GO PURDUE!

Well, if we don't win this week we might not win again this year. Saturday the Boilers battle the Michigan Wolverines, both teams stagger in at 2-6, the game is on the Big Ten Network at 12:00. We have no idea who is starting at quarterback, if Painter(our first stringer) can go he will start Tiller, said but the third string guy Justin Siller will also get some snaps. It will sure be interesting that's for sure. I am thinking it's a good thing I can't drink or this season I would have been one drunken phats! The good news Boiler basketball starts Halloween night at 9PM so a great weekend of Boiler sports for yours truly. By the way in the first poll of the year Purdue is #10 WOOHOO! Also as to some of the comments from the last entry, Utah is HIGHLY overrated, just like Ball State neither team has beaten anyone. While Boise might not play anyone in the WAC, they have proven themselves in the past and that's why they get the nod.

As for the guest picker this week, it's none other than that Idaho Vandal, who sometimes roots for North Carolina but I am willing to look past that, Mr Shife. He's a funny fella, and someone I am glad I met through blog! If you don't already take a look at his blog, hilarity will ensue. Ohio played the Tuesday that was too soon to pick, and Penn State is off this week in their quest for the National Title, on with the picks.

Arkansas State Red Wolves at Alabama Crimson Tide(Gary, Cheryl, and Booya)
Shife- Duran Duran once sang “Hungry Like the Wolf.” Duran Duran sucks and so does Arkansas State. Tide rolls
ALABAMA 56 arkansas state 7

Phats- Cheryl or someone correct me if I am wrong this is a make up game from the hurricane right? I believe ASU had a Native American name that the NCAA made them change, Red Wolves was an interesting choice. I agree with Shife ROLL TIDE ROLL!
ALBAMA 41 arkansas state 3
EDIT FINAL SCORE ALABAMA 35 arkansas state 0(Congrats on the new #1!!)
Shife = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO

Kent State Golden Flashes(Design Goddess) at Bowling Green Falcons
Shife- Seriously Kent State has the coolest nickname. I still wish they would use some old man wearing nothing but a trench coat as their mascot though. Do they call their student section “The Indecent Exposure”? That would be awesome. Anyway the only thing exposed in this game will be how good Bowling Green is. Falcons win
BOWLING GREEN 34 kent state 17

Phats- DG warned me not to pick against KSU, but I can't help they aren't any good, and BGSU beat nationally ranked Pitt! Bowling Green in a runaway
BOWLING GREEN 35 kent state 7
EDIT FINAL SCORE BOWLING GREEN 45 kent state 30
Shife = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO

Boise State Broncos(Duck) at New Mexico State Aggies
Shife- Oh how much I would love to see New Mexico State beat the Donkeys. But I can wish in one hand and crap in the other, and I think I would just end up with a pile of Dook in my hand. So as much as I hate to write it the Fighting Burros will win. BOISE STATE 31 new mexico state 17

Phats- I told Duck earlier I am quickly becoming a fan of Boise State, and their smurf turf. I am pretty sure they could compete in most conference, I believe Idaho beat NMSU last week, so BSU will pound them like a drumBOISE STATE 49 new mexico state 14
EDIT FINAL SCORE BOISE STATE 49 new mexico state 0(I was close!)
Shife = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO

Duke Blue Devils(David) at Wake Forest Demon Decons
Shife- For those of you who don’t know me I am not a big fan of Duke. I think I said last year as a guest picker that I don’t understand how you can root for a team whose school name is a synonym for dropping a deuce. I can’t top that so I am sticking with it. Wake Forest will take a Dook on the Blue Devils, and they will win the game as well. Wake Forest in a blowout,
WAKE FOREST 142 duke 10, Did I mention I hate Duke? Go Heels!!

Phats- Duke has improved this year, but not this much, Wake is better, and will show that
WAKE FOREST 31 duke 14
EDIT FINAL SCORE WAKE FOREST 33 duke 30 ot(Topolk almost buddy)
Shife = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO

West Virginia Mountaineers(angel jr) at Connecticut Huskies
Shife- Please spay or neuter your Mountaineer. I really don’t think we need anymore Mountaineers running around out there. I am taking the Huskies,
UCONN 28 west virginia 20

Phats- WVU has really gotten better this year as the season has gone on, I see them taking this one is a close game, that comes down to the last possession.
WEST VIRGINIA 31 uconn 28
EDIT FINAL SCORE WEST VIRGINIA 35 uconn 13
Shife = D'oh
Phats = WOOHOO

Tennessee Volunteers(Tiggysmum) at South Carolina Gamecocks
Shife- Tennessee used to be pretty good. I think they now have more in common with Billy Graham. And what do the Tennessee Vols and Billy Graham have in common? They both can make 100,000 people stand up and yell “Jesus Christ.” I am taking South Carolina,
SOUTH CAROLINA 24 tennessee 14

Phats- If this game were at UT, i'd take Rocky Top but it's nots so I am going with Spurrier
SOUTH CAROLINA 28 tennessee 17
EDIT FINAL SCORE SOUTH CAROLINA 27 tennessee 6
Shife = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO

Auburn Tigers(Leeann and Pissy) at Mississippi Rebels
Shife- I really don’t follow the SEC so maybe another joke will help me pick the winner. How do you know if a Mississippi football player has a girlfriend? Because there is tobacco spit on both sides of his pickup. And that is downright disgusting. I can’t pick a team that partakes in such nasty habits. Auburn wins
AUBURN 35 mississippi 24

Phats- Ole Miss has had a season of near misses, and Florida. I think they are a better football team than Auburn who has struggled big time. Rebels will win this by 2 TD's
MISSISSIPPI 28 auburn 14
EDIT FINAL SCORE MISSISSIPPI 17 auburn 7
Shife = D'oh
Phats = WOOHOO

Clemson Tigers(topolk) at Boston College Eagles
Shife- Can someone please tell Clemson that orange and purple is not a good color combination? I know I sound like a cast member of Queer Eye for The Straight Guy when I write something like that but man that color combo is like being Paris Hilton. Drunk and stupid – a nasty combination. BC should win this one
BOSTON COLLEGE 35 clemson 13

Phats- Correct me if I am wrong Topolk, but I believe this is a bowl elimination game? BC has looked tough and is always tough at home, Clemson should have beaten Ga Tech, but who knows how good Tech is. BC gets home field advantage and the close win
BOSTON COLLEGE 31 clemson 24
EDIT FINAL SCORE CLEMSON 27 boston college 21
Shife = D'oh
Phats = D'oh

Nebraska Cornhuskers(Travis) at Oklahoma Sooners
Shife- Both of these schools really put forth the effort in their helmet design. Nebraska has an N on their helmet. Wow. How many weeks did they spend in the lab on that one? And Oklahoma has an O and a U intercrossed on their helmet. Again I am pretty sure a record number of brain cells must have been burned off in the area trying to come up with that one. But hey at least Oklahoma thought a little outside the helmet and went with 2 letters. So I am picking the Sooners, OKLAHOMA 56 nebraska 21

Phats- I actually think a much improved Husker team will keep this one close in Norman, but ultimately fall behind late. BOOMER SOONER
OKLAHOMA 35 nebraska 24
EDIT FINAL SCORE OKLAHOMA 62 nebraska 28
Shife = WOOHOO(close!)
Phats = WOOHOO

Texas Longhorns(Gary, and Cheryl) at Texas Tech Red Raiders(Jef and Fuzz)
Shife- What is a Red Raider? Is that a Raider that was out in the sun too long? Or is it kind of like karate? Does a different color indicate your skill level and if you are a more awesome Raider. Well Texas Tech would need to be a fourth-degree Black Raider to win this game. Longhorns win
TEXAS 48 texas tech 34

