Yardbarker: Kory Sheets

Rookies Report to Minicamp

Fri, 01 May 2009 19:01:29 -0500

All seven of the 49ers recent draft picks report to rookie minicamp this weekend. Mike Singletary and company will get their first chance to see what the new rookies are made of. Everyone but WR Michael Crabtree who is out with a fractured left foot will participate in drills. Mostly the new 49er players will be learning the playbook on either offense or defense. Mandatory minicamp for the team is June 5-7. The 49ers signed 12 rookie free agents Thursday and they will also participant in minicamp this weekend: QB Kirby Freeman, Baylor, RB Kory Sheets, Purdue, WR Dobson Collins, Gardner-Webb, C/G Mathew Huners, S. Florida, G Kyle Howard, Wyoming, OT Alex Boone, Ohio State, DE Pannel Egboh, Stanford, DE Khalif Mitchell, East Carolina, LB Diyral Biggs, Bowling Green, CB Terrail Lambert, Notre Dame, CB Carlos Thomas, S. Carolina, CB Jahi Word-Daniels, Georgia Tech.

49ers Sign UDFA RB Kory Sheets

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 22:46:07 -0500

A source has told Scout.com that Purdue running back Kory Sheets has agreed to terms with the San Francisco 49ers. The talented running back scored...

UDFA Agreements Reached

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 21:48:37 -0500

The following UDFA has been confirmed as reaching agreements with the 49ers. McCloughan said he would like to bring in 8-12 free agents. Purdue RB Kory Sheets Ohio State OT Alex Boone Georgia Tech CB Jahi Word-Daniels Stanford DE Pannel Egboh South Carolina CB Carlos Thomas

Signing Day Thoughts

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 18:20:43 -0500

Signing day is over and done with and there were no last minute losses like last year. Everyone is on board, with the one surprise being a project with a major upside. Needless to say, that?s not the surprise we expected. The major targets we had our eyes on at the end all went elsewhere, most notably Michael Buchanan. As expected, this was the worst recruiting class in the Big Ten if you follow the recruiting sites.

Positives of this class:

Speed ? It may take awhile for some of these guys to get to the field, but the fact many of them have blazing speed will get them there faster. Antavian Edison, Ishmael Aristide, Eric William, Josh Johnson and Al-Terek McBurse are all burners that could get on the field early because of the speed factor alone. Johnson, Edison, and Aristide are each listed as athletes, so it remains to be seen what position they will end up in. I would like to see one of them develop into a kick/punt returner. We haven?t had a decent punt returner since Anthony Chambers left and the kick return game struggled this year after being a major strength in 2008.

Defensive line depth ? The Big Ten is always going to be a conference with strong running games. That was blatant this year when Kory Sheets had one of the best rushing seasons in school history, yet he might have been the fifth best back in the league. Because of that, strength and size among the defensive line will always be important. Antwon Higgs, Eric McDaniel, surprise Kevin Pamphile looks to be good pickups. Pamphile is interesting. He has a ton of upside, but it will be awhile before we see it since he has barely played football.

Quarterbacking ? I like Rob Henry. It looks like he is very mobile and has an excellent arm. Najee Tyler could be a sleeper as well. Neither of these players will likely play for a couple of years because we do have some experience at the position. Joey Elliott will be in line to start with Justin Siller being right there. Siller has three years left too. Henry and Tyler will likely battle Caleb TerBush for third string duties. It is a good thing these guys will have a chance to develop for a few years rather than play right away.

Negatives of this class:

Linebackers ? Shouldn?t this have been a position of need? All we heard about last year was how thin we were there. We never did develop depth, and Anthony Heygood is gone. We clearly can?t rely on Jason Werner to ever be healthy, so in a way matters are worse now. I realize that most of our top targets here went elsewhere, but certainly we could have gotten someone. The only linebackers we got were Antwon Higgs and Dwayne Beckford, but he was a holdover from last year. My original thoughts on the Beckford situation can be found here, and I still believe he was delayed because the high school screwed up in submitting the paperwork and Purdue screwed up in assuming everything would be fine.

It is just disturbing that we didn?t make this area more of a focus in recruiting. Linebackers are an even bigger key to big Ten defenses than the defensive line. Our defense has been terrible for years now and the glaring deficiency has been at the linebacker position. Until this area improves dramatically we will continue to struggle. Unfortunately, that improvement still looks to be a year away.

At least Higgs is already on campus and will be participating in spring football. That gives him a huge boost towards contributing right away.

Star Power ? This is what everyone initially measures classes on and our performed horribly. We were last in the Big Ten and in the bottom half nationally. We got out-recruited by football powers such as Indiana and Duke. Yes this is a strong Florida class. Some would argue, as Boiled Sports pointed out, that a Florida 2 star is as good or better than an Indiana 3 star. That remains to be seen. The bottom line is that we will rely on a number of guys to contribute in 2009 that would probably redshirt if things were better. This can be feast or famine. It can hinder their development or it can cause them to grow up in a hurry and make them great players in 2-3 years. Because so many guys will play early things could be very bright? in 2011.

Recruiting is a crapshoot and ratings often mean nothing. A trained ape could recruit four and five star talent to Notre Dame, but they haven?t been a legitimate threat to win anything of note for decades. Coaching makes a huge difference, and unfortunately that is a huge question mark for us too. I do like that we went in the direction of Florida and solidified recruiting lines by getting Gary Nord as our offensive coordinator.

The only reason I think 2009 can mark a return to a bowl game is that we play a weakened schedule. If we beat the two MAC teams at home and beat another overhyped Notre Dame team we suddenly need just three conference wins. As weak as the Big Ten is, we can get those. Getting these guys to surprise will be key to that, however.

If you listen to the party line every two star kid is a sleeper or a diamond in the rough. There are enough positives with many of these kids to thinks that is partially true. Some players like Ishmael Aristide suffered injuries that forced them to miss a good portion of their senior years. That would have likely led to a higher ranking. We?ve had our most success with classes like this one, so we had better hope it comes through again.

Offensive Line ? A key issue last season was depth on the offensive line, especially once injuries began to mount up. Only Trevor Foy and Justin Kitchens appear to be recruited as linemen, and as usual they are likely headed for a redshirt year to gain weight and experience. That means no immediate help and we have to rely on last year?s redshirts to come in and provide depth. This is disturbing because coach Hope is an offensive line guy. He built our great Rose Bowl line and has sent many guys to the NFL. Will there be enough improvement among those players already here to make a difference?

Final Thoughts

Obviously, this is a developmental class. It?s true measure won?t be known for a couple of years yet. The key to our current struggle is that we are still waiting on classes to develop as far back as 2006. You cannot make headway in a conference like the Big Ten when that happens. We?ve dipped into a vicious recruiting cycle where results on the field have produced subpar classes, so results on the field then get worse. There has to be a breakout with one subpar class to get things looking better again. The 2009 class has the potential to be that group, but only if the players we ask to play this coming season can make a difference.

It's not a gay thing, it's a dominance thing

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 23:28:37 -0500

I had figured that Purdue would win today. With the emotion of coach Tiller's final game and everything else I thought the Boilers would win, and win comfortably.

