BlogsArmchair Quarterbacking With The Rivalry, Esq - Purdue v. NW
by grahamfiller10
on Jul 2, 2009 2:21 PM CDT
in Purdue
3 comments
Matchup - 2-4 Purdue @ 5-1 Northwestern
Date - October 18, 2008
Game Score and Time - NW 27, Purdue 12, 2:45 mark of the 3rd quarter
Capsule - Northwestern scored three second quarter touchdowns to take a lead, but the game was bogging down into a mix of incomplete passes and punts. The Boilermakers had benched an ineffective Curtis Painter in the second quarter only to watch backup Joey Elliot promptly separate his shoulder. Northwestern had been unable to pressure Painter all day, but a sack on 2nd down forced Purdue into a third and long deep in their own territory.
Down - 3rd and 18, ball rests at the Purdue 10
Play Call - If you follow Purdue football, you already know what happened, but for the rest of us, the situation begs some interesting questions. Do you go conservative and hand the ball off, conceding possession to a Northwestern offense that has been slowed in the second half? Do you put the ball in the hands of Painter, who has already been pulled from the game and doesn't look to be improving? Do you take a chance downfield because hell, you're 2-4 and one more NW score puts the game out of reach? Some relevant stats to consider before deciding...
Purdue's 3rd down conversion % in October 2008? 9th in the conference.
Purdue's 3rd down conversion % during away games? 9th.
Painter's passing percentage up to this point? 15 for 25, sacked once, no picks.
Longest Pass Plays for Purdue at this point in the game? 28 yards, 24 yards.
Quarterback Rating of Purdue's QB's during October? 11th.
Northwestern's Scoring Efficiency so far in this game? 10 possessions, 5 scoring drives.
Discussion of what actually happened in the Comment section...
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Helping Michigan Schedule
by Bama Hawkeye
on Jul 2, 2009 9:09 AM CDT
in Michigan
0 comments
We at The Rivalry, Esq. have always held ourselves out to help any of the Big Ten teams in pursuing their optimal football performance. Yesterday, I posted a quick note referencing a story that Michigan and Georgia were in talks about opening the 2010 season at the newly renovated Big House. Within hours, multiple sources threw cold water on this hot idea. MGoBlog summed up the reasons why a Bulldog visit was unlikely. So, maybe that won't happen.
Remind the Blue that there is no preseason in college football.
But, Michigan will need to open the season against someone. And since the Wolverines have has a difficult time scheduling home openers recently, I put together a list of available BCS conference teams. Details below the jump...
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80 Reasons to Love the Big Ten - Nos. 69-67
by Law Buckeye
on Jul 2, 2009 12:57 AM CDT
in All
0 comments
No. 69 - Going Out with a Bang
That's how we do it in Big Ten Country. On the eve of Minnesota's last game in the Metrodome -- a 55-0 pounding by Iowa -- two fans took the time to consummate the occasion. The Minneapolis Star Tribune describes it best:
While the Iowa Hawkeyes were scoring at will on the field Saturday night, two fans from the Hawkeye State were scoring elsewhere in the Metrodome.
Police say a man and woman were "having relations" in a bathroom stall as a crowd cheered them on.
Ross M. Walsh, 26, of Linden, Iowa, and Lois K. Feldman, 38, of Carroll, Iowa, were cited for misdemeanor indecent conduct. Walsh was released to his girlfriend and Feldman to her husband, police said.
A security guard came upon the scene in the handicapped stall, police said. Police were summoned, and they separated the two.
Both were intoxicated, said University Deputy Police Chief Chuck Miner.
Thanks, Chuck. I wondered about that.
I don't know who I'm more concerned about here, the couple themselves, or the bystanders cheering them on
No. 68 - "Boiler Up"
It's time to light a fire. This freight train of slogan, chanted before kickoff to the beat of locomotive whistle is how Purdue fans get pumped up.
No. 67 - The Snow Bowl
November 25th, 1950 is a date forever enveloped in the myth and mystery of the greatest rivalry in all of sports. That's the day the Men of the Scarlet and Grey suited up to take on Michigan's Wolverines in the most unfriendly of conditions. As the Ohio State University archives describe:
The game was played in the teeth of a full-scale blizzard, five inches of snow on the ground and snow whistling through the air, borne on a 29-mile-per-hour gale. Despite the fact it was the worst blizzard in 37 years in Columbus, the Ohio capital easily defended its title as the football craziest town in the nation. A total of 50,503 persons braved the elements, staying below deck, under the Stadium, until just a few minutes before the kickoff.
Michigan won the game, 9-3, despite never earning a first down and failing on all nine pass attempts. The teams punted 45 times, sometimes on first down.
Everyone over 70 in Columbus claims to have been there. Everyone under 70 wishes they had been.
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Michigan vs. Georgia? Yes, please!
Make this happen. And then make ten other match-ups between the conferences happen too...
2 days ago
Bama Hawkeye
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Football Outside of the Big Ten - The Independents
by Bama Hawkeye
on Jun 30, 2009 1:42 PM CDT
in All
11 comments
From time to time, it's important to look outside the Big Ten and remind ourselves that there is football being played by other teams in other conferences non-affiliated FBS stadiums. The Rivalry, Esq. continues its look at those other conferences institutions with a glance at the Independents. This year, that means focusing on the three last vestiges of rugged American individualism. Seems appropriate that two of them are service academies..
