Football Recap: Northern Illinois 55 - Purdue 24 - Owned by the MAC

I suppose I can't put this recap off any longer.  Erik is eager to post his Nebraska game preview, and I guess it has been twelve days since the Boilers were taken to the woodshed by the Huskies.

That's twelve days to sit in their own mess, thanks to the bye week.  I'd argue that the bye week was more important for Purdue fans than the actual players.  Sure, freshman quarterback Danny Etling is now (finally!) "the man" as Rob Henry converts to defense (what?!), and he could certainly use the extra reps in practice, but we fans needed a week off to forget how horrible this Boiler team really is.  Now we can delude ourselves into thinking the good guys may actually win against Nebraska (hah!).

What I look like watching Purdue this season

But in actuality, the product on the field is still going to be bad the rest of the season. We can root for Etling, admire his arm, and forgive his mistakes more easily than we forgave Henry, but the same weaknesses will still be there.  In the Northern Illinois game we saw so many that it was sickening:

• 7 penalties for 58 yards (and more that were declined by the Huskies), including at least four during dead balls
• 5 turnovers (4 INTs, 1 fumble)
• Henry made some really bad decisions and poor throws, leading to Hazell finally pulling him. Etling's arm looked amazing in comparison, but the bad decisions were still there (but yeah, he's a freshman, so no surprise) 
• The offensive line is still a sieve and also can't block worth a darn for the running game
• Hunt's best contributions came on a couple screen passes (one for an early touchdown) and kick returns, and BJ Knauf had the most rushing yards (41) thanks to end-arounds (and he'll be suspended the next two games due to his theft from Kohl's - idiot)
• NIU receivers were wide open all day, partly because Jordan Lynch seemed to have all day to find an open man with a lackluster Boiler pass rush
• The defense was responsible for giving up 41 points...to a MAC team
• Special teams let the Huskies run a kick back 99 yards for a touchdown
• Hazell was out-coached by Northern Illinois again, and this was even a new (inferior) Husky staff!
• This was a 31-point loss to a MAC team.  I know NIU is good, but that's how badly the Boilers also lost to Wisconsin.

Much like Erik's stock game recap, it seems like these bullets of the team's problems could be repeated each week.  I'm getting tired of this, and I can't imagine what it must be like for fans making the trip to Ross-Ade.  Pulling Etling's redshirt at least gives us something to pay attention to now, because otherwise I don't know if I'd even remember the Boilers were playing on Saturday.

Want an update on the game betting between Erik and I this season?  Well, I picked incorrectly again, making me a perfect 0-5 for the season at -$235.  Erik's 4-1 at $125.  Screw you guys, I'm going home.

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