62-10.

We took the bucket back by force. I thank my friend Greg (ironically, an IU grad) for the title of this entry. He came up with that phrase to put prison rape in a better light. Personally, I don't think there is a good light for prison rape. It is essentially what we did to the Indiana University football team today.

This was probably more dominating than the 63-20 effort four years ago that cost Gerry DiNardo his job. In that game we still had mistakes. We dropped at least two sure touchdowns and had a couple of turnovers, one a fumble returned for a score. DiNardo was fired after that game, mostly as a direct result of it. With that precedent set, Bill Lynch may want to polish his resume.

Today was essentially a perfect game. Only a big return that set up a field goal. A meaningless late touchdown was the second of two very slight blemishes. I am giving the offense an 11 for 11 for the day. The final drive of the game would have been a score if we were even interested in scoring.

The Hoosier Report wasted no time today in calling this the worst loss in the history of Indiana football. That is saying something. As you see in John's entry, the Hoosiers have a number of losses by 50 or more, but today was the only time one has come to a team that finished with a losing record. While I do think we ran the score up a bit (we had no business throwing even once in the fourth quarter), Indiana fans should be embarrassed by the effort the Hoosiers put forth. They simply rolled over and died. They never even showed interest in stopping our offense, and their offensive game plan seemed to consist of letting Kellen Lewis run for his life and hope someone got open to throw to. They were awful even by Indiana's standards.

There is no need to even break this game down into positives and negatives. Everything was a positive. The only slight negative was the kick coverage on the big return by Thigpen. Even then, the defense quashed the small ray of hope it set up and surrendered just a field goal. Everyone played well, but here are the standouts:

Curtis Painter a?" Allow me to say this: WHERE IN THE HELL WAS THAT ALL YEAR! This is the Curtis Painter that everyone expected. If this is the Curtis Painter we could have gotten all year we'd probably be sitting at 8-4 tight now instead of the opposite. It was refreshing to see Curtis end his career on a very positive note. Injuries obviously hampered him, but most of the year he simply didn't perform. Without injiry, I think we beat Minnesota (who has showed no interest in playing the second half of the year) and a completely healthy Painter might give us a chance at Michigan State. I hope he can shake this year off and have a successful pro career now if given the chance. He even threw the deep ball very well.

Keith Smith a?" Is anyone else excited about getting this guy back for two more years? He has found a home in the slot. He is strong too, and gives us a Dustin Keller-like presence at the slot receiver position. He's only going to get better too. I wasn't so much impressed by his catches today, but by the number of yards he gained after the catch and after contact. When he was tackled, he was moving the pyle forward. That's the sign of a physical receiver.

Desmond Tardy a?" Dez was just one of many seniors that shined today. He even did a great job on the throw back to Painter. I love how everyone saw that pay developing when Dierking went in motion except for the Indiana defense. It was our predictable offense, but IU's putrid defense still fell for it.

Aaron Valentin a?" Like Smith, I am glad that Valentin is coming back next year. He gave us a big play threat today, and nearly broke Indiana's spirit with a kickoff return for a score. He ended up finishing just a yard short of being our third receiver with 100 yards today, joining Smith and Tardy.

Kory Sheets a?" I think I will miss this guy the most of all. He has been a pleasure to watch for four years. Some questioned whether he could handle being the sole featured back this year with his fumbling problems. He responded by having just one fumble all year. That's amazing. He leaves Purdue with 54 career touchdowns. That leaves him second on the all-time scoring least behind Travis Dorsch. He easily owns the career touchdowns mark, which will probably stay there for awhile. For good measure, he broke the single season rushing touchdown mark today too with 16. For some more numbers, Kory passed Otis Armstrong for the second most rushing yards in school history. This season was also the fourth best season yardage-wise by a Purdue back ever. As a result, I may be forced to retire my well-loved #24 jersey from the rotation. Let the debate officially begin between him and Mike Alstott

For the record, I give Alstott a slight edge. He was handicapped by having Jim Colletto as a coach, 11 game seasons, no bowls, and he only played extensively for three years.

Torri Williams a?" I heard chants of, "One more year" for Torri in the stands today. If this was his last game, I am glad it was a good one. First off, he completed a season without missing any time due to injury. Second, he had a pick and topped us with seven tackles. He damn near recovered a fumble too.

Ryan Baker a?" I have to mention Baker for coming into the stands not on the student side, but on the west side and shouting thank you to all in attendance. Mr. Baker, thank you for wearing black and gold. Thank you for your dedication and determination in defining the spirit of the Boilermakers. He was an appropriate voice for the players today in saying goodbye.

Brandon Whittington a?" I wanted to single out Brandon because it was nice to see him finally catch a touchdown pass. He did a great job of getting the foot down on a difficult catch too.

The Fans a?" Much was made about the team not quitting late in the season, but the crowd was into it today despite two 3-8 teams playing. We saw three "inflatable" sightings and with the offense rolling the fans hid their discontent well. There was no booing of Tiller or the players. Many fans also stayed around for the ceremony on the field honoring coach Tiller. Hopefully their patience will be rewarded next season. We avoided acting like classy Notre Dame fans too. It seems like the program that has "the richest tradition in college football" could learn from an inferior 4-8 team about how to handle a loss.

Coach Tiller a?" I thanked coach Tiller earlier this week, but it seemed like he really had some fun today. He tried some new things and went out guns blazing like the Cowboy Joe of old. I think if I ever am in Buffalo, Wyoming I may just look him up in the phone book and stop by for some coffee.

Where do we go from here:

Regardless of how the rest of the season turned out, this was the perfect ending. Joe got a final win at Ross-Ade in convincing fashion. The seniors got the Bucket back and all performed well in a woodshed beating of a rival. Notre Dame also suffered an embarassing loss, though it makes me even more ashamed we lost to that team.

I can't help but ask where this was all year. Is Indiana really that bad that our worst team in years is 52 points better than them? I know the Hoosiers were awful today, but can they be so awful as to make us look that good? I think it was a little of both. We were a better team than we showed most of the year, and that manifested itself today. I think injuries were teh biggest factor. Our front line guys were plenty good, but we simply didn't have the developed depth to recover against a tough schedule. As a result, things really could have been better this season if today's team had showed up at other times.

If today's team shows up I think Oregon, Iowa, Michigan State and Minnesota become wins. If the offense specifically shows up, Penn State and Ohio State can become wins too. Notre Dame and Northwestern were also two of our worst efforts, so those could have changed as well. Right now I am embarrassed that we lost in South Bend after a godawful Syracuse team waltzed in there today and won. It's nice to see Notre Dame has turned a corner and run right into a wall.

There is also plenty to build on next year. Justin Siller will get better if he wants to put the work in during this offseason. The defense actually played quite well for most of the season and only some particularly ugly efforts in games like Notre Dame and Iowa offset the stats. Most of those starters come back and should get better. There are some offensive playmakers to build around in Jaycen Taylor, Keith Smith, and Aaron Valentin.