Phats- I am still not quite convinced Tech is as good as their record, they did take a step in the right direction last week. This will probably be a shootout since neither team is too highly regarded for defense. Tech will put up a fight, but Texas will prevail, crashing Red Raider fans back to reality and possibility sending them on a 3 game losing skid.
TEXAS 55 texas tech 41
EDIT FINAL SCORE TEXAS TECH 39 texas 33(Congrats Fuzz and jef!)
Shife = D'oh
Phats = D'oh

BIG GAME OF THE WEEK
WORLD'S LARGEST OUTDOOR COCKTAIL PARTY
Florida Gators at Georgia Bulldogs
Shife- This game is referred to as the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. I sure hope no one gets a stain on their cocktail dress. Georgia wins. GEORGIA 31 florida 28

Phats- This is an elimination game loser has no chance at a National Title game appearance, winner gets the chance to eliminate Alabama in the SEC Title game. Remember last year, when UGA scored on their first TD and everyone on their sideline stormed the endzone? Just a tad bad blood. I have a hard time picking this one because I think it's going to be a great game and I hope I get to see some of it. I like how Florida is playing, and they are actually my pick to knock off Bama in a few weeks.
FLORIDA 35 georgia 28
EDIT FINAL SCORE FLORIDA 49 georgia 10
Shife = D'oh
Phats = WOOHOO

San Jose State Spartans at Idaho Vandals(Shife)
Shife- San Jose just has to pop in the movie “300” and they get all pumped up because it is about Spartans kicking butt. But they do die in the end, and it is a pretty homoerotic movie with more gay undertones than gay porn. So maybe something else will get pumped up in the San Jose locker room. Oh who I am kidding. The Vandals won two games this year. They have already overachieved. San Jose wins. SAN JOSE STATE 38 idaho 17

Phats- It's very odd to have a guest picker not pick his team. I can relate to Idaho's struggles, but I do see them keeping this game close only to lose it in the end.
SAN JOSE STATE 38 idaho 28
EDIT FINAL SCORE SAN JOSE STATE 30 idaho 24
Shife = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO

Michigan Wolverines at Purdue Boilermakers(Phats and Booya)
Shife- A certain friend of mine might not like me too much if I pick the Wolverines to win this one but I actually think the Boilermakers can pull it out. So Phats I am sending some of that Vandal magic from last week your way and Purdue better BTFU. Purdue wins a close one
PURDUE 17 michigan 14

Phats- I think we can win this one, but I thought we could win the last three ha! We have not played Michigan well ever under Tiller, we have only beaten them once the Rose Bowl year. If the offense doesn't show up we'll lose, if the defense reverts back to Northwestern we'll lose. I see third stringer Justin Siller throwing a TD pass to break a 21 all tie and lead the Boilers to the win!
PURDUE 28 michigan 21
EDIT FINAL SCORE PURDUE 48 michigan 42(WOOOHOOOO!!)
Shife = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO!!!!!

Just for fun I am taking Purdue to beat the Mocs of Northern Florida in Exhibition basketball Friday night
PURDUE 89 florida southern 44
EDIT FINAL SCORE PURDUE 94 florida southern 62
BRING ON DUKE!

Hail Hail to old Purdue all Hail to our old gold and black
Hail Hail to old Purdue our friendship may she never lack
Ever Grateful, ever true thus we raise our song a new FIRE UP!
Of the days we've spent with you, all Hail our own Purdue
GO BOILERS!

BTFU!!!

How about them Idaho Vandals!

Yeah, so we lost again 17-6 to Minnesota on Homecoming, and it's frustrating, but I am trying to put it all in perspective, it's just football. It's frustrating because we're not getting blown out(except at NW) we're in every game, I am convinced we're not bad we're just inept inside the 20's. Our offense moves then either stalls, gets a costly penalty, or turns the ball over you can't do that in the Big Ten. Case in point yesterday 3 times we got deep into Minnesota territory once missing a field goal that doinked off the upright, once getting a costly penalty(more on that) and once fumbling. What made yesterday even harder was our quarterback went out in the 1st quarter with a shoulder separation, and our backup was injured at Northwestern and is out for the season, so we played our third string QB who was moved to running back and hasn't seen a QB snap since HS, yet he did really well. Oh well, next week will be a match up of two struggling programs, as we take on Michigan.

Not to abruptly switch seasons(but could blame me) our basketball season kicks off on Friday night at 9 pm, I am stoked because I get to go!! This is awful but I was hoping our local HS team would lose so I wouldn't have to go to the game Friday, well they won, but I talked our other coach into covering it for me so I can go see the Boilers play. We take on Florida Southern in our first exhibition game of the season, and I am STOKED we return our complete starting 5 from a team that lost to #3 seed and elite 8 participant last year Xavier. The Boilers were tabbed as pre-season conference favorites today, and Sophomore Robbie Hummel was named pre-season player of the year. It's going to be exciting season in Mackey Arena, bring on the Duke!

As for the guest picker results,
Booya = 8-4
Phats = 7-5 (overall record 69-35)

Observations
First off, I am starting to see the light on Texas Tech, yes I have made some jabs at the Red Raiders and they continue to win, yesterday was impressive, however they will be legit if they win Saturday vs Texas.

Does the Big 12 play defense? This conference is a great but where the hell is the D?? This will hurt them in the post season, because believe me the SEC and the Big Ten know how to D up.

Staying with the big 12, how impressive is Texas, their third straight big time game against a top 10 foe, and they get no rest taking on another top 10 team in Tech on Saturday, who put this schedule together??

How about the Nittany Lions! PSU is sitting pretty at #3, with 3 games to go @ Iowa, vs IU, and MSU at home they should run the table, I am saying right now Texas, or Alabama will lose a game especially considering both have to play conference championships and Penn State doesn't. My pick is that Texas will lose, Bama schedule is a little easier than the Horns.

Has anyone ever seen this happen before it happened in our game Saturday. We had the ball on the Minnesota 9 yard line, lined up ready to hike the ball, but the ref was STANDING over the ball not allowing us too yet the play clock was still winding down. We got called for a delay of game, and I am not sure why we were ready to hike but the ref wouldn't let us. Weird.

Congrats to Shife's Idaho team! Maybe I should start rooting for the Vandals? I feel stupid for not picking them.

Alright so I am going to give you my top ten
1- Texas, very impressed with the Horns and their brutal schedule
2- Alabama, Tide just keep on winning easy, ugly, close it doesn't matter they win
2- Penn State, They are a co #2 because I think if they played Bama 10 times each team would win 5. Winning in the Horseshoe isn't easy especially at night, and who is going to deny Joe Pa a National Title chance if they are undefeated.
4- Florida- Don't look now but here come the Gators! I wouldn't want to play them they seem to be rolling, big game with the Dawgs in the world's largest cocktail party.
5.- Oklahoma- I have a hard time putting them here after they looked unimpressive beating K-State but they probably should have beaten Texas so still top 5.
6- Boise State- Why not? They are undefeated, and no BCS school wants to play them, and they are destroying WAC teams, they should get an at large berth.
7- Texas Tech- I am not completely sold on this team, but if they beat Texas I will be. They won't jump to #1 if they win Saturday, but top 4 for sure.
8- Georgia- Throw out the bad start to Bama and they are probably #1 right now.
9- Oklahoma State- Great effort Saturday.
10- Southern Cal- I have a hard time ranking this team any higher since they were beaten by Oregon State, how the hell did they lose to the Beavers??

So, agree/disagree, think I am a jackass go ahead let me know, Fuzz I am sure I will hear from you haha.

What's everyone doing for Halloween, and dressing up as? I will be at Purdue at the basketball game, but deciding to not dress up. The football game, and Breakfast Club should be even more crazy Saturday since it's the day after Halloween.

