UM-Purdue LiveBlog

11:55 AM

Well, we're off to a shaky start...ESPN voters are dead split (good ol' pickem) Bob Knight picks Michigan along with Kirk, Lee picks Purdue. I have a hard time thinking of anything positive that can come out of Bob Knight picking UM. On another note, Bob Knight? Seriously? Gameday is officially 45 minutes too long and they have horrible guests. I guess Bob Knight is better than Kenny Chesney a couple weeks ago. I mean really, I have a hard time caring what Kirk and Lee think, why the hell do I care what Kenny Chesney thinks about a football game?

12:05 PM

Hooray, 3 and out. Good to know that we're living up to our reputation of having the worst third down conversion percentage in the Big Ten.

12:09

FUMBLE...TOUCHDOWN before I can even write about the fumble. Noice how the UM D was horribly beat on that QB scramble? What is Harrison doing watching the back all alone on half of the field? Everyone in the stadium knew that guy was running except Harrison. Good to see the running game coming out early though...things are looking pretty good.

12:17

3 and out followed by a punt return for a TD? I can't even remember the last UM punt return for a TD. It must have been butterhands Breaston a couple years ago...I guess it wastn't THAT long ago. Seriously, who is this UM team right now? Solid tackling and mistake free football? Or I guess the real question might be...just how bad is Purdue, really?

12:26

Okay, forget what I said about tackling. Purdue looks absolutely aweful and they still march straight down the field to score. Passing plays tend to consist of letting the QB dance around in the backfield long enough to throw or run. The guy played RB most of the year and they rush 3 on 3rd and 12? Is there any better way to get a QB going than to give him all day to throw?

12:31

Here come the Wolverines we know and love.

1st down Holding
Second 1st down Threet tries to throw a pick 6
Second down False start
Second 2nd down screen pass for a loss
3rd down QB draw for 4 yard gain

Wow. That's a sequence to put on the ol' resume, Threet. Let's see if RR can get these guys settled down and get back to running the ball like they did early.

12:40

Wow. First of all, why are we giving these no name receivers 10 yards of cushion EVERY PLAY with a running back playing QB? Stop giving these guys so much credit. Of course, Odoms had to make up for his TD punt return by giving the TD right back dropping a fair catch on the 10. Sigh. All tied up again...

12:54

Is this the biggest Jekyl and Hyde team ever or what? They look unstoppable for 3 plays, inept for 3 plays...then unstoppable again. If they ever get some consistancy, they'll be pretty damn good. What's with Purdue bringing 7-8 guys on 3rd down when Threet has been pretty cold? Might as well just put the 6 up on the board if you're going to do that. That's a despiration blitz, not a tactical one.

1:17

Now THAT's what I'm talking about! You know a play is destined for greatness when it succeeds despite a poor throw. Fake handoff, pump fake then throw short...which is okay when there's nobody within 10 yards of the receiver. That could have been a an easy TD...but Stonum made it a broken tackle TD instead. The D is tightening up a bit too...let's get this double didgit lead to the locker room!

1:27

Or not. At some point in this game I'm assuming we'll get a blitz going, because this guy has all day to do whatever he wants. We'll see what RR comes up with for some halftime adjustments.

2:03

How does nobody cover the only good offensive player on Purdue on 3rd down? Seriously? He's the only guy doing anything out there. Cover Sheets, no matter where he goes. I'd bet $10 he was the primary receiver on that play, make the no-names make the plays!

2:31

Again, nobody covers Sheets on 3rd down. 3rd and 4th down conversions given up, several missed tackles, no offense. 4 touchdowns. The Purdue QB was a running back 3 weeks ago. Of course, we'll make them look like superstars. Offense, please move the ball, we can't score on every kickoff return.

2:40

Again, unstoppable easy march down the field. If these guys ever get this down consistantly, the will be damn good. Now let's see if we can get a stop on a second rate quaterback who has one main option that we can't seem to cover. This game is all going to be up to the D- we get this stop and things will start rolling.

3:19

Sigh. After a great scoring drive, quick score right back. I can't even get mad about that hook and ladder play, it was perfectly executed. Timing, everything was perfect. It's really too bad they just can't pull off a win, because there is clearly improvement on the offensive side of the ball. I really can't say what happened to the D today, but when you give a new QB confidence early by not pressing his receivers and letting them have easy passes, it can be difficult to switch that around and stop him.