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Top 10 SEC-Big Ten Games of the Last Decade: #1 - Florida v Ohio State, 2007 BCS National Championship Game
And we close our countdown with the game that birthed the SECSPEED myth, the 2007 National Title matchup between Florida and Ohio State. With some assistance from Sam of WWAHT and Year2, Team Speed Kills aptly breaks down the pre-game hype and the fallout from Florida's dismantling of the highly favored Buckeyes.
Here is the final list of all the games...
#1 -- Florida v Ohio State, 2007 BCS Title Game
#2 -- Michigan v Alabama, 2000 Orange Bowl
#3 -- LSU v Illinois, 2002 Sugar Bowl
#4 -- Michigan v Florida, 2008 Capital One Bowl
#5 -- South Carolina v Ohio State, 2002 Outback Bowl
#6 -- Iowa v LSU, 2005 Capital One Bowl
#7 -- Georgia v Purdue, 2000 Outback Bowl
#8 -- Michigan State v Florida, 2000 Citrus Bowl
#9 -- Florida v Iowa, 2006 Outback Bowl
#10 -- Wisconsin v Arkansas, 2007 Capital One Bowl
4 days ago
grahamfiller10
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11 Things I Want To See In the Big 10 During 2009, Part 4 (Shawshank Edition)
by grahamfiller10
on Jun 29, 2009 8:00 AM CDT
in All
0 comments
#2 - I want some fireworks from the passing game
I guess there were relevant reasons for 2008's less than spectacular conference-wide performance in the passing game: Upheaval at the quarterback position, some great running backs, three disappointing veterans (Painter, Lewis, Boeckman)...But my oh my, the only cohesive passing game in the whole damn conference was in Happy Valley. Overall, Big 10 QB's combined for the least number of 2000 yard passers since 2004.
#1 - I want the conference games to be so extraordinary that I am inclined to celebrate like Andy Dufresne when he escapes from Shawshank
I guess I've always been one of those guys who LOVES the token noon Iowa-Illinois game that ESPN tries to bury on ESPN2 with Pam Ward and Ray Bentley. There is no hype, there aren't fun graphics to look at, I mute the volume for obvious reasons...But it's like I have a stock ticker in the back of my brain that's constantly running some combination of these messages:
"You are watching Big 10 football on a Saturday afternoon...You are watching Big 10 football on a Saturday afternoon...Why don't you get a beer...Oh, you have one already...My your life is nice..."
And those games didn't usually disappoint last year...Sure, Purdue let me down more than a deadbeat dad ("the checks in the mail, I promise, and we'll get ice cream next week"), but Northwestern, Michigan State, Minnesota, Iowa...They put on some memorable performances...On a sidenote, my favorite Shawshank lines...
- "I wish I could tell you that Andy fought the good fight, and the Sisters let him be. I wish I could tell you that - but prison is no fairy-tale world."
- "I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it."
- "I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope."
- "I guess I just miss my friend."
- "I'd like to think that the last thing that went through his head, other than that bullet, was to wonder how the hell Andy Dufresne ever got the best of him."
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80 Reasons to Love the Big Ten - Nos. 72-70
by Law Buckeye
on Jun 29, 2009 1:52 AM CDT
in All
2 comments
No. 72 - Nighttime Halides
Sure, most stadiums brim with color, but few fortresses are as brutally blinding as Beaver Stadium at night. As Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel writes:
"If I was a Circuit City employee trying to woo a customer into buying a $2,000 High-definition plasma television, the first thing I would show him is Saturday night's broadcast of the Penn State-Illinois game. Even seeing it for a third time, it was impossible not to be awed by the visual grandeur of Penn State's "White Out," which manages to turn a 110,000-seat stadium one enormous flashbulb. It's powerful, it's organized (right down to the block "S" in one corner) and, quite frankly, it's awesome.
Two words of advice to all the other schools trying to mimic it: Just stop. Seriously."
No. 71 - Midwest Farmer's (Sons &) Daughters
You can't talk college in the heartland without giving a nod to the collective co-eds that keep the crowd pumped up on the sidelines. From mega-mounts to megaphones, Big Ten Cheerleaders are some of the sweetest around.
No. 70 - Polar Express
Situated parallel, and less than a mile from the dark breakers of Lake Michigan, Northwestern's Ryan Field has a serious wind problem. In November, these brazen bursts become bone chilling. The solution for the numb? A rich cup of hot chocolate from the stadium concession stand. Served frothy and thick in large styrofoam cups, this sweet tongue-searing elixir is a second-half haven.
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Big 10 Conference Standings
(updated 2.23.2009 at 11:07 AM CST)
| Conf | Overall | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | W | L | |
Penn St. Nittany Lions
|
7 | 1 | 11 | 2 |
| Ohio St. Buckeyes | 7 | 1 | 10 | 3 |
|
Michigan St. Spartans
|
6 | 2 | 9 | 4 |
|
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
5 | 3 | 9 | 4 |
| Northwestern Wildcats | 5 | 3 | 9 | 4 |
|
Wisconsin Badgers
|
3 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
|
Minnesota Golden Gophers
|
3 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
| Illinois Fighting Illini | 3 | 5 | 5 | 7 |
|
Purdue Boilermakers
|
2 | 6 | 4 | 8 |
|
Michigan Wolverines
|
2 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| Indiana Hoosiers | 1 | 7 | 3 | 9 |
Certain photos copyright © 2009 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