Have a great week
Phats

Not giving up hope just yet

So, yeah we've been bad, and it seems to get worse considering there is some infighting now going on. After the loss last week to Northwestern starting running back Kory Sheets blasted the offense, especially the QB, which is never good. Basically saying he is not getting the job done, which is what most fans will tell you. Also, after Tiller benched Painter the QB our back up goes down with a season ending injury, D'OH! The good news basketball starts with our first exhibition game Halloween night WOOHOO!! Mackey Madness was AWESOME, we had close to 12,000 there for it, and I think everyone is excited for BOTH mens and womens basketball seasons to get started.

This week's guest picker is a new blog, but a guy I have been emailing with and he seems like a good guy, I think he might be the first guest picker I have had that seems to have ties with every school we pick ha. He is a big Alabama fan, and he also said he roots for Purdue so that made him an instant winner in my book, it's Booya. I am not sure any guest picker has done as much research and put as much thought into his picks as he has done, I think this is a challenge for you Cheryl when it's your week! He's on the links list, scroll down and click on him and check his blog out. Clemson is off this week, and Ohio already played. Onto the picks

Kent State Golden Flashes(design godess) at Miami Redhawks
Booya- This pick is going to be a tough one for me, because I have friends who went to both schools. And it hasn't been a stellar season for either team. But because it is Miami's home coming, I am going to have to go with the RedHawks. My prediction,
MIAMI 24 kent state 14

Phats- I am not sure who to pick in this one, KSU has not looked good, and I have no clue what Miami has done this year, so I went with the American way of settling things, coin flip! Miami won it with heads
MIAMI 28 kent state 24
EDIT FINAL SCORE KENT STATE 54 miami 21
Booya = D'oh
Phats = D'oh

Baylor Bears at Nebraska Cornhuskers(Travis)
Booya- Come on, Baylor is the Vandy of the Big 12. The only reason they are in the conference is to boost the average GPA of the conference. Nebraska has three loses this year, to Va Tech (ehh, they come and go), to a very strong Mizzou and to a pass happy, offense heavy Texas Tech. With the exception of the Missouri game, they were within one touchdown of winning those games. Now, I have nothing against Baylor, actually I like them a bit. And they have a 3 – 4 season so far they aren't the worst team in the NCAA. And a couple of those wins look good on paper, 51 – 6 over Northwestern State & 45 – 17 over Washington State. But with loses to Wake Forest in Waco doesn't give me a warm fuzzy for their season. My prediction,
NEBRASKA 35 baylor 16

Phats- Nebraska wins this easily, they are getting better and better every week. Travis the future looks bright for your Huskers
NEBRASKA 41 baylor 21
EDIT FINAL SCORE NEBRASKA 32 baylor 20
Booya = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO

Duke Blue Devils(David) at Vanderbilt Commodores
Booya- In the past, if I was excited about a Duke vs. Vandy game, you would have thought I was talking about basketball, but not this time. Ladies and Gentlemen: you are going to want to watch this game as well. Vandy was riding high and living the good life with big time wins over South Carolina, Ole Miss and Auburn until they went to Starkville to play that tricky Miss St team. They also lost by ten to Georgia, you know the pre-season #1 team who was picked to win it all, oh and the game was between the hedges. And Duke stomps a whole in James Madison and Virginia then they have a shoot out with what was a once offense happy University of Miami (hurricanes). They also got their ass handed to them by Georgia Tech. A team in my opinion that may be a bit underestimated. So both teams have similar histories in regards to football and both teams have similar records. So one would think that they are equally matched. Maybe it's my bias but I think that Vandy has the stronger team and the REALLY want to go bowling this year. With their six wins already this year they are bowl eligible but let's be realistic, if they don't win at least two more games they will be home for the holidays. I think the Commodores are going to be just a little bit hungrier than the Blue Devils. My prediction,
VANDY 24 duke 17

Phats- Is Dickie V calling this game? Duke has actually had a decent football season, but Vandy will win this one
VANDERBILT 31 duke 17
EDIT FINAL SCORE DUKE 10 vandy 7
Booya = D'oh
Phats = D'oh

New Mexico State Aggies at Idaho Vandals(Mr Shife)
Booya- Oh it pains me to make this prediction. Admittedly I do not have a wealth of knowledge on either of these teams. But by looking at their schedules so far this season and the out come of the game against the only common opponent so far (Nevada), I am going to have to predict AN UPSET! Just kidding. My prediction, New Mexico State 35 – Idaho 17.

Phats- Hmm I believe NMSU went to a bowl game last year, not seeing a good outcome for your Vandals Shife, sorry. They will keep it close for a half
NEW MEXICO STATE 35 idaho 14
EDIT FINAL SCORE IDAHO 20 new mexico state 14 (HELL YA SHIFE!)
Booya = D'oh
Phats = D'oh

Boise State Broncos(duck) at San Jose State Spartans
Booya- Who doesn't like Boise St? Well, maybe Sooner fans don't. But the way that they took it to Oklahoma a couple of years ago and then the one guy proposing to his cheerleader girlfriend on nation television. Come on, that's the stuff that movies are made of. And the fact that they are undefeated so far don't hurt either. San Jose State has a nice record so far, they are 5 – 2. But it's not the 5 wins that bothers me as much as it is to the two loses to Nebraska and Stanford. The five wins are over UC Davis, San Diego St, Hawaii, Utah State and New Mexico State. Nebraska beat them soundly (35 – 12) and they barely beat UC Davis (13 – 10). So I have to go with Boise State on the road. My prediction,
BOISE STATE 42 san jose state 9

Phats- Boise State is well on their way to another BCS appearance, and won't trip up against SJSU. Broncos will roll in this one, and Fresno at the end of the year will be their only real competition for a BCS berth
BOISE STATE 55 san jose state 14
EDIT FINAL SCORE BOISE STATE 33 san jose state 16
Booya = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO

Auburn Tigers(Pissy and leeann) at West Virginia Mountaineers(Angel Jr)
Booya- Ahh, now we are talking. This promises to be a good game. Auburn is wanting to right the ship and West Virginia has something a bit personal to prove to a former coach who left them high and dry. But the way I see it, the barn don't have a chance, the ship they are trying to right just might be the Titanic. They are in flux with trying to install a new offense without the personal to run it and then firing the coach whom they purchased said offense from. With that being said, this game is going to be on national television and both teams have similar records so far this season (AU is 4 – 3 and West Va is 4 – 2) so this promises to be a great game. Trust me, anyone who even remotely enjoys football is going to want to watch this game on Thursday night. But, Pat White is a gamer and the real deal. This young man wants to win and prove something to ole Switch Rodriguez. And the game is in Morgantown. Advantage WV. My prediction,
WEST VIRGINIA 30 auburn 21

Phats- The Big East has been really bad this year, and this a chance for them to get a win against the SEC, even a down Auburn team would be a good win for the Eers' I see Auburn keeping it close, but the home field advantage winning it for WVU
WEST VIRGINIA 31 auburn 28
EDIT FINAL SCORE WEST VIRGINIA 34 auburn 17
Booya = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO

Texas Tech Red Raiders(Jef and Fuzz) at Kansas Jayhawks
Booya- If you had asked me about this last week I would have told you that there is no way that Kansas is going to hang with Texas Tech. Then, I saw part the first half of the Texas Tech vs. Texas A&M game. Dayum. What the hell happened to Tech's high octane offense? I think Texas A&M is ranked 7,231^st of out 120 Division I NCAA teams or something like that. But hey, as of right now Tech is still undefeated. Now Kansas has a 5 – 2 season coming into this game. Those loses coming to South Florida (by 3) and Oklahoma (by 14). Neither of those loses where blow outs per se. I am on the fence in regards to S. Fla but Oklahoma has a good team again this year. But other than they haven't really played anyone else this year. They crushed Fla Int (40 – 10) & La Tech (29 – 0), but squeaked out a win over Iowa St (35 – 33). I see Tech redeeming themselves at Kansas expense this weekend. My prediction,
TEXAS TECH 45 kansas 21

