Seems like Purdue is where we wanted to be coming into this season. Handful of wins and competitive in the games they lost. Shame we wont have a full team (secondary) when we play them because it will be a good measure of how we stand. Said it before but throw out the EMU game and our record is where most thought it would be. Unfortunately when you are RU a loss to EMU is season changing. Would say a lot if this team can pull out a win at home on homecoming against a pretty good Purdue squad. Winning two B1G games in a row would make a lot of ppl change their thoughts on the season.
Purdue a good measure for us
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Purdue passes a LOT and that is our biggest weakness on defense due to all of the injuries. So this game won't prove much besides highlighting this fact.
If we can defend the pass and keep the score close with a depleted backfield, that would be extremely impressive. But it would be extremely unlikely to happen unless Purdue lays an egg and we become their trap game.
If we can defend the pass and keep the score close with a depleted backfield, that would be extremely impressive. But it would be extremely unlikely to happen unless Purdue lays an egg and we become their trap game.
A good run offense that "eats time" can take a lot of rhythm and momentum away from a passing offense simply leaving them on the bench for long spells. Here is where time of possession matters.
While Purdue is not necessarily strong between the tackles, I think the defense has stepped it up this year. Teams aren't putting up 50 on the Boilermakers this season. In fact, only one team has scored at least 30 on Purdue.
It's a good thing for them, as I still see a mistake-prone and inconsistent Purdue offense this year.
I also think this is a good matchup. If Rutgers tops 200 yards rushing again, it's a good sign. Should Purdue force RU to pass a bunch, it's bad news.
Anyone who expected us to have a "handful of wins" was smoking some good ****. We always "want" a handful of wins by now, however, so can't argue there!
That being said this is a tough one IF their pass game is on; completely expect Brohm to come out guns-a-blazing, from Play 1, knowing our secondary is injury-struck right now. I'm not so sure if it's a fair "measuring stick" if we're down 3 of 4 starters in the secondary against an O like this one.
I still think Purdue will be a little worn down on Saturday. I may be way wrong, but I don't see the Boilermakers bringing their A+ game Saturday. Always tough after playing Wisconsin. RU should be the fresher team. Also, this is Purdue. I would expect them to revert back to the mean - at least a little. I don't know if we can win outright, but expect this to a close game; fun game.
If our secondary is going to get burned anyway, might as well blitz. Drives me nuts that we don't do that more. We're still dealing with a marginal college kid on most games not Peyton Manning.
This game is almost impossible to predict. We could see a game where one team gets great play out of it's OL.and DL, dominates the time ofnpossession and wins easily. Both teams are capable of getting really good OR really bad play from their lines. OR. We could also see one of these sloppy affairs with turnovers and penalties in which each team tries to give it away. I hope for the first option and it is RU's lines that dominate the day.
The funny thing is that going toe-to-toe with a top ranked opponent is actually invigorating and is usually indicative of success in the following week for the following reasons:
-your team is implicitly doing several things right, which allowed you to stay close against a top team.
-your team gains a lot of confidence and momentum for the next week(s).
You see it again and again. We'll see if this holds next week against Rutgers, who is home and feeling a little better after their road win.
Handful/ sorry 4 to 5 ... which I don’t think was that far fetched at the start of the season. Still wouldn’t be with a full roster.
Not a hard game to predict. They will be airing it out from the start and scoring on us in a painful way.
In order for us to stay in the game, we will need a good pass attack. Bolin can't do that, looks like Gio will be playing injured, if he plays at all. Lewis, tweaked his ankle last week, and he is not ready anyway. Not going to keep up with them by running the ball.
Gonna be a long day for a small Homecoming crowd in Piscataway.
In order for us to stay in the game, we will need a good pass attack. Bolin can't do that, looks like Gio will be playing injured, if he plays at all. Lewis, tweaked his ankle last week, and he is not ready anyway. Not going to keep up with them by running the ball.
Gonna be a long day for a small Homecoming crowd in Piscataway.
alas, I fear a "less than 100%" Gio and/or the consistently inconsistent Bolin.
last year you could see how much different the hurt-Gio was vs. the healthy-Gio.
last year you could see how much different the hurt-Gio was vs. the healthy-Gio.
Yep...was walking out of Memorial Stadium at Illinois on Saturday and another RU fan was saying the same thing. “Why don’t we Blitz ...we have Zero Pass Rush anyway “. And “Schiano used to blitz on every 3rd Down and was very successful at it “.
Actually, yes, it was "far fetched" however that doesn't mean things can't changed if kids get coached up, or **** happens, but there's a reason Vegas had us at 2.5 wins this season. Let's hope for the best from here on out, regardless!
NUTS, you have been on this board long enough to know you are not allowed to approach a game from the point of view of an actual fan! Get with the program.
lol I'm actually trying to figure out if he means "a handful of wins" thus far? Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree lol!!