The biggest key will be avoiding injuries. Since most of the offensive line was hurt from spring practice on we never had a chance to build anything there. If the line struggles, the team will struggle. Our new head coach specializes in building offensive lines though. A quick turnaround and return to a bowl game can happen if that offensive line can come together.

A quick look at the schedule shows the potential for six wins. Toledo, Northern Illinois and Indiana have to be three of them. At least a split between Oregon and Notre Dame is a reasonable goal, and that would give us four. Northwestern might take a step back, and both Illinois and Michigan State haven't convinced me they will be world beaters despite having good recruiting classes. Wisconsin is an enigma coming off a season in which they were lucky to get seven wins. Michigan needs drastic improvement too. I think it will be a season much like this one (at least when we saw it in the future) in that we won't be totally out of a lot of games, but there aren't many guaranteed wins.

In the mean time though, I am glad we have a positive note after such a bad year. The Bucket is back where it belongs, and I was back where I belong after the game as shown. At Harry's I toasted a Long Island to getting the Bucket back, to Joe Tiller's career, and to the fact it is absolutely impossible not to smile in Harry's.

Bucket or Bust

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 20:38:12 -0500

In my Know thy Team series from this summer I mentioned a very far-fetched scenario. On the quarterbacks' entry, I mentioned how scout team quarterback Chris Bennett and incoming freshman Caleb TerBush would only see the field in an absolute disaster.

Both quarterbacks were warming up in the second quarter. When Justin Siller was hobbling around after getting knocked around all day one of them came close to actually going into the game. A position that has been this team's strength in every season under Joe Tiller (save 2001) has been a glaring weakness all year. We have a 10,000 yard passer that is injured and has been benched for two different guys. The weakness of the position showed itself as we easily had our worst day throwing the ball since Jim Colletto roamed the sidelines. Being down to our third string quarterback, who was far from prepared after a questionable move to running back earlier, any kind of a passing game was eliminated. The offense did nothing, and another great effort by the defense was wasted.

I said it after the Notre Dame game, but this season is now over. It would take a four game winning streak just to get marginally bowl eligible now. Even if that miracle did happen there is no guarantee of a spot being open for us. We're playing for pride now. We need to win the bucket back in the game's final season and begin building for next year.

Positives from the Penn State game:

The defense a?" Basically, we win this game 6-3 if not for two huge plays that gave the Gophers nearly a third of their yards and set up both touchdowns. On the first, Weber made a great throw (aided by a missed blatant hold) and Brandon Green had a good run after the catch. The second was Weber making a back-breaking run that finished the game with a final touchdown. We had a couple of chances to get a stop on that drive and get the ball back only down four. Weber was the best offensive player on the field today.

The rest of the time Minnesota got nothing. Even the field goal was set up by a defensive play that gave them a short field. Eskridge was contained so much that we shockingly stopped a couple of running back screens. We held the Big Ten's leading receiver to 50 yards below his season average. You can't ask for more from this group, but they need offensive help. I still maintain that there is no reason we should lose any game that we hold a team to 20 points or fewer without it being the fault of the offense. Maybe Brock Spack deserves to stay a little longer after all.

Justin Siller a?" He is still very raw. He needs some coaching and he was holding on to the ball way too long any time he looked down field. Still, it was exciting to see he had an elusiveness we have sorely needed from the position. I don't know how badly Painter was hurt, but when we needed to pass late he was probably the better option (if healthy). Earlier though Siller was moving the team until Minnesota adjusted. I was really hoping he would do some spread option stuff with Sheets and Bolden combined. That would have been fun. I think it would actually have been nice if he had stayed at QB this year and learned even mroe backing up Elliott next year. He is obviously the future, but we will have some growing pains and we may have to have him play through them.
Kory Sheets and Ralph Bolden a?" Sheets obviously played more than Bolden, but both did very well when they were in there. Credit should be given to the Minnesota defense. They knew we couldn't pass the ball in the second half and adjusted accordingly. As a result, they met Sheets any time he had the ball. Still, Kory's first fumble of the year came at the absolute wrong time.

Jeff Lindsay a?" Something needs to be said for the way he fought for that first down in the fourth quarter. It's too bad we followed it with a missed field goal.

Negatives from the Minnesota game:

Turnovers a?" We experienced a rarity in that Weber threw an interception, but our turnovers were far worse. The first interception was not Painter's fault. Whitest had the first down but couldn't corral the catch. It, along with both fumbles, came at the worst time. They only resulted in three points for the Gophers, but they all came as we were on good drives of our own. Unfortunately, this is just the mark of a bad football team. We hurt ourselves just when we're beginning to do something good.
Preparation a?" It was obvious today that Siller has the tools to be a very good quarterback some day. This means he should never have been moved to running back. Ralph Bolden has emerged as a good player in that regard. Siller lost two months of preparation at the position, and struggled throwing the ball today. It's almost like no one imagined he would actually have to play the position. He did very well running the ball, but once Minnesota played to stop the run he was ill-prepared to throw.

Ona related note, how can we have unprepared backup QB's at a school known for the position?

The officials a?" It was obvious we didn't have the A crew from the Big Ten. It wasn't so much some missed calls, as only one in the aforementioned missed hold actually hurt. The officials never seemed to have control of what became a very feisty game. I am not one to call a team a "dirty team", but there were a few instances where Minnesota players went a little far today. The officials never seemed to discourage this and it felt like something was brewing the whole game.

Minnesota fans a?" I've been to several Minnesota-Purdue games in West Lafayette and even one in Minneapolis. From my experience, they have been some of the most cordial fans in the entire conference. Not today. There was one fan in particular that was in my section that was openly confrontational with the Purdue fans around him. At one point he actually was yelling for the Gophers to hit Painter in the arm again and knock him out of the game after he came back. This was absolutely uncalled for.

Purdue fans a?" Speaking of poor fans, we need to be held accountable for booing a hurt Minnesota player as he was hurt. We also had no need to boo Painter after he came back. I gained a new measure of respect Painter when he tried to fight through that injury. He deserved to be cheered for at least giving it a shot. I now have no question about his effort anymore.

Final thoughts:

Is this rock bottom? It's the same story every week. We let a winnable game slip away because of our mistakes. For the third time in four weeks the defense played well enough to win, but we couldn't even get across the 15 yard line, let alone score a touchdown. Now we are in dead last place in the Big Ten. We are the only team in the conference without a conference win and we face a game next week where the loser will be the first Big Ten team officially eliminated from postseason consideration.

I'm not quitting though. I said I would not quit believing we can do something until we're mathematically eliminated. We can beat Michigan. The defense is good enough to limit Michigan State and Iowa, meaning we need to find some offense somehow. I still think we'll win again Indiana too. It is highly improbable at this point, but I won't give up.

We just need to concentrate on Michigan and Michigan alone this week. If we cannot beat the Wolverines this year we probably won't be beating them for some time. All we need is one thing, one game to give us some positive momentum and we can start turning thing around. The seniors deserve better. Tiller himself deserves better. I keep hoping we'll come out and play with some pride to get a win. That can happen this week.