Phats- It's not that I don't like Tech, or even root against them, it's just I don't believe they are the #7 team in the country, and I believe Kansas will expose them big time and roll to a victory over the Red Raiders. I like Jef and Fuzz so I will be happy if I am wrong, and Tech proves me wrong. Rock Chalk Jayhawk
KANSAS 41 texas tech 28
EDIT FINAL SCORE TEXAS TECH 63 kansas 21(I am starting to come around! haha)
Booya = WOOHOO
Phats = D'oh

Oklahoma State Cowboys at Texas Longhorns(Gary and Cheryl)
Booya- If you where to ask my father-in-law about this game he would tell you that you don't even have to play it because Texas is going to win. And after seeing how Texas manhandled Mizzou, he might be on to something. Now both teams come into this game undefeated and everyone always wants to knock off #1. That being said and taking the 12.5 points that Texas is giving Oklahoma State and considering that the game is played in Austin combined with the fact that I think Will Muschamp might commit hara-kiri right on the field if Texas where to loose, I am going with the longhorns to win this one. The score would be easier to pick if any team in the Big 12 had a defense. My prediction, Texas 52 – Oklahoma State 38.

Phats- Third straight week the Longhorns are involved in a big game, third straight week the Longhorns will win a big game. OSU won't be able to stop UT's offense, it will be another quality win for the #1 team.
TEXAS 55 oklahoma state 28
EDIT FINAL SCORE TEXAS 28 oklahoma state 24
Booya = WOOHOO
Phats WOOHOO

Penn State Nittany Lions(dabich) at Ohio State Buckeyes
Booya- Oh dear god this game has the makings of an epic battle. If you could some how mix UFC and chess into a football game, this would be it. We are talking about two teams with similar schedules, somewhat traditional powerhouse teams (one not so much in recent years) and absolutely fantastic head coaches. On one hand we have The Ohio State Buckeyes with some big wins over some decent teams and one big black eye courtesy of the Trojans out west, which the favor was returned by another OSU. Not to mention that they were kept in check two weeks ago by Purdue. Purdue held them to the lowest score this year other than their loss to USC. Then there is Penn State, Penn State has been a scoring machine this year. Oddly enough being held to their lowest winning score by Purdue as well. The last line I saw had Penn State only a 2 point favorite. Both of these teams are strong, very strong and the season is nowhere near over. But the major difference that I see is that one team is more like a family, one team is working to prove that they belong on top, one team who doesn't let the media get to them. In other words "WE ARE – PENN STATE". My prediction,
Penn State 35 – Ohio State 31.

Phats- This is the biggest game of the week for sure, if PSU can survive this game and that is easier said than done, I believe they will watch someone knock off Alabama and the Nitts will take their spot in the title game. OSU looked really good in pasting Michigan State last week, and Penn State Struggled early with a bad UM team, it's in the shoe, but look for Joe Pa's boys to get a BIG time win in a thriller.
PENN STATE 31 ohio state 28 OT
EDIT FINAL SCORE PENN STATE 13 ohio state 6
Booya = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO

BIG GAME OF THE WEEK
Georgia Bulldogs at Louisiana State Tigers
Booya- This may be the hardest game for me to pick. Here you have two teams in the same conference, ranked two spots away from each other (Georgia is #9, LSU is #11) with a 2.5 point spread (LSU is giving 2.5 points) and both teams have one loss. As a Bama fan, hell yeah I want LSU to loose. That makes the SEC West a lot easier for Alabama to win and it makes the victory over Georgia look that much better. But as Lee Corso would say, "Not so fast my friend". There could be some external factors that may come into play. I heard a couple of rumors that Meeechigan may be giving ole Switch Rodriguez the boot at the end of the season and they might have their eye on one Les Miles. Now if there is any truth to this, Miles may not be focused on the game, ala Dennis Franchonie's last season at Alabama. So here is a breakdown, game is in Baton Rouge, Georgia is ranked higher but LSU is favored. But after seeing how LSU struggled against a lesser South Carolina team last week and I think that we will see the bulldog defense contain the LSU offence while Stafford and Moreno will pick apart the LSU D, so I am going to have to pick the Dawgs. My prediction,

Georgia 31 – LSU 24.

Phats- I can't figure LSU out, not sure which Tiger team shows up. UGA is probably still pissed for never showing up against Bama, and would love another shot at the tide in the SEC title game. They will beat LSU but it will be an ugly game

GEORGIA 28 lsu 27
EDIT FINAL SCORE GEORGIA 52 lsu 38

Booya = WOOHOO

Phats = WOOHOO

Alabama Crimson Tide(Gary, Chery, Booya) at Tennessee Volunteers(Tiggysmum)
Booya- Oh yes, "The Third Saturday in October" game, a classic match-up in the SEC with two teams that have never cared for each other. One team on the way up and the other one trying to stop a painful decent. People, you are not only going to want to watch this game, you are going to want to go to it. The last line I saw had Alabama giving up only 7 points to Tennessee. And you see there are only five more stops on Philip Fulmer's farewell tour. My prediction,
Alabama 9,832,432 – Tennessee 0. psst Roll Tide!

Phats- This game is pretty simple, Alabama is really good, Tennessee is really bad. ROLLLLLL TIDE!

ALABAMA 55 tennessee 14
EDIT FINAL SCORE ALABAMA 29 tennessee 9

Booya = WOOHOO(just a tad off on the score)
Phats = WOOHOO

Minnesota Golden Gophers at Purdue Boilermakers(Phats and Booya)
Booya- I am going to come right out and say it, I am predicting an upset, seriously this time. Yeah Minnesota is a ranked team and yeah the Boilermakers are coming into this game with a 2 – 5 record. But for some reason I see Purdue pulling it off. None of the Purdue losses where blowouts and they were able to contain Ohio State to just 16 points while Minnesota gave up 34 points to the same Ohio State team, that's over twice the points and both games where played in Columbus. I have always believed that defense and special teams wins games. Oh and the line on this game is flat. My prediction,

PURDUE 24 minnesota 16

Phats- I have absolutely no reason to optimistic about this game whatsoever, but for some strange reason I am. I am hoping this team comes out fired up and ready to shut people up, and hit people hard. It's homecoming, it's suppose to rain, and Coach Tiller has been great not only on homecoming but against the goph's. I admire what Minnesota has done this year, but I see a Boilermaker victory!
PURDUE 28 minnesota 17
EDIT FINAL SCORE MINNESOTA 17 purdue 6(Basketball starts Friday!! THANK GOD)

Booya = D'oh
Phats = D'oh

Hail Hail to old Purdue all Hail to our old gold and black
Hail Hail to old Purdue our friendship may she never lack
Ever Grateful, ever true thus we raise our song a new FIRE UP!
Of the days we've spent with you, all Hail our own Purdue
GO BOILERS!

BTFU!!!

Yes, we're bad

But at least I can look forward to this...



It all starts Halloween Night Oct. 31st!!

As for the guest picking, with one game to go(but Gary will lose that because he didn't pick a winner haha) Here our the standings.

Gary- 8-5
Phats - 8-4(with one game to go)

GO BOILERS!!!

Welcome to another week of Purdue football! First off thanks for all of you who voted for Lindsay, it was appreciated. Talk about a BIG game for the Boilers it's close to a must win, we could survive a loss, but we'd rather not. The Boilers, along with Phats, travel to Evanston to take on one of the better stories in college football the 5-1 Northwestern Wildcats. The game is a noon kickoff on ESPN 2. If our offense shows up at all I think we win, if they play like they have the last three games we'll lose plain and simple. I laugh at all these debbie downers thinking we just absolutely suck, look at who we have played. At the time #16 Oregon, a better than what I even originally thought Notre Dame, and top 15 teams in Ohio State and Penn State, sorry we're not Texas Tech we don't schedule cupcakes every week. So, all I am asking from Boilers is the offense returns to its normal self of putting up big numbers and most importantly POINTS!