All good OP just having some fun!
I 've been known to make the same mistake more than once. I keep teeing those damn golf balls up over and over and it always turns out the same. You would think I would learn.
Nothing worse than having to direct your "FOUR!" to the guys hitting a 9-iron to the green 50 yards to your right!
For us time of possession is only important if we continue to put up points. They can probably score with pass plays and not use much clock. Of course, if we force some turnovers, it could make a difference. Never know how things will play out.
There is more to time of possession then just points. Wear down opposition defense, while keeping your own defense fresh. Should pay off in late game scenario's.
The game plans are probably easy to predict. They want to pass and go relatively fast, run enough to keep us honest and allow for some play action. On D they want their line to stop our running game. We want to run the ball, use the clock, keep their offense off the field, pass enough off of play action and bubble screens to change it up. On D, stop the run and pressure the QB. BUT, both teams are where they are because executing the game plans has not always worked out as planned, so, the key is simply which team executes and which team makes more mistakes. We will only know the answer to that after it's over. Both teams, however, know that this is a winnable game. Could come down to in game coaching decisions. I will be disappointed if it is not a good game. Should be close.
Don't necessarily agree. I think if we run well and end drives with points, it doesn't matter. If we score through the air in 15 seconds or take 6 minutes to eat up clock, six points is still six points. If we get behind by multiple scores, we are screwed because we are not a fast scoring offense (obviously).
My main worry is the secondary. Will be a lot more difficult for Harris to play against a passing team like Purdue than it was vs Illinois. Really wish Hester was good to go. Hayes needs to step up his game in those 1 on 1 matchups.
Anyone expecting the Head Coach to play the wrong QB for the first Five Games had to be smoking some crazy ****. The handful of wins would have been easily made had Gio started Game #1.
On the flip side, either Gio has really bad luck or the same legs as Paul James. Injured twice in the first two games he started. Granted the injury last week was a helmet to knee, it is an issue for him, especially since he runs so aggressively. So, even if he started from day 1, perhaps he would not have started every game.
A "handful" is 5. It would NOT have been "easily made" as of season's end let alone by now. You're making a massive assumption, my friend, based on way too many "ifs" and "buts."
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This will end up being Bolin's shining moment...he will step up big this game. Just my prediction.
Checked the stats - Purdue is next to last in run defense just ahead of Illinois. We run the ball the way we did on Saturday WE WIN!
To be honest I think they have an edge for several reasons. Their QB's and WR's are really good. Also, they played Louisville really tough, beat Missouri and Minnesota and played Michigan and Wisconsin very very tough. Rutgers will need to shut down their passing game or at the very least slow it down. Rutgers will need to eat up clock by pounding the ball and hoping for a low scoring game. Listen is Purdue beatable, of course they are, but I still think they have an edge.
If we were fully healthy, I'd feel a lot better about our chances. But we have a severe lack of depth. We have two offensive guys playing defense right now (one playing both ways) because we have no other choice.
We can win, but we need some things to go our way. As always, it's going to come down to which team dominates on the lines. If our O line can dominate, we have a really good chance. If our D line can dominate too, odds are that we will win the game.
For those talking about blitzing more, I would think that the reason we don't do more of it is a combination of having a relatively inexperienced set of LBs and being without 3/4s of our starting secondary. It's a prescription for giving up quick big yardage plays, if not quick scores.
A blitz is always a gamble and the odds of success go down when the LBs and secondary aren't on top of their game. Also, our pass D hasn't exactly been horrible the way we're doing it. In the last game, we got a lot of pressure on their QB without a ton of blitzing. If you can do that, why gamble on a blitz?
Maybe we'll blitz more if they are killing us with their passing game. But if they are killing us with quick passes, which blitzing won't help, or we are getting good pressure without blitzes, then we're unlikely to see a ton of them again.
We can win, but we need some things to go our way. As always, it's going to come down to which team dominates on the lines. If our O line can dominate, we have a really good chance. If our D line can dominate too, odds are that we will win the game.
For those talking about blitzing more, I would think that the reason we don't do more of it is a combination of having a relatively inexperienced set of LBs and being without 3/4s of our starting secondary. It's a prescription for giving up quick big yardage plays, if not quick scores.
A blitz is always a gamble and the odds of success go down when the LBs and secondary aren't on top of their game. Also, our pass D hasn't exactly been horrible the way we're doing it. In the last game, we got a lot of pressure on their QB without a ton of blitzing. If you can do that, why gamble on a blitz?
Maybe we'll blitz more if they are killing us with their passing game. But if they are killing us with quick passes, which blitzing won't help, or we are getting good pressure without blitzes, then we're unlikely to see a ton of them again.
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