2010 Team Previews: Purdue

Kyle Orton: Drunk Athlete HOF. In his defense, he always looks drunk.

Where do I start? Well, Purdue wasn't as bad last season as their record indicated. They finished 4-4 in conference play and 5-7 overall, narrowly avoiding a 13th game. What Their Record doesn't tell you is that 5 of their 7 losses were by less than 7 points, and that one of those was at Oregon in Autzen Stadium where they lost to the eventual Pac 10 champion Ducks by 2 points.

With that said, a loss is a loss, and a team's toughness can be measured in some way by the way that they handle close games. Do they go "Michigan State" on you or do they pull a rabbit out of their.. um.. "hats" like OSU in 2002? I'll also tell you one thing you already know, Purdue Harbor happened. Was Purdue Harbor an inside job? Where's the Michael Moore documentary blaming our offensive line coach for this travesty? Does West Lafayette have WMD's? Was Al Qaeda behind this? Have the terrorists won???!?! All I know is that Danny Hope has a mustache and Jim Tressel loves him some revenge games.

"I wear my hat backwards. It helps me identify with today's recruits and youth."

What else happened last year? What should we know? With exception of 2(yeah, TWO) games last season, the Boilers scored 21 or more points, and they went for more than 30 five times. They could score some points,but Gone is Joey Elliot and three fifths of the offensive line. The defense, especially the defensive line, was Purdue's strong suit. Ryan Kerrigan got Terrelle Pryor's white away jersey all sorts of grass-stained and caused numerous bad decisions on the day that shall not be mentioned. Bad news for Purdue's opponents: Kerrigan is back. Good news? 6 of the 11 defensive starters are new, including 100% of the secondary. No one in that group has started a game at Purdue. Purdue's defense will live and die by the front 7, much like any other team. Can they get this team back in to a bowl game? That will largely fall on the shoulders of Miami (of Fla.) tranfer, and Junior Quaterback Robert Marve.

I don't trust this guy's haircut OR chin fuzz.

Roberts Marve is a name we haven't heard in a few years. 4 star prospect according to Rivals and once a starter for the Miami Hurricanes as a red shirt freshman. Marve held the dubious honor of throwing more interceptions than touchdowns in a season that saw the corpse that is Larry Coker get sent packing. In 2008, Marve went 6-5 as a starter while completing just over 50% of his passes. He threw for 9 touchdowns with 13 picks, yikes. It's been a few years since Marve put those numbers up. For the Boilers to have a shot at a winning record and a bowl game he's to seriously limit those turnovers. As Marve goes, so go the Boilers.

Luckily for Marve, he has Kevin Smith to throw to who in 2009 went for 1,100 yards and 6 TDs. Kevin also went for over 100 yards in a game 6 times last season. So yeah, he's OK I guess. Outside of Kevin there are a few fresh faces to throw to in Justin Siller(Jr, converted QB) and Cortez Smith(no relation to Kevin who is also from Texas).

At running back, 2nd team all Big Ten player Ralph Bolden returns. Bolden scored 11 TDs last season and racked up almost 100 all-purpose yards a game. He'll have some competition Al-Terek McBurse looks to make the switch from backup and special teams, where he gained 468 yards and 1 touch down as a return man, to starting back. Either way, the Boilers have a few weapons on the offensive side.

So is it all sunshine and lollipops for Marve and the Purdue offense? Ummm.... no. West Lafayette, we (may) have a problem; 3 of the 5 offensive lineman are fresh meat. Center Peters Drey, Guard Justin Pierce(dead sexy) and Tackle Nick Mondek are new.(Mondek made the switch from DT to OT). New Quarterback plus new offensive line = some problems in football math. It may take some time to gel for this unit, but they better not take too long, otherwise a bowl game is out of the question.

Why am I talking about the Purdue offense for? Because everyone knows about the defense. Well, they do for the most part. QB terrorizer Ryan Kerrigan returns from an impressive 2009 campaign. He's tied for the Purdue all time sacks record at 21 and is on a bunch of preseason award lists. So he's good, and may be the lone Kamikaze responsible for the attack of Purdue Harbor.(I just like saying that because Purdue fans think it's stupid. Purdue Harbor.) The line has one new starter in DT Kevin Pamphile(maybe?), and there's a fresh backer named Dwayne Beckford. Where the defense really gets interesting in the secondary where the starters combine for zero starts. None. I don't doubt that these guys are talented in the secondary, I just wonder how long it takes them to learn to play together. Luckily for them the front 7 is experienced, but is that enough? Let's take a look at 2010, shall we?

Cut your hair and stay off my lawn.

@ Notre Dame (W): Brian Kelly's first game at Notre Dame won't get him the immediate 10 game contract extension we've grown accustomed to. The cupbaord is pretty bare at ND in terms of veteran players. Purdue wins.

Western Illinois (W): They lost to NIU last year, Western is a different team. Win.

Ball State (W): The playermakers have gone, Purdue should have enough to win, although it could be a closer game than expected.

Toledo (W): Last year they dropped 52 on the Rockets. Maybe not as many points this year, but still a win. Not close either.

BYE WEEK: I'm so confused why teams have their bye weeks so early? They need to rest up for what? Your starters shouldn't have played a whole game since week one with this schedule.

@ Northwestern (W): Chad on TRE won't like this pick.Thanks for reading though. (Ed. Note: Hahaha)

Minnesota (L): OK, hear me out. This will be the annual "how the hell did they lose to THAT team" game for Purdue. History supports my theory.

@OSU (L): Jim Tressel loves him some in-conference revenge games. See Northwestern post 2004 for support of my theory. (Sorry Chad)

@Illinois (W): Illinois is the suck.

Wisconsin (L): Wisconsin should be top 15 in the country, if not higher. They're top 3 in the Big Ten and they'll take care of business.

Michigan (W): Another signature loss in the RichRod era of skunk bear football.

@ Michigan State (L): The secondary will have a few games under their belts at this point. I just think Kirk Cousins gives MSU enough to beat the Boilermakers.

Indiana (W): Congratulations. You win a bucket.

I wonder if they use it to puke in when they're out celebrating. You know, kind of like The Stanley Cup.

Final Regular season record: 8-4, 4-4 in Big Ten play. I know that this team could go either way, especially early on. With the way that their non-conference schedule shapes up, I think they have good chance to start on a winning streak that carries them all the way to.... THE FABULOUS INSIGHT BOWL.

You can win THIS trophy(Unless Mangino eated it) and other FABULOUS prizes!