This week's guest picker is in football heaven right now because the two teams he roots for currently sit at #1 and #2 how is that for knowing how to pick teams. Gary, who wanted me to put this disclaimer, "I'm an amateur at this, and didn't do the spread" He is busy with work so he just picked winners no commentary. Also, he is going to owe me a life supply of coca cola if I win WOOHOO! If you would like check out his blog over on the links under Gary. By the way he is married to a BIG sports nut, Cheryl and I expect her to chime in on his picks ha. Onto the picks, Kent State, West Virginia, and Auburn are all off this week.

Ohio Bobcats(Skiingred) at Temple Owls*game is actually next week
Gary- Who Cares? (not sure how this will count on your record Gary)

Phats- I kind of agree this should be a bad game. Both teams are awful but I like skii so I will go with her alma mater, plus Temple used to be God awful
OHIO 28 temple 14

Nebraska Cornhuskers(Travis) at Iowa State Cyclones
Gary- NEBRASKA over iowa state

Phats- Iowa State is not very good, Nebraska looked really good last week, but I am still pissed they didn't pull the upset since I picked them. However, I like how this Nebraska team is coming around
NEBRASKA 31 iowa state 17
EDIT FINAL SCORE NEBRASKA 35 iowa state 7
Gary = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Clemson Tigers(Topolk)
Gary- CLEMSON over georgia tech

Phats- I have cousins who are DIEHARD Tech fans, and they would kill me if they saw my pick. Clemson fired Bowden and will start this new era of Tiger football off with a win. Anyway see Tech about lose to Gardner Webb last week?!
CLEMSON 35 georgia tech 21
EDIT FINAL SCORE GEORGIA TECH 21 clemson 17
Gary = D'oh
Phats = D'oh

Hawaii Warriors at Boise State Broncos(Duck)
Gary- HAWAII over boise state Cheryl (my wife) said I was crazy with this pick. Her exact quote "I think Boise State will CREAM Hawaii." But I'm sticking with my guns....

Phats- Wow Gary going with the upset, I just don't see it Boise is playing really well right now. I talked to Duck earlier today, and I think he cursed BYU, now I am asking him to curse all of Purdue's remaining opponents, and I will keep picking his Broncos
BOISE STATE 41 hawaii 10
EDIT FINAL SCORE BOISE STATE 27 hawaii 7
Gary = D'oh
Phats = WOOHOO

Miami Fla Hurricanes at Duke Blue Devils(David)
Gary- MIAMI over duke

Phats- Duke has played better this year, but they won't be the canes.
MIAMI 42 duke 21
EDIT FINAL SCORE MIAMI 49 duke 31
Gary = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO

Texas Tech Red Raiders(Jef and Fuzz) at Texas A&M Aggies
Gary- TEXAS TECH over texas a&m

Phats- A&M used to be good and a tough place to play, what the hell happened? Tech survived big time last week, they will roll this week
TEXAS TECH 55 texas a&m 14
EDIT FINAL SCORE TEXAS TECH 43 texas a&m 25
Gary = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO

Idaho Vandals(mr shife) at Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Gary- LOUISIANA TECH over idaho

Phats- This is a long ass trip for a conference game. Idaho was competitive last week, I think they will be again, but Tech will pull this one out.
LOUISIANA TECH 35 idaho 31
EDIT FINAL SCORE LOUISIANA TECH 46 idaho 14
Gary = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO

Mississippi State Bulldogs at Tennessee Volunteers(Tiggysmum)
Gary- MISSISSIPPI STATE over tennessee

Phats- Can this end a tie? Both teams are bad, but UT is worse, Bulldogs win in a snoozefest
MISSISSIPPI 14 tennessee 10
EDIT FINAL SCORE TENNESSEE 34 mississippi state 3
Gary = D'oh
Phats = D'oh

Michigan Wolverines at Penn State Nittany Lions(Dabich)
Gary- PENN STATE over michigan

Phats- UM lost to Toledo, in the big house! The first loss to a MAC school ever for Michigan, things will only get worse this week, PSU will dominate from start to finish.
PENN STATE 55 michigan 10
EDIT FINAL SCORE PENN STATE 46 michigan 17(PSU should jump Bama for #2)
Gary = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO

Mississippi Rebels at Alabama Crimson Tide(Gary, Cheryl, and Booya)
Gary- ALABAMA over mississippi.. ROLLLLLLL TIDE ROLL!

Phats- This is a dangerous game for the Tide, and I am picking this as my upset special, Alabama is due for a letdown, and lets face it Gary likes when I pick against Bama because that means they win! So you're welcome
MISSISSIPPI 28 alabama 24
EDIT FINAL SCORE ALABAMA 24 mississippi 20
Gary = WOOHOO
Phats = D'oh

BIG GAME OF THE WEEK
Ohio State Buckeyes at Michigan State Spartans
Gary- OHIO STATE over michigan state

Phats- This one is interesting, I am not sure who to go with because I could see this going either way. I am going with tradition though in the long run, even though I hate OSU
OHIO STATE 28 michigan state 21
EDIT FINAL SCORE OHIO STATE 45 michigan state 7
Gary = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO

Missouri Tigers at Texas Longhorns(Gary, and Cheryl)
Gary- TEXAS over mizzou

Phats- I am sold on Texas, not sold on Missouri. The Longhorns will rough up Chase Daniel and keep that #1 ranking.
TEXAS 41 missouri 31
EDIT FINAL SCORE TEXAS 56 missouri 31
Gary = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO

Purdue Boilermakers(me, booya) at Northwestern Wildcats
Gary- PURDUE over northwestern.... BOILER UP!!

Phats- This is a winnable game for sure IF the offense decides to actually play. It's hard to tell if our offense has been that bad, or if the defense of PSU and OSU is just amazing. We'll find out this week. I know one thing if Painter doesn't start producing I want him benched. Northwestern is coming off a bad loss to Michigan State, we're catching them at a good time, it will be close through 4, but we'll prevail in the end!
PURDUE 28 northwestern 17
EDIT FINAL SCORE NORTHWESTERN 48 purdue 26

Hail Hail to old Purdue all Hail to our old gold and black
Hail Hail to old Purdue our friendship may she never lack
Ever Grateful, ever true thus we raise our song a new FIRE UP!
Of the days we've spent with you, all Hail our own Purdue
GO BOILERS!

BTFU!!!

Pretty good Sunday

Hey guys
I am asking a big favor at the end of this so please either skip down to the bottom if you don't like sports, or read the whole thing :)

I had a pretty good Sunday, and a busy one so that's why this entry is a little late. A very good friend of college was in town visiting her parents so she asked me to come over and meet her husband. So that was a lot of fun, I haven't seen her since 2001 seems like forever ago. It was good to catch up, she did graduate school at Brown, so yeah I feel stupid. Her husband was super cool so it was nice. Her family lives in Carmel, so after I left them I headed over to see my sister and brother-in-law and my three nephews. My sister and I are super close so it was a nice visit we chewed the fat, she gave me some books to read that she finished, and apparently I looked hungry because her one son gave me an apple ha! Her husband sometimes goes to the Purdue games with me, and he's a great guy I am so thankful my sister and him found each other. Then I came home and watched one of my favorite shows The Amazing Race, and now I am blogging. Anyone do anything fun today?

Football Observations
I was out picked again by Mr Clemson Tiger Topolk. Final results
Topolk 9-3
Phats 6-6(Overall 54-25 OUCH!)