Unfortunately, we're just a bad, bad football team now. The in-game coaching wasn't bad today, but injuries and general poor play cost us. It's really a perfect storm of injuries, lack of talent, underperforming talent, and coaching at this point. We can overcome some of those for a time, but we haven't overcome all of them except for maybe the first half of the Oregon game.

At least now we know that a loss next week means we can start building for next year. I already have in a way. I took advantage of the Follett's 25% homecoming offer and purchased a Jaycen Taylor jersey because I knew it would get some good use next year. It joins my Kory Sheets and David Pender jerseys in the closet.

If this entry seems disjointed it is because I really don't know what else I can say at this point. I find myself paying more attention to Miami since I am going down there for a game in two and a half weeks and preparing for basketball season. Since that officially starts Friday night it is appropriate that football's hopes will likely officially end on Saturday.

Week 8 Big Ten preview

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:55:34 -0500

You could almost look at this week in the Big Ten as a moving week. The three teams in the most danger of missing the postseason all face must-win games, especially Purdue and Michigan. Both are underdogs in games against teams they have owned over the past 10 years. Since the two face each other in two weeks, a loss this week by both guarantees someone will have six losses and be on the brink of postseason elimination after that game. Indiana, the third team in that equation, desperately needs a win. In doing so, they would seriously hurt an Illinois team that saw its own postseason hopes endangered by the Minnesota loss last week.

The Iowa game against Wisconsin is also very similar. Both teams have three losses already, and a fourth loss by either would put a lot of pressure on the remainder of the season based on who each team must still play. The Ohio State at Michigan State game is different in that the winner will emerge as Penn State's main challenger to the Big Ten title. The loser would still have a chance since Penn State would remain on the schedule, but they would need help. At this point only these three teams have a good chance at the championship, but Minnesota and Northwestern could be right there if they continue to win and there are some upsets.

Purdue (2-4, 0-2) at Northwestern (5-1, 1-1) Noon, ESPN2

Even though we're 2-4, I feel our entire season rests on this game. Win, and we can still make a bowl game by winning all our remaining home games. Lose, and we must beat a very good Michigan State team on the road or win at Iowa for the first time since 1992 in order to play somewhere. It is not the season we had hoped it was, but as long as our effort is there that's okay, right?

I am encouraged that Northwestern's offense has struggled for most of the year. At 5-1 the Wildcats still have issues that most 5-1 teams don't have. They also aren't ranked, which at this point would automatically make me favor them because of how big of an issue our streak against ranked teams has become. We're due, long overdue in fact, for a breakout performance by this offense. It is so much better than we have played so far. I say Kory Sheets cracks the century mark and we get a much needed win. An important thing to remember is that Bacher has thrown eight interceptions this year and we got him four times a year ago in West Lafayette. If he does that again we win by an even larger margin. Purdue 24, Northwestern 20

Wisconsin (3-3, 0-3) at Iowa (4-3, 1-2) Noon, Big Ten Network

I question whether the loser of this game will make it to bowl eligibility. Iowa still must play Penn State, Minnesota, Illinois, and Purdue who could all beat them. Wisconsin still has Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan State as possible losses. Iowa probably needs it more, but not by much at this point. The Hawkeyes should be in a better position after losing three very close games. They have a solid running game that rolled over Indiana last week, taking the pressure off of the quarterback. The defense hasn't been bad either. They just been a little short in all there losses.

Wisconsin seems to be regressing severely since cracking the top 10 after beating Fresno State. The Michigan loss looks awful now. The loss to Ohio state was a tough one, but the Penn State one was flat out embarrassing. Even Purdue wouldn't have crapped the bed that badly in a nationally televised night game. Even when we did against Notre Dame in 2005 we got some second half cosmetic scores that made it look better. Iowa is still a good team at home, so I'll give them the edge here. Iowa 17, Wisconsin 14

#12 Ohio State (6-1, 3-0) at #20 Michigan State (6-1, 3-0) 3:30pm ABC

This should be a whale of a game. If Michigan State is for real it will finish what Wisconsin couldn't two weeks ago. Ohio State is probably lucky to be 6-1 when its not outside the realm of possibility it could be 3-4. They escaped a trap against Ohio, pulled out a last minute win at Wisconsin, and would have been in trouble last week if our offense had actually boarded the bus and went to Columbus instead of staying behind in West Lafayette. Still, there is little to complain about when they are 6-1 and in the national title discussion.

Both teams have reached this point in similar fashion. Both have a "good" loss to a very good Pac-10 team in its home stadium. Both have had some unexpected close calls in conference play with Iowa for MSU and Purdue for OSU. Both had a defensively dominated game against a lesser opponent that hung around at home (Florida Atlantic for MSU and Ohio for OSU). Both have an incredibly talented if not Heisman worthy running back that can change a game. Fans of change will want Michigan State to win after the way OSU has dominated the Big Ten in recent years. They have dominated for a reason though. They are the class of this conference until someone physically takes it from them. If it doesn't happen this week or next week against Penn State it won't happen his year.

Right now Michigan State's defense is playing well while the offense is more consistent. That's enough of an edge for me to pick them. Michigan State 20, Ohio State 13

Michigan (2-4, 1-1) at #3 Penn State (7-0, 3-0) 4:30pm ESPN

This is either going to be a bloodbath or a day of record sales of Yuengling in Central Pennsylvania. Since coming to the Big Ten Michigan has simply own Penn State. A year ago the Nittany Lions appeared poised to end their long streak of losses only to go more conservative than a Republican minister offensively in a loss in Ann Arbor. Penn State's defense is good enough, and Michigan's offense is bad enough, for this year to be different even if Penn State goes close to the vest again. If the Nittany Lions play like they did last year this could be the most dominant 9-0, all field goal win in history.

If Penn State is the all-dominant team they have appeared to be so far on the season they should have little trouble this week. I thought Michigan wouldn't have any trouble last week and that was obviously not the case. The defense is actually pretty good. It has had some seriously good moments, but at this point the offense is so bad that it needs to pitch shutouts in order to have a chance. That won't happen this week. Penn State 38, Michigan 10

Indiana (2-4, 0-3) at Illinois (3-3, 1-2) 8pm Big Ten Network

I am actually hoping that Indiana finds a way to pull this game off. As long as they lose two more games between now and the Bucket game we can make sure they don't go to a bowl. Right now we need as much help as we can get in that department, and that means making other teams not eligible. Illinois still must play Ohio State, Wisconsin, Northwestern, and they have a dangerous trip to Western Michigan. A loss here will put them in danger of missing the postseason like so many others.

Unfortunately, Indiana is playing like the Indiana of old. They can't run the ball, their biggest offensive threat is hurt, and their defense just gave up 45 points and two 100 yard rushers to one of the most anemic offenses in the conference the past few years. Illinois has struggled with its own running game of late, but the passing game has not been a problem. If Illinois doesn't get on track this week it has bigger issues than anyone realizes. Illinois 41, Indiana 14

Quickie National picks:

Miami (FL) 38, Duke 13 - It's absolutely ridiculous that some are picking Duke to win this game. Miami finally asserts some dominance.

