Football Preview: Purdue vs. Ohio State - November 2 - Noon - BTN

Loyal readers have probably figured out that I was born, raised, and currently reside in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio.  While I may have been an Ohio State fan for the first 18 years of my life (most people around here are Buckeye fans as long as they didn't go to a BCS school), I immediately renounced every ounce of Buckeye fandom as soon as my acceptance letter was mailed to West Lafayette.  Eight months later, Ohio State won the National Championship.  And that's how I became one of the few Clevelanders without any championship in their lifetime and who wholeheartedly despises the Buckeyes.

Luckily, Purdue has tended to play out of their minds against Ohio State, and this annual game is one of the only things that keeps me interested in yet another down season.  The Boilers have either won or forced overtime (or should I say were forced into overtime) in 3 of the last 4 years.  Urban Meyer fell prey to it last year, so we know it wasn't just Jim Tressel.  Can Darrell Hazell continue the trend?  He sure did against Wisconsin.

An awesome visual of the Ohio State fanbase from an Iowa blogger - check out the excellent full post here.

Why Purdue Wins
The Buckeyes always do something really stupid when they play the Boilers like in 2011 when they abandoned their running game and used the Purdue game as a practice for Terrelle Pryor to sling the ball all over the field.  Those who remember that game can't forget how Ryan Kerrigan went from a good defender to first round draft pick in that game.  Maybe someone will step up while Ohio State overlooks the Boilers once again.  You'd think they'd have learned by now, but I'm pretty sure we said the same thing last year as well.

Why Ohio State Wins
The Buckeyes are the second largest favorite in all of the FBS today (only behind Texas A&M over UTEP).  Honestly, it's embarrassing to be a BCS conference school and be favored to lose by 32 points at home to anyone.  From 1970 to 2000 (sorry, couldn't find anything more recent), only 6 teams won as bigger underdogs than 32 points.  So do I really need to explain why OSU wins?

Player we're most concerned about since their stock photo may break our TV

Backup kicker, #23 Tim Scott.  That long flowing, greasy hair, that clenched-teeth smile, and the fact that he wears #23 as a KICKER make him seem like he could snap at any time.  We probably won't see him on the field, but that still doesn't mean he can't break our tv.
 

Picks of the week

As mentioned before, the Buckeyes are 32 point favorites.  We'll be betting 32 in honor of that disgusting spread.

Erik's Bet

Please please please pull off the shocker.  Work on Monday after Purdue beats Ohio State in football is absolutely the best day of work all year.  Definitely not expecting it though.

Ohio State 44 - Purdue 7

Kirk's Bet
Kirk's expecting a blowout too, but thinks the Boilers might sneak out a win against the spread.

Ohio State 35 - Purdue 7

Three Final Things

1. Basketball season officially starts on Friday and it can't start soon enough.  The first game against Northern Kentucky will be on ESPN3 at 7:00 pm.  Meanwhile, the first exhibition game was Wednesday night - Purdue pulled off the win, but it wasn't the dominant performance we were hoping for.  AJ Hammons is suspended for the exhibition games and the season opener for conduct reasons though, so we may not see the full potential of the team for a little while.

2.  Black helmets today!  The team seems pretty excited about it:

“There was some large excitement from Akeem (Hunt), who stood up and screamed,” quarterback Danny Etling said. “A lot of the guys are excited about it. It should be a fun environment.”

Hey, if that's what it takes, let's end some national championship hopes today! 

UPDATE: Interestingly, they are NOT wearing the new helmets in warmups today.  I guess they're waiting to surprise the crowd?

3. Boiler Up!

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