Homecoming brings back memories of my time in West Lafayette with a lot of nostalgia. As much as things change, it's amazing how it's all still the same. Northwestern is the traditional homecoming rival and once more we'll hear the all familiar Northwestern student chant: "It's all right! It's okay! You will work for us one day!" I've never worked for a Northwestern graduate and I don't know many Purdue grads that have. And with a continued offensive improvement and a strong defensive effort, Purdue will beat Northwestern and avoid the dreaded Motor City Bowl selection.
Yes, Purdue is "bowl eligible" after beating the Iowa Hawkeyes 31-6 last Saturday. After a non-existent offensive performance the past two weeks, Curtis Painter coordinated a balanced attack accumulating 315 yards passing and 116 yards of rushing. More importantly, Coach Tiller pointed out four scoring drives of over 12 plays each. This type of offense, especially against a Hawkeye defense touted as one of the best in the conference, is more than a footnote. Returning to his running back position with an arm cast was Jaycen Taylor. Allegedly "lost" for the season after breaking his wrist September 15 against Central Michigan, Taylor showed his competitiveness and desire to return defying medical prognosticators. Taylor's 19-carries-for-67-yard performance returns another scoring threat to the Boilermaker offense.
Iowa's slow bus ride home was made more unbearable by Purdue's defense. Any doubts of this year's defensive unit after last year's season is gone. The chemistry is good, it's not a fluke. Purdue stopped the Hawkeyes from picking up a first down on six drives, sacked quarterback Jake Christensen five times and held Iowa to 77 yards rushing.
The question this week is whether or not Purdue can handle Northwestern's spread-offense. It's going to be a handful. Purdue's defensive backfield took some big injuries the past two weeks. Torri Williams was lost for the season in the Michigan game and his replacement Sophomore Brandon Erwin is benched also, after a knee injury in the final minutes of Saturday's game against Iowa. Expect Northwestern to go to the air often. C.J. Bacher is an experienced quarterback. His "big play" potential is high. Ask Eastern Michigan who held a close game to Northwestern last week until Bacher hooked up Kim Thompson with a 71 yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter. Northwestern also has an acclaimed running back in Tyrell Sutton. Sutton returned to the line up last weekend after an injury. His performance against Eastern Michigan wasn't what was expected. On defense, Northwestern has had its challenges. Wildcats fans complain about a lack of pass rush. Sound familiar?
It's been a few years since I've been in a Heavilon Hall classroom but I do remember Thomas Wolfe's character George Webber in "You Can't Go Home Again" is a man in search of an identity after essentially being booted from his hometown. Purdue's football team is a lot like that George Webber character. The Boilermakers are a team that's been ridiculed the last couple of years. But now, this team is still seeking a monicker of their own. This year's team identity will be written in the coming weeks. Is this a team who beats who they typically beat and lose to the big two or three teams in the conference? The Boilermakers are bowl eligible but there is a fair number of Big Ten teams who will also become eligible in the coming weeks...possibly at the carelessness of the Boilermakers. The question remains...is this a 9-2 team or just another season where we could've had it all but couldn't beat the ranked teams.
Boiler Up fans and alumni! This game is on the Big Ten Network at Noon. It's all right! It's Okay! It's Northwestern any way! Beat the Wildcats.
Bar Refaeli
Alison Preston
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2009 Turkeys Of The Year
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