#1 Texas 42, #11 Missouri 31 - Missouri's Chase Daniel reminds me a lot of Purdue when we ahd Drew Brees. This is especially true when some say Daniel won't be successful at the next level because he is only 6 feet tall. Ask Mr. Brees what he thinks about that.

#22 Vanderbilt 17, #10 Georgia 13 - Why not?

#4 Oklahoma 45, #16 Kansas 20 - A very good Oklahoma team is pissed off and will vent this week at home.

Time to pay some bills

This brief interlude is to help pay some bills here at Off the Tracks, especially since I just got some Purdue-Michigan State tickets for a few weeks from now. I may need some sunglasses on that sunny day in East Lansing. Good pais can be found at the following site, with a handy buyers guide.

Blog takeover: Lake the Posts

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:24:56 -0500

This is a first for the Big Ten season, but the noted Big Ten blog Lake the Posts contacted me this week with some questions about the Boilers this week, so I responded in turn with some of my own. Those answers should be up either late tonight or early tomorrow over at LTP. Since there appears to be no Big Ten bloggers' roundtable this week and I am covering a game on Friday night, we get an all Northwestern week.

Before we get to the questions though, I wanted to post an opportunity out there for you Boiler fans. Thanks to a little extra income at the moment, I was able to secure some Purdue basketball tickets for the coming season. Because of time and other constraints, I can't go to all of them. I basically did it so I could pick up the games I really wanted to go to (i.e. Duke, Indiana, etc.), and a couple of others. Essentially, I am making the majority of my seats available if anyone is interested. Since most of the season is going to be sold out I am listing them on Ebay, but I am not marking them up as much as other auctions I have seen. The following are the games I have listed. Each has a Buy It Now but the regular auctions start at 99 cents.

Florida Southern

Northern State

Detroit Mercy

Eastern Michigan (NIT round one)

Georgia/Loyola-Chicago (NIT Round two)

Ideally, I want to give these seats up to other Purdue fans, so if you contact me with a decent offer via e-mail I can take down the listing for that game and work something out. Based on what I paid for similar seats for the Northwestern game last year, the tickets have a face value of about $54 per pair per game. According to GBI, they are about 1,000 tickets from selling out the place for the entire season, so there won't be a ton available through Purdue.

I am keeping both Duke and Indiana, so don't ask (I have to have some perks, after all!). If you're interested in Wisconsin or Michigan State though I might be willing to work something out and just take down another game. Again, just feel free to e-mail me and we'll talk.

Lake the Posts takeover

Off the Tracks: Northwestern has lived and died by the spread almost as much as Purdue has, but this year the defense seems to be setting the tone. How concerned are you that they struggled in their first big test of the season last week?

Lake the Posts: If you're implying the defense struggled then you may want to think again. The fact we gave up 37 points is really not a reflection of poor defense, but rather an absolute implosion by our special teams and several key turnovers in our end of the field. Consider this: here are the starting field positions for Michigan State's scoring drives with how they got there in parenthesis. The point is our "D" is legitimate, but our offense is sputtering to say the least. When you lose the field position battle this badly and 3-0 in turnover margin, you lose. Yes our scoring defense marks took a major hit, but this one is on everyone but the "D"

NU 42 - (MSU punt return to 50 leads to 7-0)
NU 25 - (NU fumbles kickoff, MSU FG 10-0)
NU 35 (Bacher throws terrible ball for INT, leads to MSU TD 17-0)
2nd Half
NU 32 (After NU scores to cut it to 24-14, 2 penalties on onside kick
then lead to MSU TD 31-14)

Ugggggggly.

OTT: Do you see Purdue being able to slow down Tyrell Sutton ala Beanie Wells last week, or will he go Armando Allen on us.

LTP: Sutton got dinged in week 4 and sat the second half of the Ohio game. He is clearly not 100%, yet has played like a warrior. He has been a huge part of the offense as he is getting a lot of touches as a receiver, but obviously his rushing production is down. The O-line has been nothing short of phenomenal (our big question mark going into the season) in pass protection, but less then spectacular from an 'opening of holes for Sutton' standpoint. I'm expecting a big game from him, yet your rushing defense has been schizophrenic - either really on (see Ohio State) or really off (see Oregon) (ed. note: It wasn't bad in the first half against Oregon, the more telling is Notre Dame where we turned a team that couldn't gain 2 yards if they fell forward from the line of scrimmage into Navy). So I'm not sure.

OTT: Through six games against lesser competition you had to expect better numbers from Bacher? Do you view him as in a similar funk to Painter? Can he bust out Saturday?

LTP: Bacher has been an enigma, but the Wildcat fandom is starting to squeal about OC Mick McCall. McCall came from Bowling Green this year with all the hype about being a QB guy (Ed. Note: If he was there in 2003 we know all about him). Well, Bacher has gone from Jesse James to game manager, but the 30-yard passes across the field for 3 yard gains are starting to get old. Bacher still makes poor decisions, yet shows flashes of complete rhythm.

The offense has been an unequivocal disappointment to date. If not for the 180-turnaround by Mike Hankwitz with our "D", we'd be 3-3. I can't explain it. ESPN2 commentator Ray Bentley hit the nail on the head by analyzing the inability for us to throw 10+ yards which is essential to opening up our short slant and screen games. A funk, yes. Don't know if he'll snap out of it though.

OTT: Historically Tiller has done very well against Northwestern, with only the windy 2004 game and our own 2005 debacle as blemishes. What is your reasoning behind this?

LTP: Amazing isn't it? The only team we have a losing record against since 1995 in conference aside from the "big three" of Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State is Purdue. I can give you two reasons. Drew Brees and Vinny Sutherland. I still haven't recovered from the 99 yard game winning TD that year. (Ed. note: my sophomore year, what a play!)

OTT: Finally, how do you see Purdue's offense moving the ball against your defense after struggling the last two weeks?

I love our pass rush. We've racked up more sacks already then all of last year. I'm more concerned about Kory Sheets than the pass offense as we can tee-up on passing so it seems. Despite Painter's funk, he is an incredible talent, but amazingly we have confidence in our "D". Don't have confidence we won't mess up on special teams or turn it over, but feel pretty good about our "D".

IBB Report Card: Purdue

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:08:11 -0500

What a difference a good week of practice can provide a team. After trailing the Boilermakers 14-7, the Irish put it another gear outscoring their intra-state rivals 31-7 the rest of the day. More importantly, though, is the Irish got the confidence running the ball effectively to a tune of 201 yards.

Season over

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 21:44:59 -0500

It's not even over as I write this, but this is the most embarrassing loss under Joe Tiller. The statistics tell the story.

Notre Dame came in as one of the worst rushing teams in the nation again, not even averaging 80 yards per game. We gave up 201 yards, including 134 to Armando Allen.

Jimmy Clausen had a career best 275 yards and three touchdowns. He had two picks in each game so far. We didn't get a pick, and rarely got defensive pressure. I'll give credit where credit is due. Jimmy Montana played a great game, but our defense showed no interest whatsoever in wanting to play the third quarter.