My Boilers lost 16-3 to nationally ranked Ohio State at the Horseshoe on Saturday. I am not mad, disappointed, or even sad. If you watched the game you would know why. For starters our Defense that has at times looked really bad, held OSU without an offensive touchdown. Infact if you take away the blocked punt for a TD nobody would have scored a touchdown Saturday. We actually played well and it gives me confidence going into the back half of the season of games that are ALL winnable. Big one this week at Northwestern.

We found a kicker! Joe Tiller didn't have the balls to yank Curtis Painter, but he did yank our kicker and replaced him with a true Freshman. Missed his first kick a 53 yarder, and came back to make his second a 52 yarder which tied a school record, pretty cool for that kid!

Mackey Magic, our version of midnight madness is this Friday, and I couldn't be more excited. They haven't done it at Purdue in sometime, but with the excitement surrounding both the men and womens teams this year they brought it back. Some publications have us in the top 5! They chose to tie it in with the nationally ranked volleyball team, they will play Wisconsin then afterwards the festivities will start. We are expecting big things this year, and you can just feel the excitement in the air.

Football Observations
Most Impressive Saturday that's a no brainer Texas! It looked awfully bleak early for the Horns, but they got jump started by a kickoff return and wow that was a great game. Cheryl do you have a voice? I have never been a fan of Texas and I am not sure why, maybe it's their retarded cheerleading outfits.

Texas rightfully should be the #1 team in the nation. My thoughts are if you beat #1 when you are top 5 you become #1. Back in the year we won the Womens national title in hoops we beat #1 Tennessee and we were #5 and immediately became top dog. I think that's fair. Here is my top 5
1- Texas, 2- Alabama 3- Penn State 4- USC 5- Oklahoma. Cheryl and Gary are you two going nuts over a possible UT/Bama title game???

How much did both Missouri and LSU blow it Saturday? I would not have been one bit surprised if they had won that both could have jumped an idle Bama team.

Penn State will play for the national title if they win out mark my words. They are currently 3, the Big Ten doesn't have a championship game the SEC and Big 12 do, I don't see either Bama or Texas winning out look out for Joe Pa and the Nitts!

Texas Tech is overrated and proved my point Saturday. They barely escaped an OT game with a bad Nebraska team(sorry travis). They will be exposed even more when they step up in competition sorry Jef and Fuzz!

Alright now I have a big favor to ask all of you. The Athlon Spirit Contest is underway again, basically they take 8 cheerleaders and you vote for your favorite. A friend of mine, Lindsay, is entered from Purdue. Now I know you all have your favorite conferences I am asking you to put that aside and vote for Lindsay, and Jef don't vote for the girl with the biggest boobs I know how you operate. There are two ways to vote, go to Athlon at this address and register and vote it's completely free!
http://www.athlonsports.com/college-football/8054/sideline-spirit?action=gallery&participant=98
Or you can do it through facebook if you have that, go to the above link and it will tell you how.
Vote for Lindsay!!

That's all I got
Phats

A day early.... Bring on the SUCKEYES!

Putting these picks up now because of Clemson's big game with Wake Forest Thursday night. This is week 6 of Purdue football, we are currently sitting at 2-3, and it's not looking good for this week either. I will say I am not that confident of the Boilers going to Columbus and beating the Buckeyes, especially since we haven't won there in 20 yrs OUCH! The game is a 3:30 kickoff on ABC if you want to check it out. There are certain teams I really just hate, four of them to be exact in this order
1- Indiana- Obviously
2- Notre Dame
3. OHIO STATE
4- Duke
So, as you can see this would be a huge win for my Boilers and ME! Some really great games on the schedule this weekend, highlighted by the red river rivalry of Texas vs Oklahoma, #1 vs #5 WOW big game big big game. Guest picking this week is Topolk, who is a Clemson Tiger Grad Student and fan, you can visit his blog it's in the links down towards the bottom. Onto the picks, Duke and Alabama are off this week.

Idaho Vandals(Shife) at Fresno State Bulldogs
Topolk- I like you Shifey, but the Bulldogs of Fresno State should rebound from their loss to Hawaii here. Idaho 10, Fresno State 55

Phats- Shife asked me in the comments of my last post that most of you skipped, if he should give up on his Vandals. My answer is no, but mostly because I know who he roots for in basketball and he will be getting big wins then. I say stick it out and when they finally get a big season the reward will be that much better. However, they won't this game sorry Shife
FRESNO 49 idaho 14
EDIT FINAL SCORE FRESNO STATE 45 idaho 32(not bad shife!)
Topolk - WOOHOO
Phats - WOOHOO

Ohio Bobcats(skiingred) at Kent State Golden Flashes(Design Goddess)
Topolk- Why is this the hardest game to pick? Considering I know nothing about either team, I'll go with Kent State on the basis that they played Boston College fairly close (well, as close as 21-0 can be) at the beginning of the season. KENT STATE 17 ohio 10

Phats- An interblog showdown! Lets see I have known DG longer, and she was my first.... comment. However, Skii is a pretty cool chick, can we go back to the days when you could tie? I am going with Ohio, because KSU is pretty bad this year, sorry DG!
OHIO 28 kent state 21
EDIT FINAL SCORE OHIO 26 kent state 19
Topolk = D'oh
Phats = WOOHOO

Syracuse Orange at West Virginia Mountaineers(Angel Jr)
Topolk- The Big East is down this year, but that won't stop WVU from embarrassing Syracuse. This one will be over before halftime. WEST VIRGINIA 38 syracuse 9

Phats- Hmm WVU has struggled this year, but it would be shocking if they lost this one. The Cuse is REALLY bad, oranges get squeezed
WEST VIRGINIA 35 syracuse 17
EDIT FINAL SCORE WEST VIRGINIA 17 syracuse 6
Topolk = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO

Arkansas Razorbacks at Auburn Tigers(Leeann and Pissy)
Topolk- With their enemic offense, Auburn is in for a long season. However they should be able to handle Arkansas. Auburn in a snoozefest. AUBURN 20 arkansas 10

Phats- Yawn, I am bored with this game already auburn wins
AUBURN 6 arkansas 3
EDIT FINAL SCORE ARKANSAS 25 auburn 22
Topolk = D'oh
Phats = D'oh

Boise State Broncos(Duck) at Southern Mississippi Eagles
Topolk- The Broncos look really good this year. This should be a cake walk for them.
Boise State 42, Southern Miss 14

Phats- This could be a good game, and a tough one for BSU, however they will win this one going away in the 4th.
BOISE STATE 35 southern mississippi 17
EDIT FINAL SCORE BOISE STATE 24 southern miss 7
Topolk- WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO

Nebraska Cornhuskers(Travis) at Texas Tech Red Raiders(Jef and Fuzz)
Topolk- Nebraska's season effectively ended when a "weak" Virginia Tech team rolled into Lincoln and took care of business. Texas Tech's season effectively began when they manhandled K-State and showed the country that they weren't the pretenders that they were being made out to be. Sure, the Red Raiders are a little overrated, but you know what -- Nebraska's not going to do anything to prove otherwise. TEXAS TECH 48 nebraska 24

Phats- Another intrablog clash! This will be Tech's toughest opponent to date, and it's not the usual Cornhusker team. However, this is my upset special of the week, playing cupcakes comes back to bite the Raiders in the ass
NEBRASKA 31 texas tech 28
EDIT FINAL SCORE TEXAS TECH 37 nebraska 31 OT
Topolk = WOOHOO
Phats = D'oh(howver, I believe Tech was really exposed today)

Tennessee Volunteers(Tiggysmum) at Georgia Bulldogs
Topolk- If there's one team I wouldn't want to be in the way of, the 'Dawgs are it. After getting embarrassed on national television and having their national title dreams put on life support, Georgia's current (and only) mission is to make as bold a statement as possible while keeping pace in the SEC. Unfortunately, for the floundering Vols, Knoxville happens to be the first stop on the Georgia Comeback Tour. GEORGIA 42 tennessee 17

