Purdue Archives

As the calendar turns from October to November this weekend, there are only three undefeated teams remaining in the NFL: the New Orleans Saints, the Denver Broncos, and the Indianapolis Colts.

Any guesses what they have in common?

(Very good: I was hoping that you'd already read the headline!)

The Saints, Broncos, and Colts rosters all feature ex-Purdue quarterbacks, namely Drew Brees, Kyle Orton, and Curtis Painter.




Now, while Painter is a rookie 3rd-stringer who has yet to take a snap in 2009, both Brees and Orton have started every game for their respective clubs.

Purdue University has long been known as the "Cradle of Quarterbacks", turning out such well-known passers as Bob Griese, Mark Herrmann, Jim Everett, Len Dawson, Gary Danielson, etc.

That reputation was continued, if not strengthened, during the Joe Tiller era.  His 12 years at the helm of the Boilermaker football program divided up perfectly into the Brees years (Drew played sparingly in 1997 and started the next three seasons), the Orton years (Kyle took over halfway through 2001 and started the next three seasons), and finally, the Painter years (Curtis became the starter in the middle of the 2005 campaign and started the next three years).

There's no question a Purdue victory over Ohio State Saturday afternoon in Ross-Ade Stadium would be a monumental upset.  The Boilermakers are struggling through a five-game losing streak, consistently failing to make critical plays, and turning the ball over about as often as the words "balloon boy" have been uttered in the last 48 hours.


The Buckeyes, on the other hand, are once again ranked in the nation's Top Ten, hardly ever lose conference road games, and have won at least a share of the Big Ten championship in four straight seasons.  OSU is also in good shape for their fifth consecutive title, as they enter Saturday's game with a 5-1 record and four-game winning streak.

WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA - Whenever the Purdue Boilermakers needed a big play from one of their wide receivers Saturday night against Notre Dame, quarterback Joey Elliott was always looking for the same target.  

And Keith Smith delivered.

The junior wide receiver piled up a game-high 136 yards on 11 catches to lead the Boilermakers, including a fourth-quarter touchdown reception.  Smith equaled his career-high in yardage despite Notre Dame desperately trying to contain his production.

WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA-- Purdue quarterback Joey Elliott and some of his senior classmates helped create a motto for this year's Boilermaker football team: "Opportunity Now for Everyone".  The acronym ONE has been printed on t-shirts, posters, and even serves as the logo for the program's official Twitter account.

With the season's first month out of the way, though, ONE has taken on a slightly more frustrating meaning in West Lafayette.

That's because Coach Danny Hope's 1-3 squad seems to constantly be ONE play away from winning close football games.  This disturbing trend was on full display Saturday when Purdue gave up a late fourth-quarter lead and dropped a 24-21 heartbreaker to Notre Dame.  The Irish converted a big 3rd-and-14 to keep their final drive alive, and finally punched the ball in the end zone with a fourth-down touchdown pass in the last minute.  

"We don't quit.  Boilermakers don't quit.  That's just the way it has to be... I don't think we're all that far off.  I don't think we've arrived yet: I don't think we're ready to take on the Patriots yet, but we certainly have a lot to look forward to." -- Purdue coach Danny Hope


UNDER THE MICROSCOPE: NOTRE DAME 24, PURDUE 21

No long-winded introduction today...mostly because I'm still sleep-deprived from not getting back to Ohio until 4:30 am Sunday!  So we'll jump right in with five things I observed from the Purdue/Notre Dame thriller in West Lafayette.


1.  The night game environment in Ross-Ade Stadium is absolutely incredible.  I was on the field when Purdue took the fourth-quarter lead, and from the moment Jaycen Taylor crossed the goal line until Jimmy Clausen broke the fans' hearts with the game-winning touchdown pass, I've never heard anything in sports approaching the decibel level on the sideline for those few minutes.

"I've been here five years and that's as loud as I've heard it," senior cornerback Brandon King told me after the game.  "It was fun, man...definitely an experience!"

Danny Hope was certainly impressed with the "Blackout" atmosphere.  "What a great way to represent Purdue and Purdue football," the first-year coach said afterwards.  "There wasn't a better game in a better atmosphere anywhere in the country this weekend.  That's exciting and that's a step for our program as well."

Give special credit to former coach Joe Tiller, who led the traditional singing of "Shout" between the third and fourth quarters and encouraged the fans to make some noise and get back into the game.  At the time, the Boilermakers were down 17-7 and hadn't scored since the opening drive, so fans had gone almost three quarters without anything to cheer about.  That didn't matter to Tiller. 

"You can't expect your team to turn it up if you don't turn it up as fans," the school's all-time winningest coach told the crowd of 59,000+.  And they responded.  The Boilers obviously fed off the Ross-Ade momentum in scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns to nearly pull off a big upset.

Senior Joe Holland relished the home-field advantage.  "I've never played in a game in Ross-Ade that was anything like that.  The fans were incredible tonight, and they really added something extra to that game.  It was too bad we couldn't win for them," the linebacker said with a sigh.

WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA-- The Notre Dame Fighting Irish ran 21 of the first 25 plays in the third quarter, but the scoreboard didn't change during the fifteen minutes of play.  Purdue defensive end Ryan Kerrigan made an important sack of Notre Dame backup quarterback Dayne Crist on fourth down to end a long Irish drive. 

As the quarter ended, Purdue was finally moving the ball on offense, thanks to possession receiver Keith Smith.  The senior wideout has 8 catches for 117 yards, and Purdue has the ball in the red zone with 15 minutes to play, still trailing by ten points.

WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA-- Notre Dame replaced Jimmy Clausen for two second-quarter series, and backup Dayne Crist engineered back-to-back scoring drives to spark the Irish to a 21-17 lead.  Purdue had no answer for the Irish on the ground, especially the "Wild-Irish" formation (okay, so I named that myself...could you tell?), run by wide receiver Golden Tate.

When Clausen came back on the field, the Irish offense immediately began to stall again, and Notre Dame finished the half with a 3-and-out and a Clausen interception.

Purdue's offense hasn't been able to put together a long drive since the first few minutes of the game, and the Boilermakers don't have the patience to get running back Ralph Bolden involved on a consistent basis while trailing by multiple possessions.

The teams are in the locker room now with the Irish on top 17-7.  Check back to FirstandBigTen.com for second-half action!

WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA- At the end of the first quarter at Ross-Ade Stadium, the Purdue Boilermakers lead Notre Dame 7-3.  The home team struck first with a 36-yard touchdown pass from Joey Elliott to Aaron Valentin on the opening drive, but Notre Dame battled back, getting on the board with a 34-yard field goal from Nick Tausch.

The atmosphere, as expected, has been electric, but the Boilermakers are also taking the adrenaline overboard a bit.  Purdue has been flagged 5 times for 45 yards after coming into the evening one of college football's least-penalized teams.  The most costly penalty was a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct call against defensive captain Mike Neal after Purdue had stopped an Irish drive with a 3rd-and-6 sack.

WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA -- Purdue University has encouraged fans to wear black to all home games for a few years now, but the Boilermakers are pulling out the stops for the rare night game that will kick off here at 8:00 pm ET.

Both end zones have been repainted so the word "PURDUE" is spelled out in black letters, and the Boilermakers will wear all-black jerseys (shirts and pants both) for the first time since 2006 (if memory serves correctly).

Although kickoff is still an hour away, the student section is filling up, and it's obvious at least one quarter of the stadium will be wearing all black. 

The big mystery here at Ross-Ade Stadium is how healthy the visiting Irish really are.  Running back Armando Allen is supposed to be a game-time decision, and while Jimmy Clausen (turf toe) is expected to start at quarterback, everyone will be watching intently to see how well Clausen is really feeling.  Obviously, wide receiver Michael Floyd is out for the year (collarbone). 

Kickoff in about sixty minutes...should be electric!  Check back to FirstandBigTen.com for updates throughout the night!

Football fans, are you ready?

We're excited to announce that gameday coverage on FirstandBigTen.com tomorrow is better than ever!  That's because FBT writers will be in not one, but two different Big Ten stadiums to bring you all the action from the press box...er, press boxes.

The "Twice as Nice" event kicks off at noon with Kristofer Green reporting from Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois, as KG checks out the battle between the Gophers and the Wildcats.  Check FirstandBigTen.com for updates between quarters, descriptions of the gameday experience, and other random tidbits from Evanston!


That's not all, though, as FBT's Tim Cary will be in Ross-Ade Stadium Saturday night for the big "Blackout" game between the Purdue Boilermakers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish.  Since Ross-Ade doesn't have permanent lights, prime-time showdowns are rare in West Lafayette, and FirstandBigTen.com will have all the coverage of the huge game at Purdue.


One day, two games: look for pregame notes, in-game updates, interviews, and of course, a bunch of feature stories coming in the next week!

On top of all the "Twice as Nice" action at FirstandBigTen.com, remember that you can always check our Twitter account at @FirstandBigTen for score updates from all over Big Ten country. 

Is it gameday yet?

GoldandBlack.com is reporting today that Purdue defensive end Nickcaro Golding has been dismissed from the Boilermakers football team.  Although not a starter, Golding had seen a good amount of playing time in the season's first two games as the first DE off the bench.  The report cites "repeated conduct detrimental to the team" -- Golding had been suspended by Purdue previously, so this doesn't necessarily come as a huge shock.

WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA--  With time left for only one final play before halftime in Saturday's game against Toledo, Purdue head coach Danny Hope didn't hesitate.

"You're 60 yards away and you've got two seconds left before the half; you don't have a lot of choices there to produce any points," Hope said of his decision to let placekicker Carson Wiggs attempt a 59-yard field goal try.

"He's been nailing long ones in practice", Hope told reporters after Purdue's 52-31 season-opening win.  "And he's got a great leg."

So it would appear.

Former Purdue standout Curtis Painter found out today that he has made the Indianapolis Colts roster for the 2009 season.  While the anxious rookie was waiting and hoping his cell phone wouldn't ring at the eleventh hour, he was kind enough to talk football for a few minutes with First and Big Ten.  Without further ado, it's the latest edition of Pick Six...

College football is here and if you haven't heard already, the boys at First and Big Ten are celebrating by having a little contest on Big Ten football.

It's not too late to play - deadline for the first week is Saturday at 7am.  But since the season starts tonight with Indiana taking the field against Eastern Kentucky, we are going to post our picks now.

Here's a recap of the 10 questions for Week 1, plus our predictions:

Each of us has at least one three-letter acronym we never want to hear.  Something that immediately brings to mind a terrible fear, past horror, irreversible mistake, or worst nightmare.

RIP.

WMD.

HIV.

HGH.

MIA.

IRS.

OSU.  (Sorry, Wolverine fans, couldn't resist.)