Notre Dame was susceptible to the run. After Kory Sheets' early touchdown run we completely went away from the running game. Once down 14 points, we went back to it for a few plays and Kory gashed them. It seems to me that is this is working,a nd has for four games now, we might want to go to it again.

Kickoff returns were a strength. On most returns it was a comedy of errors.

We couldn't afford empty trips into the red zone like two years ago. We missed a short field goal and went for it late when we probably shouldn't have. Three points there might have at least given us a small chance. Notre Dame Answered with a three point drive of its own and it was over.

The one play I alluded to in the preview happened. Painter's ugly pick six undid a lot of good for the senior quarterback. We were leading 7-0 at that point. We had missed a field goal, but survived an ND miss to even things out. The pick tied it, but after coming back down to retake the lead we were outscored 31-7 the rest of the way. We only slowed down the Irish when the game was well in hand at the end.

Brock Spack needs to be fired. Don't even wait to get back to West Lafayette, just fire him in the post game press conference. The offense once again played well enough to win. His defense, however, continued its maddening tendency to not make adjustments or exploit weaknesses. It's like he felt we didn't need to play run defense because they were so bad. Why not play overwhelming run defense and force Clausen to throw 60 times per game? The game has passed Spack by. If he will not make any in game adjustments or even try make other teams adjust to his defenses it is time for him to go.

This season is now for all intents and purposes, over. We will not beat Penn State. We will not beat Ohio State. In two weeks, we will be 2-4 needing to go 5-1 in the second half just to assure a bowl game. That will not happen. Michigan will run wild on us after shocking Wisconsin today. Tyrell Sutton will gash us because we won't adjust to Northwestern's running game. Javon Ringer could possibly break LaDanian Tomlinson's single game rushing record against us. That is 406 yards for those of you scoring at home. Even Indiana will run for over 200 yards.

It is not even the fact that we lost to Notre Dame. I can accept that as the Irish played a nearly perfect game offensively. It is the method in which it happened. There is absolutely no excuse for things that have been glaring weaknesses for at least 15 consecutive games to become overwhelming strengths. More examples:

We knew Notre Dame was vulnerable against the run. We ran 17 times and passed 55 times. That was with the game being within reach for the majority of time. It's not like we fell behind early and had to pass, pass, pass to catch up. Kory Sheets ran for almost 7 yards a carry, yet he only rushed the ball 13 times and less than 10 in the first half when we led most of the way? WTF?

It led to only three points, but we got absolutely hosed on a play that even the receiver didn't think he came up with the catch. At that point there was still the smallest of chances. A stop there meant it was a two possession game. With the way the offense was moving we still had time for two scores. The catch let Notre Dame get enough for a field goal, and it was game over from there.

The fact the Irish even made a field goal is the final insult. It was Notre Dame's first made field goal of the year.

Now, matters are worse. We lost one of best defensive players in Frank Duong to a knee injury that certainly did not sound good. We also may have lost Kory Sheets for awhile too. When he went off the field late in the game favoring his shoulder it looked like he could be out for an extensive amount of time.

Sheets, Tardy, and Painter (if you take away the interception) played very well. Painter was spreading the ball around as he should. Sheets was elusive when we gave him the ball (which wasn't enough) and Tardy was fantastic after the catch. Those are the only positive from this game.

Still, this coaching staff needs a drastic attitude adjustment. The "good" rushing team should never have 17 attempts when the "abysmal" rushing team has 40. That is what happened today. That lies strictly on the shoulders of the coaching staff. It is like they are trying to force Painter's Heisman candidacy and record breaking attempts instead of doing what will help this team win football games. Against Oregon we ran a freaking no-huddle instead of running clock with the lead against a ranked team. These coaching decisions aren't even questionable anymore. They are downright absurd.

Barring a drastic turnaround defensively, this season is all but over. We cannot stop even the worst rushing teams from running the ball down our throats. We are not generating a pass rush even against a team that doesn't have a strong offensive line. We should be absolutely embarrassed with our second half effort this week after being able to play good second halves in all three games before this. We succeeded only in making Jimmy Clausen looks like Joe Montana and Armando Allen look like Marcus Allen.

We might find two or three wins the rest of the way, but five in order to assure a bowl game? I don't think so.

Big Ten week 5 preview

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 21:52:04 -0500

I continue to kick some severe ass in the Big Ten bloggers' pick 'em standings, but I admit that the games have been easy to pick so far. That changes this week as everyone but Purdue opens up conference play. About the only thing I can pick with 100% confidence is that Purdue will be all by itself in 6th place come Sunday morning. Most of the games have clear favorites, but I get the sense we're in for one of the more interesting conference races in years since the Michigan-Ohio State game likely won't decide the conference champion.

Purdue (2-1) at Notre Dame (2-1) 3:30pm NBC

If Purdue plays a perfect game, or even close to perfect, I think the Boilers will win in South Bend. That is far from a guarantee, however. We are still susceptible to short screen passes and that is what the Irish love to do. Last year we didn't defend the deep ball well and now Golden Tate has emerged as a solid deep threat. Unlike our visits to Ann Arbor, I feel truly cursed in Notre Dame Stadium because of the sheer number of mistakes we make just to cost us the game. At least going to Michigan I know we're going to play like crap and get destroyed.

In 1998 it was two late Drew Brees interceptions when we only needed to run out the clock. In 2000 it was special teams miscues that allowed us to get beaten by a third string QB that eventually became a tight end. In 2002 it was three turnovers returned for touchdowns, including two on consecutive plays. In 2006 it was failing to get points on five trips into Irish territory. When we came up with the rare perfect game we stomped the Irish 48-16 in 2004. That is still one of my favorite games I have ever watched, but I don't expect it this year.

We will know early if Purdue is going to win if they keep Notre Dame's running game under wraps and can defend the short pass. I have confidence in our secondary because we have been able to defend the deep ball fairly well so far. We also must commit to the running game with Kory Sheets. Notre Dame is vulnerable against the run, and Sheets proved last year he can run on them. Like 2004, we need to get a lead early and not let up. That being said, I still need to see it to believe it. Something will happen to give Notre Dame another "luck of the Irish" win over us. Notre Dame 21, Purdue 20

Michigan State (3-1) at Indiana (2-1) Noon, ESPN

Ball State's MarQuale Lewis ran all over the Hoosiers last week. Can you imagine what Jevon Ringer is going to do? It was because of Lewis' effort that Nate Davis had a very efficient game that turned into a blowout. The Ball State defense even pitched a second half shutout, so what is an experienced and talented Spartan defense going to do? It is amazing to see that after one game Indiana's dream season is in serious trouble. Ball State is good, but they still vastly exposed and humiliated the Hoosiers last week.