Phats- Vol fans have to be asking when does this nightmare of a season end. This will be a laugher, if I were Bama I wouldn't want to play UGA again in the SEC title game.
GEORGIA 52 tennessee 7
EDIT FINAL SCORE GEORGIA 26 tennessee 14
Topolk = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO

Penn State Nittany Lions(Dabich) at Wisconsin Badgers
Topolk- Ooooh. Something tells me this game should be very entertaining. Wisconsin will be looking for redemption after losing two hearbreakers in a row while Penn State will be looking to continue their campaign as legitimate national championship contenders. This one's a tough one to call, but I'm predicting Wisconsin's losing streak to continue on...
Penn State 30, Wisconsin 27

Phats- Wisconsin is one of the toughest places to play in the country, and they are coming off back to back losses which for the past 10 years is very rare for the Badgers. Penn State will win this game in a close one, the bigger question might be will the Wisky band be reinstated for this game or not??
PENN STATE 21 wisconsin 17
EDIT FINAL SCORE PENN STATE 48 wisconsin 7
Topolk = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO

Texas Longhorns(Gary and Cheryl) at Oklahoma Sooners
Topolk- I know Phats has the LSU/UF matchup as the game of the week, but this is where my Gameday bus is parking. I like Texas and Colt McCoy has been looking really sharp, but I think Oklahoma will be too much to handle for the Longhorns. Oklahoma's going to take the W here, but expect Texas to look really good in a losing effort. OKLAHOMA 34 texas 28

Phats- This is a HUGE game for both teams, lose and you're probably out of the title picture win and you become a bigger favorite to make it. I like how Texas is playing, and they will keep it close, but Oklahoma is playing just a bit better, BOOMER SOONER
OKLAHOMA 28 texas 14
EDIT FINAL SCORE TEXAS 45 oklahoma 35(Texas, LSU, and Mizzou could all jump Bama)
Topolk = D'oh
Phats = D'oh

BIG GAME OF THE WEEK
Louisiana State Tigers at Florida Gators
Topolk Louisiana State Tigers at Florida Gators It's a matchup of Les Miles' Balls of Steel against Tim Tebow's ability to walk on water. Hmm... *flipscoin* Gators by 4.
FLORIDA 24 lsu 20

Phats- Another big SEC showdown, with this one being in the swamp. I am not sure if Florida is not playing well, or playing down to their competition but they haven't looked great all year. My pick is LSU, Geaux Tigers. For the record I don't really like either of these teams
LSU 31 florida 28
EDIT FINAL SCORE FLORIDA 51 lsu 21
Topolk = WOOHOO
Phats = D'oh

Clemson Tigers(topolk) at Wake Forest Demon Decons
Topolk- Being a Clemson alum and current student, it would be really easy for me to put on my orange-tinted glasses, pick the Tigers in a blowout, and move on to the next pick. Unfortunately, it's not that easy. At the moment our team (and fanbase) is searching for some sort of identity after two humiliating losses at the hands of Alabama...and Maryland. That being said, a win over the Deacs would put things back on track for an ACC Championship. But that win may be a bit harder to come by than in years past. Wake Forest has as solid team full of seniors who remember the embarrassment of being routed (44-10) in Death Valley last year. Combine that with Clemson's awful history on Thursday night and a team that appears to not want any part of Tommy Bowden, my Tigers may be in for a long night in Winston-Salem.
WAKE FOREST 26 clemson 20 (if there's any pick I want to be wrong on, this is it)

Phats- This is a tough game for Clemson, Wake looked to be the favorite in the ACC until the Navy disaster happened. I like Clemson's chances for getting the upset here, but it will be close.
CLEMSON 28 wake forest 24
EDIT FINAL SCORE WAKE FOREST 12 clemson 7
Topolk = WOOHOO
Phats = D'oh

Purdue Boilermakers at Ohio State Buckeyes
Topolk- Since Phats has been doing this, I don't think anyone has picked against him and his Boilermakers. Well, I'm gonna break tradition here. As much as it pains me to say it, the Bucks are gonna derail the Boilermakers. OHIO STATE 31 purdue 14

Phats- I will never pick against my Boilers, I am not optimistic we win this game, but one can hope I guess. Tiller has stated Painter will start Saturday, so we'll see how that goes it might be more entertaining watching the sidelines to see if Elliot warms up or not. Boilers shock the world with an upset WHY NOT?
PURDUE 10 ohio state 7
EDIT FINAL SCORE OHIO STATE 16 purdue 3(No sad, or disappointed the D played incredible didn't allow an offensive TD, now Tiller needs the balls to bench Painter next week)
Topolk = WOOHOO
Phats = D'oh

Hail Hail to old Purdue all Hail to our old gold and black
Hail Hail to old Purdue our friendship may she never lack
Ever Grateful, ever true thus we raise our song a new FIRE UP!
Of the days we've spent with you, all Hail our own Purdue
GO BOILERS!

BTFU!!!

Wasn't that painful

So, I went into yesterday's game not feeling like we could win it, and deciding to have a great time, soak in the atmosphere, and if we won be happy. We didn't win we lost 20-6 to the #6 team in the country. First off it was an absolutely beautiful day for football at Ross Ade, gorgeous weather. Secondly we didn't play bad, just not good enough to win, and thirdly it doesn't get any easier as we travel to Nationally Ranked Ohio State this Saturday. The good news every game on the back half of the schedule is winnable. We just need to hang in there for one more week.

As for the picks
Design Goddess 5-8
Phats - 9-4 (Overall 48-19)

Some Observations
You can't leave points on the field and expect to beat a top ten team. Our second drive with the score 0-0 we hook a field goal, add that to the final score 20-9. Drive before half we have a great drive going again, and yes our kicker misses again(the same kicker who missed the game winner vs Oregon). add that to the score 20-12. We finally score a TD, our first offensive TD against Penn State in 2 years, and we miss the extra point add that to the score 20-13 and you have a 1 TD game. If you expect to compete with the big boys you have to make your opportunities count.

Tiller did indeed bench Painter, and our back QB led us on a TD drive. However, Tiller is saying he will start Painter Saturday. I am OK with this decision seeing as how it would be hard as hell to go into the horseshoe and play a back up QB. He did however state that our kicker is benched and our backup Freshman will know be the man.

Who in their right mind can blame Alabama for having somewhat of a letdown game? After such a huge win over UGA, and a dangerous UK team coming to town, I am not surprised this game was close. I saw Bama's schedule and it looks like beat LSU, and win the SEC Title game and you can punch that ticket to the title game. Cheryl did you watch the UK cheerleaders at all?

The Big 12 and SEC are at a big disadvantage with the top 5 being from both of those conferences they will play their own game of survivor, and then have to possibly beat a great opponent twice in a conference title game. Penn State goes undefeated they will be in the title game since the Big Ten has no conference championship game.

Oklahoma is really good, I have watched all the top teams play on TV, and they look like a clearcut #1. Texas is better than I thought, which makes their game vs OU this weekend a HUGE match up, the winner stays alive for the national title. Glad to see Ball State crack the top 25! Go Cards!

The SEC claims they have the best football in the country, that might be, but the Big Ten HANDS DOWN has the best bands in the country! The Penn State Blue Band visited and they are good I love watching their drum major do his punch front flip. Of course my favorite is the All American Marching Band at Purdue, it's crazy how good they considering Purdue has no school of music. Their halftime show Saturday was awesome!

Could we be headed towards a BCS bowl matchup of two teams not from BCS conferences? BYU and Boise State could meet in a bowl game. I love watching Boise play, love the trick plays they use in their offense. They need to beat Fresno and I can't see how they get left out of the BCS picture.

