Game Thread: Northwestern vs. Purdue

Aug 31, 2003
15,048
497
83
Defense: A
Offense: C+
B- for the offense. They had long, time-consuming drives that mostly ended in points (one missed FG should've been made; that's not on the offense). That allowed the 'Cats to control and dictate the pace of the game. It was great complementary football.

Of course the offense made too many mistakes (some poor throws from Stone and Lujan getting away from the game plan) but you don't achieve a Big Ten shutout with a barely passing grade.
 

MCC_Cat

Junior
May 29, 2001
1,554
274
83
The D was incredible all day. Like the Rose Bowl team actually. The Offense was at times dominant and at times error prone, mostly self-inflicted. I think they will shore up these errors and Braun alluded to the 4th quarter issues in his interview as something they will work on. No rest on your laurels here.
 

Jaguar 88

Freshman
Oct 1, 2021
1,100
74
48
I think we have a good kicker. The miss was due to a bad snap that threw off the timing.
True, just stinks he missed a chip shot. Our kickers haven't been the best of late, thus the kicker rant. It was a good game overall, wish we could have scored a bit more. I feel sorry for the Boilermaker fans though. It is going to be a long season for them.
 

AdamOnFirst

All-Conference
Nov 29, 2021
10,382
1,839
113
We need a new OC and can we get a really good K for a change? We played well, which is great, but well, it was Purdue.
We just doninated a game start to finish and kept their offense entirely off the field the entire first half and our kicker has been great all year and… you’re mad at the kicker and OC
 
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Fanaticat98

Senior
May 29, 2001
9,078
692
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We just doninated a game start to finish and kept their offense entirely off the field the entire first half and our kicker has been great all year and… you’re mad at the kicker and OC
Our OC kept Purdue mathematically in the game well into the 4th Q despite being up 3 scores. That’s hard to do but he did. As we saw, Purdue could eat up big chunks of yardage to potentially score quickly. Fortunately we stripped the one 50 yd pass and the other was overturned to my surprise (I didnt think there was convincing evidence to overturn).
 
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AdamOnFirst

All-Conference
Nov 29, 2021
10,382
1,839
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Our OC kept Purdue mathematically in the game well into the 4th Q despite being up 3 scores. That’s hard to do but he did. As we saw, Purdue could eat up big chunks of yardage to potentially score quickly. Fortunately we stripped the one 50 yd pass and the other was overturned to my surprise (I didnt think there was convincing evidence to overturn).
Our RB and QB kept Purdue on the game by coughing up the football after successful drives
 

corbi296

All-Conference
Sep 8, 2005
1,374
1,484
112
Lujan’s lack of situational awareness is astounding.
It’s not just the play calling, it’s also Stone’s decision making. On the 4th quarter interception he had Himon wide open in the flat for an easy first down on the short side of the field. Instead he tries to throw a deep out to Wilde on the far side of the field. Easy interception. Stone does not have the arm to make that long cross field throw. He seems to be the only one who hasn’t realized that yet.
 
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AdamOnFirst

All-Conference
Nov 29, 2021
10,382
1,839
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It’s not just the play calling, it’s also Stone’s decision making. On the 4th quarter interception he had Himon wide open in the flat for an easy first down on the short side of the field. Instead he tries to throw a deep out to Wilde on the far side of the field. Easy interception. Stone does not have the arm to make that long cross field throw. He seems to be the only one who hasn’t realized that yet.
Also just a freshman RB coughing the ball up when all you need to do is just hold onto it. Like my god, we’re obsessed with the OC around here, it’s a compulsion
 

phatcat_rivals223240

All-Conference
Nov 5, 2001
18,946
1,096
113
Also just a freshman RB coughing the ball up when all you need to do is just hold onto it. Like my god, we’re obsessed with the OC around here, it’s a compulsion
It's actually a great time for him to fumble. Good teaching moment for the coaches. He's a very talented player.And we will need him to hold onto the ball in a tight game in the future.
 

