Week 2 of Purdue Football 2008 | Boiler Jim's Blog

The Boilermakers lived up to their expectations last week and defeated Northern Colorado team 42-10. To be honest, I didn't see the game since I was vacationing in Alaska. But I was happy to spread the good news of the Purdue victory with an alumnus from the class of '65 who noticed my Purdue t-shirt I was wearing when our paths crossed near the base of Mount McKinley in Denali National Park.

You meet alumni in the strangest of places! While that may seem strange, I also met a 2006 Purdue grad in the small Alaskan town of McCarthy. "Stacy" also noticed my Purdue shirt and came over to say "hi". Stacy remarked she was probably the only Boilermaker in Anchorage where she works as an engineer for the state of Alaska. So wherever you might travel, wear your Purdue colors and show your pride. You will no doubt meet fellow alumni in even more strange and distant places.

So what does this have to do with this week's contest against the nationally ranked Oregon Ducks? Not much except Saturday's game will be nationally televised and it's a great chance to show some Purdue Pride and be recognized. In my first blog, I said Purdue is known for winning the games they should and losing the games they're expected to lose. Having not defeated a ranked team since 2003 (Iowa who was #10), Purdue will have its hands full against a team with a similar offense. Oregon won its first two games and last week's match up against Utah State was of similar stature as Northern Colorado was to Purdue. Neither team really learned much about each other except scoring can occur rather quickly. The ten points scored against the Boilers were against the second team defense, late in the game. Also, Northern Colorado didn't throw a complicated offense against the Boiler defense so little was learned. After the game, head defense coach Brock Spack said the defense played better than in the past two years. If so, they will need to play a lot better against the Ducks.

Tiller told reporters this week that he's seen a lot of Oregon game film and the team is a tough one with a lot of talent. While their quarterback is young an inexperienced, running back Jerimiah Johnson is always a threat. A shoulder injury put him out of the game early last week but he's expected to return this week. Oregon is in many ways a lot like Purdue....no real stand outs but balanced and talented across the board.

One interesting note about the Purdue offense last week was despite the score, it was lightly tested. Good field position by the special teams unit made scoring drives short. Curtis Painter only threw to four different receivers which is a very small number, indeed. Kory Sheets ran the ball effectively and will be the workhorse this year as Jaycen Taylor injured his knee during the fall workouts and is out for the season. No doubt he will be the leading tailback when Danny Hope takes the reigns next year.

Kick off is at 3:30 due to this being a Pac-10 vs. Big Ten match up. As a touchdown underdog, Purdue can surprise this team and many others by a victory at Ross Ade. I think it will be all about controlling the ball. Oregon kept the ball for over 26 minutes last week. Purdue needs to up the ante against this quick scoring unit. I'll be in Ross Ade watching from the President's Box. I'll send some pictures along with next week's blog.

Boiler Up! Let's go Duck hunting!