Michigan State only needs to be concerned about wearing down a great back Ringer. Yes he's at almost 700 yards and has 11 TD's on the year already, but he also has an enormous number of carries. Michigan State probably wants to limit his carries at least somewhat over the next three weeks before a key Ohio State-Michigan-Wisconsin stretch beginning in mid-October. If Indiana comes out and rolls over like it did last year in East Lansing they will be in severe trouble the rest of the year. A loss means they would have to run the table at home (and Wisconsin would likely prevent that) while gathering one win at Minnesota, Illinois, Penn State, or Purdue just to guarantee a bowl game. Michigan State 34, Indiana 21

Northwestern (4-0) at Iowa (3-1) Noon ESPN Classic

This will be an interesting game in terms of Big Ten bowl positioning. Neither team will win the conference, but both will be fighting for one of the last three bowl spots. The only real test either team has faced was Iowa's visit to Pittsburgh last week, which the Hawkeyes nearly passed. Northwestern's offense hasn't put up the numbers that some expected from them, but they are 4-0 for the first time in 46 years so I doubt their fans have much to complain about.

Iowa's offense faces some similar struggles. It put up some big numbers against Maine and FIU, but was bailed out by the defense against Iowa State and couldn't get moving for a game-winning score at Pittsburgh. Northwestern's defense has been surprisingly stout by Wildcat standards, so that should provide an interesting test. Iowa probably needs this game more than Northwestern at the moment. Home games against Wisconsin and Penn State with road trips to Michigan State, Illinois, and even Indiana (a tough out for the Hawkeyes recently) would all be tough if Iowa loses this game. I do think the Hawkeyes can squeeze this one out at home though. Iowa 17, Northwestern 16

Minnesota (4-0) at #13 Ohio State (3-1) Noon Big Ten Network

Am I alone in thinking this game could potentially be a lot closer than expected? Minnesota's offense has had some pretty good moments so far this year. Still, they remind me of Purdue the last two seasons. Yes, they're unbeaten, but this is their first real test. Ohio State isn't playing too well at the moment, but this could be a game like last year's in West Lafayette when they simply asserted dominance based on overall talent.

This will also mark the long-awaited return of Chris Wells to the Ohio State lineup. I didn't think one player would make a difference with the sheer amount of raw talent the Buckeyes possess, but we'll find out if it truly does make a difference. It should also be interesting to see how things open up for Terrelle Pryor at quarterback with Wells beside him. I can think of a lot worse options for teams. Minnesota will probably hang around for a quarter or two, but if Wells is back at full strength the Buckeyes probably won't be challenged. Ohio State 28, Minnesota 13

#9 Wisconsin (3-0) at Michigan (1-2) 3:30 ABC

This has the potential to get ugly. Both teams have had two weeks to prepare for this game. Michigan certainly needed the time more. If it is a matter of practice and repetition the Michigan offense should be much better this week. Still, opening against the prohibitive favorite in the Big Ten is far from the best case scenario. What Michigan needs is a confidence-building win against a weaker opponent, not a top 10 team coming to town with dreams of something larger for its season. Michigan's first four conference games are about as hard as it gets for anyone this year.

The Wisconsin defense has been lights out in the second half of games so far. They have given up just 17 points after halftime. If they lead at the half it is pretty much game over. Michigan will provide a sterner test than Akron or Marshall. They still have a ton of improvement to accomplish before I can pick them here though. Wisconsin 27, Michigan 10.

#22 Illinois (2-1) at #12 Penn State (4-0) 8pm ABC

Illinois needs to pull an upset here if it wants to return to a BCS bowl. Of course, I don't think they deserved to go last year, but I'm sure the athletics departments of all 11 Big Ten Schools will thanks the Rose bowl committee for the extra payday their appearance produced. If Big Ten schools guarantee paydays for the Northern Colorados of the world its about time we got paid a little extra for one member to go take a beating. Illinois can silence a lot of questions by shocking the Nittany Lions.

Unfortunately, Penn State is the one team in the conference that has had absolutely no problems so far. They haven't even fallen into the trap of playing down to their competition. A win this week likely means our next shot at a ranked team will come against a member of the top 10. I definitely want to keep an eye on this on to gauge our chances for next week, especially if we pull off the win in South Bend. Penn State is one of the few Big Ten teams left with a marginal shot at playing for the national championship. They will keep that shot alive, but Illinois proved last year they are not afraid to play in any venue. Penn State 27, Illinois 21.

National games of note:

#8 Alabama at #3 Georgia a?" This week's SEC matchup of top 10 teams should be a pretty good one. Both teams are playing extremely well at the moment, so expect another close one like Last week's Auburn-LSU game. This easily could be a preview of an SEC championship rematch, and even (if everything falls just right) round one of three between the two. Say it is a close game that Alabama loses. Both teams then run the table in a very tough conference and meet in the SEC championship where Alabama turns the tables and wins in a close one. If no one else is unbeaten you can bet there will be a lot of talk about a third game between he two. Georgia 17, Alabama 14

#24 TCU at #2 Oklahoma a?" this game ahs blowout potential. TCU already tripped up Oklahoma at home a few years ago when everyone was ready to hand them the national championship, so you can be the Sooners will not overlook this game again. Oklahoma 35, TCU 14

North Carolina at Miami (FL) a?" I was very impressed by the stomping the Canes put on Texas A&M last week. Next is a team that has given them all kinds of fits since they moved to the ACC. It is also a homecoming for Butch Davis, who is building a very good program at UNC. He was very responsible for Miami's last national title, as he brought in many of the players on that dominant team. If Miami gets past this one, they are a serious threat to win the ACC. Miami 24, North Carolina 17.

Notre Dame vs. Purdue: Tale of the Tape

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 10:25:33 -0500

Non-conference rivals will battle for state bragging rights this weekend, as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish host the Purdue Boilermakers in South Bend.

Notre Dame (2-1) vs. Purdue (2-1): Previewing Tiller's Last Trip to South Bend

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:31:03 -0500

A year ago we remember the match up in which the Irish waited until they trailed, 23-0, before showing any signs of life in West Lafayette. That game was a coming out party of sorts as Golden Tate emerged on the scene with a touchdown on three receptions for over 100 yards receiving. As the story goes, we all remember that it would take until week one of 2008 to hear from Golden in such a way again.

Big rankings for week 4 (plus blogpoll ballot)

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 23:40:48 -0500

Before we begin this wrap I wanted to touch on the events of yesterday evening. Last night was the final game in Yankee Stadium. I have never been a fan of the Yankees. I was raised a Cubs fan and I will die a Cubs fan (making this year a rare happy year in baseball). Still, I have a sense of history. I had a chance to attend a game at Yankee Stadium last summer. I knew I was going to be in New York City on the day of a Yankee game so I got tickets in advance. It was the only day I have ever been in New York. I went strictly as a sports fan visiting one of the great cathedrals of sport. I consider my single visit to be one of the jewels in my crown of sports attendance. It was only a meaningless July game against the blue Jays, but to stand in the same house where so much history was made was almost overwhelming.

It is a shame that we live in an age where money is more important than tradition. The single class Indiana High School basketball tournament, the Miami Orange Bowl, and now Yankee Stadium are all on that list of proud traditions that were lost, but did not need to be lost. I consider myself fortunate to have seen all three. Yankee Stadium, you will be missed. The only way baseball could be sadder is if Fenway and Wrigley (two other parks I have been fortunate enough to visit) go by the wayside as well.