jensberg

Sophomore
Jul 28, 2006
2,994
154
63
It’s not just the play calling, it’s also Stone’s decision making. On the 4th quarter interception he had Himon wide open in the flat for an easy first down on the short side of the field. Instead he tries to throw a deep out to Wilde on the far side of the field. Easy interception. Stone does not have the arm to make that long cross field throw. He seems to be the only one who hasn’t realized that yet.
Agree there were several times where Hyman ran out of the backfield and was wide open and stone never looked for him at all and that was one of the occasions
 
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Fanaticat98

Senior
May 29, 2001
9,078
692
113
It’s not just the play calling, it’s also Stone’s decision making. On the 4th quarter interception he had Himon wide open in the flat for an easy first down on the short side of the field. Instead he tries to throw a deep out to Wilde on the far side of the field. Easy interception. Stone does not have the arm to make that long cross field throw. He seems to be the only one who hasn’t realized that yet.
We are missing the point. There was no, none, zero reason to call a pass play at that point. There was almost no upside especially for a sideline route. We run 3 times and don’t get the first? Well, either they’ve now used all their timeouts, or we’ve run a couple minutes off the clock which essentially ends their chances.

It’s like another version of Himon’s slide against PSU. On that series if we ran every play and got nothing, we’ve essentially burned enough time or time outs to make it impossible for them.

Pass to the outside? Falls incomplete it’s like a free time out for them. INT? Now they have a huge spark and as we saw they could connect on a 40 yard pass just like that. More downsides than upsides to calling a pass.
 

phatcat_rivals223240

All-Conference
Nov 5, 2001
18,946
1,096
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It’s not just the play calling, it’s also Stone’s decision making. On the 4th quarter interception he had Himon wide open in the flat for an easy first down on the short side of the field. Instead he tries to throw a deep out to Wilde on the far side of the field. Easy interception. Stone does not have the arm to make that long cross field throw. He seems to be the only one who hasn’t realized that yet.
This is my problem with Stone. We can probably live with a noodle arm. But he has to make good decisions. He could have had four picks today against a strong team
 

MCC_Cat

Junior
May 29, 2001
1,554
274
83
This is my problem with Stone. We can probably live with a noodle arm. But he has to make good decisions. He could have had four picks today against a strong team
Yeah he made several poor decisions and it didn't really cost us much. But the rest of the year we will need him to make good decisions and accurate passes, which he is capable of delivering.
 

prez77

Junior
Dec 27, 2024
676
295
57
Not to throw cold water or anything, but if he's as good as Muster or Altstot he should be our starting back and is headed to an NFL career.
 

corbi296

All-Conference
Sep 8, 2005
1,374
1,484
112
Not to throw cold water or anything, but if he's as good as Muster or Altstot he should be our starting back and is headed to an NFL career.
No one said he will turn into those players. He has some similar characteristics. We'll see how good he becomes. He is only six months removed from being a HS kid in the middle of nowhere Missouri. Let's give him some time. The fact that he is contributing as a true freshmen as a RB, a position no one foresaw him playing, is pretty impressive.
 

AdamOnFirst

All-Conference
Nov 29, 2021
10,382
1,839
113
This is my problem with Stone. We can probably live with a noodle arm. But he has to make good decisions. He could have had four picks today against a strong team
The noodle arm thing around here is weird too. He doesn’t have a rocket but he’s got a decent arm, it’s better than Ramsey’s.
 

phatcat_rivals223240

All-Conference
Nov 5, 2001
18,946
1,096
113
The noodle arm thing around here is weird too. He doesn’t have a rocket but he’s got a decent arm, it’s better than Ramsey’s.
He's short on nearly every long or wide throw. I'm OK with this, as long as he knows his limits and doesn't make bad decisions. Like today. Could have been 4 picks.

Very very happy with the win and 5-2. We will win more if Preston Stone takes care of the football.
 
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