Finally if you are a college basketball fan you need to try this game. You are the coach you recruit diaper dandies and try to get your contract extended. The best I have done was a National Champion, and an extension to 2025 before getting fired.

http://www.kesslerfreedman.com/dynasty/





Alright everyone have a great week! Good TV night, I love the Amazing Race, and the Simpsons are new as well.
Phats

Hmm this could get ugly.

Hello Kids
Welcome to another week of Purdue football, this week we take on the #6 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions Saturday at Ross Ade Stadium at Noon. Yours truly will be there cheering my heart out for my Boilers, hoping to shock the college football world, and secretly hoping it's not a blowout! It's been widely mentioned we haven't beaten a ranked team in a long time, and our record setting(at least Purdue records) quarterback Curtis Painter has never won a BIG game. I like the kid, but I feel sad that he will be breaking the all time great Drew Brees' records at Purdue. I am still open to the possibility of Coach Tiller putting in our back up. Anyway if the defense doesn't play better it won't matter what our offense does.

This week's guest picker is one of my favorite bloggers and my first........ commenter ever. It's none other than that Kent State Golden Flasher- Design Goddess. She wants me to point out she doesn't know what she's doing, but looking at her picks she did really well. Topolk's Clemson Tigers are off this week getting ready for their big showdown with Wake next week, and Duck's Boise State team defeated Louisiana Tech last night, and looked damn good in doing so. Also Duck that was pretty cool how the did every other orange and blue in the stadium! Onto the picks.

Northern Illinois Huskies at Tennessee Volunteers(Tiggysmum)
Design- Mainly cause I don't like someone who loves them.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 21 tennessee 7

Phats- It's been a really bad season for the Vols so far, and I am not sure how many more games Coach Fulmer has left there if things continue to go the way they do. This is a nice break before getting back into the SEC. VOLS WIN VOLS WIN!
TENNESSEE 31 northern illinois 10
EDIT FINAL SCORE TENNESSEE 13 northern illinois 9
DG = D'oh
Phats = WOOHOO

Nevada Wolfpack at Idaho Vandals(Mr Shife)
Design- Sorry Shife! Wolves are just cuter than vandals! NEVADA WOLFIES 28 idaho 21

Phats- I really like shife, a nice guy, and I can definitely somewhat relate to supporting team that is constantly letting you down. I am going out on a limb here and say the Vandals give my good friend Shife a nice pre-baby gift with a surprise come from behind win
IDAHO 28 nevada 24
EDIT FINAL SCORE NEVADA 49 idaho 14
DG = WOOHOO
Phats = D'oh

Rutgers Scarlet Knights at West Virginia Mountaineers(Angel Jr)
Design- RUTGERS 20 west virginia 17

Phats- WVU seems to be somewhat back and that win over Marshall helped their confidence it will be close but the Eers will win
WEST VIRGINIA 21 rutgers 17
EDIT FINAL SCORE WEST VIRGINIA 24 rutgers 17
DG = D'oh
Phats = WOOHOO

Ohio Bobcats(Skiingred) at Western Michigan Broncos
Design- OHIO 27 western michigan 21

Phats- Interesting game, but OU played too well in the non-conference to lose this one GO BOBCATS!
OHIO 28 western michigan 17
EDIT FINAL SCORE WESTERN MICHIGAN 41 ohio 20
DG = D'oh
Phats = D'oh

Duke Blue Devils(David) at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Design- YELLOW JACKETS 35 devils 666 (ha funny DG!)

Phats- This is no gimme for Ga Tech, I have relatives who are die hard Jacket fans, so I will go with them STING EM!
GEORGIA TECH 41 duke 21
EDIT FINAL SCORE GEORGIA TECH 27 duke 0
DG = WOOHOO(although 666 is larger but you listed GT first)
Phats = WOOHOO

Texas Longhorns(Gary and Cheryl) at Colorado Buffaloes
Design- Longhorns give it to the Buffs in the rear TEXAS 24 colorado 3

Phats- Texas is still very much alive in the national title picture, they can't afford to lose this one to a bad Colorado team. Hook Em Horns!
TEXAS 49 colorado 14
EDIT FINAL SCORE TEXAS 38 colorado 14
DG = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO(I was damn close)

Kentucky Wildcats at Alabama Crimson Tide(Gary, Cheryl, and Booya)
Design- ROLL TIDE!! ALABAMA 35 kentucky 3

Phats- If this were a cheer-off it would be no contest UK would win hands down, but it's a football game, and Bama wins hands down. Sorry Gary I hope I am not jinxing your team by picking them.
ALABAMA 41 kentucky 7
EDIT FINAL SCORE ALABAMA 17 kentucky 14
DG = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO(I was starting to get nervous I did actually curse them!)

Auburn Tigers(Pissy and Leeann) at Vanderbilt Commodores
Design- The Commodores? Really? They win cause they are that cool
VANDERBILT 28 auburn 14

Phats- This is a good game actually, and it's nice to see the Dores actually playing good football for a change. This were at Auburn i'd pick the Tigers, instead I am going with the home team Vandy in a slight upset
VANDERBILT 24 auburn 21
EDIT FINAL SCORE VANDERBULT 14 auburn 13
DG = WOOHOO
Phats = WOOHOO

Texas Tech Red Raiders(Jef and Fuzz) at Kansas State Wildcats
Design- How about dem Wildcats! WC's 31 rr's 12

Phats- Tech is finally playing someone, even if K-State is nowhere near what they used to be this will be a good challenge for the Raiders. We still won't know much after this game, but Tech will win it.
TEXAS TECH 35 kansas state 31
EDIT FINAL SCORE TEXAS TECH 58 kansas state 28
DG = D'oh
Phats = WOOHOO

Missouri Tigers at Nebraska Cornhuskers(Travis)
Design- Huskers-'o-Corn 28 tigers 17

Phats- Tough week for the Huskers after losing to Va Tech, this is by no means a good bounce back game. Missouri has too many weapons and will waltz past the Huskers
MISSOURI 49 nebraska 17
EDIT FINAL SCORE MISSOURI 52 nebraska 17
DG = D'oh
Phats = WOOHOO(DAMN so close again!)

BIG GAME OF THE WEEK
Oregon Ducks at Southern Cal Trojans
Design- Duckies waddle past Trojans OREGON 31 usc 13

Phats- Talk about bad timing for Oregon having to play USC after they drop the game to the Beavers last week. Oregon is not as good as everyone thing since they are down to their third string QB, USC will be pissed and roll
SOUTHERN CAL 52 oregon 21
EDIT FINAL SCORE USC 44 oregon 10
DG = D'oh
Phats = WOOHOO

Akron Zips at Kent State Golden Flashes(Design Goddess)
Design- GOLDEN FLASHES 24 zippadeedodahs 7

Phats- Kent State gets back in the win column vs. the Zips
KENT STATE 31 akron 13
EDIT FINAL SCORE AKRON 30 kent state 27 OT *I guess the Zips get the wheel?
DG = D'oh
Phats = D'oh

Penn State Nittany Lions at Purdue Boilermakers
Design- BOILERS 24 lions 20

Phats- I am not optimistic at all for this game, and just hoping we stay within 2 TD's. However, I never pick against my Boilers and will watch Purdue get its biggest upset in years on a Chris Summers 40 yard field goal as time expires. BOILER UP!
PURDUE 27 penn state 24
EDIT FINAL SCORE PENN STATE 20 purdue 6
DG = D'oh
Phats = D'oh

Hail Hail to old Purdue all Hail to our old gold and black
Hail Hail to old Purdue our friendship may she never lack
Ever Grateful, ever true thus we raise our song a new FIRE UP!
Of the days we've spent with you, all Hail our own Purdue
GO BOILERS!

BTFU!!!