Thursday, October 10, 2013

Football Preview: Nebraska vs. Purdue - October 12 - Noon - BTN

Nebraska comes to town on Saturday for their first ever conference game against a team in the state of Indiana.  While this is the third year the Cornhuskers have been members of the Big Ten, the football team has somehow avoided both juggernauts from the Hoosier state.  Weird Fact: The Cornhuskers will actually not play Indiana until 2016 due to conference realignment...how stupid is this?  There should never be a 6 year layoff from playing a team in your own conference.  Anyway, back on topic.  Here's the preview of a game that Purdue fans would normally care less about  if it wasn't for one exciting wild card...
I hate husking corn...I can never get all those stupid strings out of it.



Why Purdue wins
Danny Etling.  That's right, Danny Etling will make his first career start now that Rob Henry has been moved to safety due to his ineffectiveness against one of the worst pass defenses in the country.  Etling had a so-so debut in the Northern Illinois game, but showed signs that he can move the offense if he can avoid the pesky turnovers.  Is he likely to lead the Boilermakers to a shocking win over the Huskers?  Not likely.  But with a bye week to prepare the new offense, a defense that may not have to face Taylor Martinez (turf toe injury), and facing a team playing their first road game, Etling has at least a chance to start his career as a Boilermaker legend.

Why Nebraska wins 
Even without Taylor Martinez, Nebraska's been putting up a ton of points.  Tommy Armstrong Jr. played the "game manager" role against Illinois and let Ameer Abdullah run all over them.  50 of their 70 offensive plays were rushes as Abdullah ended up with 225 yards on the ground en route to a 39-19 win.  This is the same Illinois team that beat Cincinnati 45-17.  That's the same Cincinnati team that destroyed Purdue 42-7.  If these scores hold true, Nebraska will beat the Boilermakers 90-7.  Even if the Huskers are off their game, it's not likely they'll be off their game by 83 points.

Player we're most concerned about since their stock photo may break our TV
We've got 3 this week!  First comes Derek Foster.  This category was made for this guy.  Is it the "just got out of bed" hair?  The "should I smile or be serious" half-smile?  The overall look of goofiness?

 
#30 CB Derek Foster

Is that a mullet peeking out from behind Jared Afalava?

#33 LB Jared Afalava

Kenny Bell is the anti-Derek Foster...look at how much time he must have spent on that hair!  Although goofy would be a good way to describe this one as well...
#80 WR Kenny Bell




Picks of the week
The Cornhuskers are favored by 14.5.  This week, we'll be betting 10% of the number of words in each of our last posts.  Kirk wrote a 518-word recap of the Northern Illinois game while I wrote a 673-word masterpiece to preview the same game. 

Erik's Bet -67
Well, baseball's over (for me), so I guess it's time to start paying attention to football.  WTF? The Browns are 3-2???  Didn't they just trade their franchise to the Colts?  Thank goodness they're keeping me off the ledge this fall...can't say the same for Purdue.

Nebraska 44Purdue 20

Kirk's Bet -52
Kirk is 0-5 against the spread this year, so maybe it'll be closer than we think!  I'm sick to my stomach that I made the same pick as him...

Nebraska 34Purdue 13

Three Final Things
1. Landon Feichter is looking to return November 2nd against Ohio State.  This may not be interesting to anyone except the fact that he broke his freaking leg against Indiana State on September 7th.  I've never been Feichter's biggest fan, but if I broke my leg, I'd be lucky to be walking in 8 weeks. He's planning on playing football against a National Championship contender.  That's pretty awesome.

2. Now it's time for the weekly bowl watch.  Purdue needs 5 wins - Illinois, Indiana, Penn State, and Iowa are winnable.  That means they need one of Nebraska, Ohio State, and Michigan State to even have a chance.  This is the most winnable of those three, considering Nebraska is going on the road for the first time.  Yes, I'm delusional.

3. Boiler Up!

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