yards four times and 306 yards to Oregon.

Perhaps because teams didn't need to pass on them, Purdue surrendered fewer than 200 yards through the air to five of their twelve opponents, and five teams didn't pass for a score on them.

Purdue loses 85 percent of its yards from scrimmage to the draft and graduation. It's rebuilding time in West Lafayette.

My prediction: This will not be a walk in the park for Ohio State. It's a road game, and (probably) the first one that won't feel like a de facto home game - Toledo is a neutral site game in Cleveland and Indiana is Indiana - so it will be a lot more challenging than people are giving it credit for. Expect Ryan Kerrigan to against cause trouble, slowing down the offense by himself in some cases. Purdue's offense is going to move the ball, as it always does, but the game will hinge on whether or not Purdue settles for field goals or actually scores touchdowns this time around, sometime before the final minute. Despite a lackluster showing from the passing attack, Ohio State will leave West Lafayette with a 23-13 win.

A Boilermaker's Thoughts:

To give a bit more balanced perspective to these previews, I'm going to ask a few questions of one of the opponent's SBN bloggers, if they have one. Fortunately, Purdue has an excellent blog by the name of Hammer and Rails and BoilerTMill was gracious enough to answer some questions:

What Purdue players should fans of opposing teams be wary of?

BoilerTMill: I think people should really watch out for Joey Elliott. Yes, he doesn't have much game experience, but he has four years of practice and film study. The kid is a film nut. He wants to get into coaching and is embracing the role of coach on the field. He has done well the few times he has played. He has been more mobile than Painter was and likely would have played more last season if not for a shoulder injury at Northwestern. He has had a very similar career path to Billy Dicken, our 1997 quarterback that came out of nowhere to win first team all-Big Ten honors.

On defense I would look out for defensive end Ryan Kerrigan. He appears to be the next great defensive end for us. If he can create havoc in the backfield by himself we should have an excellent pass defense once again.

What do you honestly think Purdue's record will be at the end of the regular season?

BoilerTMill: I am bucking the trend of the media and saying we will win at least six games. Indiana, Northern Illinois, and Toledo have to be wins. We also need to take two out of four at home from Illinois, Northwestern, Michigan State, and NOtre Dame. Do that, and we need just one road win at Minnesota or Wisconsin, who aren't overwhelming. I think we will finally end the losing streak against ranked teams by shocking someone, and I think it will be Oregon. No one is giving us a chance in that game, but the Ducks have to replace a lot of players in key positions. We played htem well last year, and coach Hope will have this team not fearing Autzen Stadium.

Give us a prediction for the game against Ohio State.

BoilerTMill: Ohio State is a strange game becuase we always seem to play you guys well. Our defense played out of its mind last season, but as was the case in 2007, we had virtually no offnese. If we can repeat that defensive performance with most of the same players back it could get really interesting. By that game, our offense should be functioning better than int he beginning of the year. You guys will still be favored, but who knows? If we can keep the game close, as we have done recently, we will have a chance.

So, he seems optimistic, and I agree with him; if Purdue can simply score, its defensive record lately against Ohio State tells me this game could get quite interesting. What say you?