Purdue vs. Middle Tennessee State: A Non Preview Preview

Ricardo Allen getting escorted by Purdue Pete as he crosses the goal line after his 94 yard interception return last season

For the last several years I have used some of the energy that I had in anticipation of the upcoming football game to write a preview. At first it was just my thoughts on the game. Then it morphed into something that almost resembled the weekly packet that the team puts out every week. Then after failing miserably in picking a couple of games I started picking games. If you used my picks for betting purposes I am sorry. They really always were so that I had something down on paper to laugh at after the weekend was over.

College Football Bowl Season Game Notes

During the football season I had a post called game notes every week for whatever game I was attending. Since Purdue is not in a bowl this year I will put out the game notes for games that I won’t be attending. I wanted to post this to finalize my picks for the regular season. I have a sheet of paper with my picks that has just been sitting around for almost a month. It is time to get rid of that paper. I won’t dwell too much on the season in this post. I plan to look back on the Purdue season when the sting from the loss to Indiana wears off. For now let’s just see how I did with my picks this season.

Game Notes: Purdue vs. Indiana

Ryan Kerrigan closing in on the quarterback two years ago

This will likely be my final football game of the year. With Purdue not going to a bowl (unless they allow a 5-7 team into the Little Caesar’s Bowl) I do not have a football game on the schedule in the near future. That seems kind of weird. i love football, and the season is just about over. It seems like it was just September and I had a lot of optimism heading into the Notre Dame game. I even picked the Boilers to win that one. I have made that mistake multiple times since. Early in the season the Boilers were 4-2, and needing just two wins to make a bowl. Well they have not won a game since then, and the bowl hope is now gone. Indiana started the season 3-0,  and have only managed one win since. This game could have been a bowl showdown, but it is not. Who knows how many people will even show up to it? The students will be on Thanksgiving break, and many people are traveling for the holidays. To make matters worse the basketball team who is ranked in the top ten in the country has a game at night in Chicago. 

Game Notes: Northwestern vs. Illinois (Wrigley Field)

The normal red marquee will be purple this Saturday

The people have spoken and I will be going to Wrigley Field this Saturday to see football played at the historic grounds. Here is how the vote went down:

1. Northwestern vs. Illinois (Wrigley) 50%
2. Purdue @ Michigan State 39%
3. Grand Valley State vs. Colorado Mines 7%
4. Ball State vs. Northern Illinois 4%

I think that some felt pity on me, and did not want to see yet another road trip to a Purdue game only to see them get throttled. Early in the season this was the trip I was going to make as I have not seen a football game in East Lansing yet. As the injuries piled up though I decided now may not be the time. Instead I will head to Wrigley Field to see what I think is one of the most unique football games this season. Normally this is where I would make a joke about college football being played at a Minor League stadium, but I am above that this week. Football is not new to Wrigley field. The Bears played over 365 regular season games in the friendly confines. Until 2003 Wrigley had hosted more professional football games than any other stadium. The last time football was played in Wrigley was in 1970 though. You have to go way back to 1938 to find the last college football game played in Wrigley. That game featured Depaul up against St. Louis. Of course neither of those two schools even has a football program now. 

Game Notes: Purdue vs. Michigan

The player that must have haunted Rich Rodriguez for two years

So this is it. The Boilers have three games left with two wins needed to become bowl eligible. They go to Michigan State next weekend so I think that they will have to take care of Michigan this week along with beating the Hoosiers to get their two wins. There is also the chance that they finish out 0-3. I think that the events of this weekend will go a long way in determining how the rest of the season goes. 

Games Notes: Purdue Boilermakers vs. #7 Wisconsin Badgers

We may see this flag a lot on Saturday

Well this post will be tough. The Boilers have lost the last two games by a combined 93-10. They have lost their last two to the Badgers by a combined score of 61-3. That does not inspire great confidence in me as I prepare to head down to West Lafayette. A lot of people are talking about how we were in a similar situation last season with #7 Ohio State coming into town. This is not the same situation. The Purdue team last season had lost some tight games in their tailspin. This team has gotten their butts kicked the last two games, and are showing no signs of coming out of it.