Week 4 Big Ten rankings

11. (11) Michigan (1-2) Results: bye

2002 all over again

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 23:08:25 -0500
It feels like it is 2002 again.

Purdue had one play that would have won the game. We didn't convert.

Oregon had one play to win the game. It converted.

The perception out there already is that this was a sloppy game. The only reason we were in it was because Oregon had five turnovers. We were given tons of chances tow in and couldn't pull it off. CFN's instant analysis even said this was a game no one wanted to win.

I'm sorry, but that's bullshit.

The first half was the best half of football Purdue has played in years. We came out and punched a better team in the mouth. We were in full control of the game for the half. Oregon is a very, very good team, and for 29 minutes we outplayed them in every aspect. Joe was being inventive in playcalling, we were winning the battle on the lines, and our defense was playing out of its mind.

I say 29 minutes, however, because in that final minute we made a huge mistake. The one time we needed Tiller to go conservative on his playcalling and simply run out the clock we got greedy. Painter made a dumb throw and gave Oregon the ball back in field goal range. We held them to that field goal, but those three points were huge. They made a three possession game a two possession game at the break. That meant that one freak play could potentially cut that lead in half.

That one play, ironically, came when we were conservative and should have been aggressive. With the way we were running the ball a half yard would have been an easy gain. A simple Painter sneak would have gotten it done. That would have kept a potential scoring drive alive at a point where another score might have ended it. Instead, we punted on fourth and very short near midfield with a two touchdown lead and immediately gave up a punt return for a touchdown.

I'll give Oregon a ton of credit. While we made them pay for their mistakes early on, they made us pay even more for ours. Even in the end things were almost even there. The points off of turnovers were dead even. Oregon gained a hundred more yards, but it didn't really seem like that much since our defense was making them earn nearly every yard. Oregon never gave up, fought back, and walked out with a win because we made one more mistake than them.

Again, we didn't take advantage of one play to win the game and they did.

Right now I feel sick. I haven't walked out of a Purdue game numb and speechless like this since the 2005 Minnesota game in the Metrodome. I was spent on the drive home today. I had nothing left after doing what little I could to win this game. It feels exactly like 2002 when we had a number of games in the bag, but one little thing prevented it from going home. We could have regained so much respect with just one more play today, but instead it will just look like Oregon escaped a poor performance on the road. There will be no memory of just how hard we made a very good Duck team work for it. I think we earned the respect of a number of Duck fans, as well as any college football fan that watched this game.

But I could care less about respect. I got enough respect in 2002-04. I want to win.

Positives from the Oregon game:

Kory Sheets ? This was, quite simply, his best game as a Boilermaker. Two touchdowns, 180 yards rushing, and it probably could have been more. Our running game was so dominant today that we should have kept running until they stopped us. With a first and goal from the 10 in the first overtime all we needed to do was ram the ball down their throats. We gained more than four yards per carry on these guys. That means three plays and we would have been with a win. Most importantly, Kory held on to the ball.

Playcalling, first half edition ? I thought at first Tiller woke up and thought it was 1997 again. We were under center and running up the middle. We weren't trying to run out of the shotgun. Curtis Painter actually tucked the ball and ran a few times in the right spots. Justin Siller had a fantastic play to set up the second Sheets touchdown. Oregon looked confused and we made them pay for every mistake. All was well until the interception before the half. That was the play that changed the game.

Brandon King ? Another huge play was when he read Roper's pass perfectly. That was a critical point in the game. If Oregon scores a touchdown there they take the lead and probably run away with the game. King's pick was huge and nearly put it in our favor. Special credit needs to be given to the guy that ran him down though. Since we only got a field goal after the play, it saved four points.

Chris Summers ? I know he missed two big kicks, but it is amazing he hit the four he did hit with the way the wind was swirling. I don't know if someone got a hand on the potential game winner at the end of regulation, but he kept us in the game and at least gave us a chance to win. Our fumble in the second OT made sure his final kick was much more difficult, but he didn't miss by much. He also had some very good pints.

The defense ? Has a team ever given up 500 yards and looked good on defense? I think Purdue did today. We answered every challenge with their speed. We made sure this did not become a blowout. Even in that, we forced five turnovers and made several big stops that ended drives or held the Ducks to field goals. Unfortunately, those field goals won it in the end. They were 5 of 18 on third downs and 1 of 4 on fourth downs. We also held them to about a 40% completion rate when they were averaging about 60%.

Frank Duong ? What else can you say about this kid. With his effort and heart, he is the Jaycen Taylor of the defense. His attitude needs to be spread around the entire team. I thought he was done when he was carted off, but he came back and was in it at the end.

The crowd -- The crowd did a great job of staying in the game and keeping the team up today. Even the club section was up and going today. Oregon brought a very good crowd as well, and from what I saw they were some of the nicest visiting fans I have ever seen at Purdue. In the end, everyone was treated to a really, really good game.

Negatives from the Oregon game:

Playcalling, second half edition ? Again, we were conservative at times we needed to be aggressive and vice versa. When we needed to run more and melt the clock, we passed even though the run was working well. We easily could have taken the final two minutes of the first half away by running, but the pick gave them three points. If we run in the first overtime from the ten, we win.

Curtis Painter ? He didn't lose the game for us, but he didn't win it either. He played better than he ahs in past big games, but he needs to do better if we're going to pull one of these out. If he was as good as some have talked him up to be we would have won today. He is almost there, but not quite. I liked the touch he put on the ball that ended up being his second interception, but that was the wrong time for that touch. That play works when the defense (and especially the safety) commits to the blitz and we are able to get a guy behind him. A great example is the Illinois game from 2004 when Orton hit Brandon Jones and Taylor Stubblefield each for a TD on throws like that.

The killer instinct ? I knew at halftime we could have dug an even deeper hole for them, but we weren't able to do it. We let them hang around, and Oregon took advantage. We didn't even need to play a perfect game as we saw. Instead, the little things killed us again. Special Teams was a strength last week, but this week we give up a punt return TD and miss two field goals. We had a chance to step on their throats and we didn't do it.

Final thoughts:

I have no idea where we go from here. Today showed we are more than capable of winning a game against a good team. We haven't even shown that much in the last three seasons. Still, we have to take that next step and do it.

First, we must avoid a very dangerous game against Central Michigan. This has to be a win next week at any cost. Second, we must take advantage of our next chance to win a big game in two weeks at Notre Dame. Even then, no one in the Big Ten looks overwhelmingly good at the moment. There is absolutely no reason we cannot win the rest of our home games, though Penn State will be the most difficult of those five.

I'm not a player on this team. I never have been, nor will I be. We now have two choices. We can learn and correct the little things that prevented us from winning today, or we can fold like we did in 2005. I feel exactly like I did at that moment walking out of the Metrodome. Should we crap the bed at home next week another 6 game losing streak is entirely possible. If we learn from this and play like we showed we can today at times, a 6 game winning streak is possible.