Time to move on, bring on scUM

When I am in season coaching and we lose a match whether it be a tough loss or a blow out, I want nothing more than to play again immediately. Good thing for Purdue football that we still have a games left after what happened in Madison Wisconsin. It definitely wasn't a treat on Halloween, it was down right ugly. Hopefully we can turn it around and go to the big house and beat the Wolverines. Michigan is one of those teams that I just don't like, I feel like they are a great example of the rich getting richer, although they have fallen on some hard times. I wonder if they regret pushing out Carr, and hiring Rich Rod?? Last year we beat them on a great hook n ladder player as time ran out, hopefully we can put the game away sooner this year, as tight games make me nervous. Kick off is set for Noon on the Big Ten Network, GO BOILERS!

I would also like to give a big shout out to the Mens Hoops team for opening up exhibition season with a 78-44 win over California of Pennsylvania. It was a good start the main stays didn't play much and the Freshmen class looked pretty good, one in particular. DJ Byrd had 11 pts on the evening. Going to be a FUN season that's for sure.

Guest picking with me is one of my favorite bloggers for many reason, but mostly because she understands my sports fanatic syndrome because she is right there with me! It's none other than Cheryl. Her blog is really good, and often has great pictures of her family if you haven't I suggest you give it a read. Cheryl's team Alabama has one of the biggest games of the year on Saturday so I figured it was only fitting she pick with me this week. She wanted to pass along this message, Onto the games, Welcome to Big Game Saturday!! My beloved Crimson Tide lays it all on the line in its game against LSU. We win and we clinch the Western division and still have a shot at the national championship! I’ll be at the game and, believe me, you haven’t experienced football until you’ve seen a battle against the LSU Tigers. They’re fan base is crazed; you never know what you’re gonna hear (or have hurled at you); and the game is always a great one! My prediction on that game later on, but on to the other picks for this week

Buffalo and Texas Tech are off this week.

PRO GAMES Pittsburgh Steelers(Rocket) at Denver Broncos
Cheryl- Denver has really been a surprise to me this year, but I’m gonna go with a win by the Steelers.
PITTSBURGH 34 denver 23
EDIT FINAL SCORE PITTSBURGH 28 denver 10
Cheryl- WOOHOO
Phats- D'oh

Phats- This is a tough one for me because former Boilermaker Kyle Orton is the quarterback for Denver, and I feel like he really got shit on after the Cutler trade, and all he has done is led Denver to a 1 loss record. Pittsburgh seems to be playing better, but I like Denver to bounce back from their first loss, especially at home in a close one.
DENVER 28 pittsburgh 21

Carolina Panthers(Topolk) at New Orleans Saints
Cheryl- Boy are the Saints impressive! Phats, your boy Drew Brees is having a great season and he is surrounded by playmakers this year. In fact, I think the Saints may win it all this year. New Orleans 42 carolina 20
(By the way, I am a HUGE Dallas Cowboys fan and have been since before birth. So I’m giving them a shout-out too! My Boys are playing really well this year, so I’m predicting a big (and very important) win against the Eagles this week.)

Phats- Well, this is my NFL team the mighty Saints with the best quarterback in the NFL and former Boilermaker Drew Brees! Brees is treated like a hero at Purdue, he can pretty much do no wrong in West Lafayette, and the people in New Orleans have taken to him as well. This week the Saints will TROUNCE the hapless Panthers, as Brees will carve up that defense with ease. WHO DAT!?
NEW ORLEANS 42 carolina 7
EDIT FINAL SCORE NEW ORLEANS 30 carolina 20
Cheryl- WOOHOO
Phats- WOOHOO

COLLEGE GAMES
Ohio Bobcats(Skii) at Buffalo Bulls
Cheryl- Buffalo ’s had a rough season, while Ohio is having a pretty good one. I think this game will follow that script and the Bobcats will win another one.
Ohio 30 buffalo 17

Phats- Last year Buffalo had a really good season, and I believe went to a bowl game. I have no idea how they are doing this year, but it's enough to make me pick them over Ohio.
BUFFALO 41 ohio 35
EDIT FINAL SCORE OHIO 27 buffalo 24
Cheryl- WOOHOO
Phats- D'oh

Kent State Golden Flashes(DG) at Akron Zips
Cheryl- In the battle of the best-matched nicknames of the week, I’m going with Kent State to flash past the Zips (mostly because the Zips have only won one game this year!).
Kent State 28 akron 10.

Phats- Not sure who to pick here so I did a coin flip, Akron was heads, Kent State was tails, and tails wins!
KENT STATE 14 akron 7
EDIT FINAL SCORE AKRON 28 kent state 20
Cheryl- D'oh
Phats- D'oh

Duke Blue Devils(David) at North Carolina Tar Heels
Cheryl- In the duel between the two teams who are just thinking, “Can we please start basketball season already?” this should actually be a pretty good game. I think it will be a close one, but then the Tar Heels will pull away in the end (capitalizing on their big win last week against Virginia Tech).
North Carolina 17 duke 14

Phats- This is a great college basketball rivalry, not so much in football. Duke proves how bad the ACC is by being in the driver's seat to win their division. However the Heels will win this one.
NORTH CAROLINA 31 duke 28
EDIT FINAL SCORE NORTH CAROLINA 19 duke 6
Cheryl- WOOHOO
Phats- WOOHOO

Fresno State Bulldogs at Idaho Vandals(Shife)
Cheryl- Wow, Idaho ’s won 7 games last year. I guess I’m gonna predict that they get to eight. Idaho 31 fresno state 21

Phats- How about them Vandals, they are having a great season Shife must be loving this! However, I don't like their chances in this one, but don't worry you're going bowling more than likely!
FRESNO STATE 49 idaho 31
EDIT FINAL SCORE FRESNO STATE 31 idaho 21
Cheryl- D'oh(you had the right score wrong winner!)
Phats- WOOHOO

Memphis Tigers at Tennessee Volunteers(Tiggy)
Cheryl- Tennessee is getting better and better by the week and their defense is scary (believe me, I saw it in person last week when they almost beat my Tide), and they should take care of Memphis quite easily.
Tennessee 28 memphis 7.

Phats- First off loved the black and orange the Vols wore on Halloween. Second off love him or hate him Kiffin has the Vols in the right direction again. My guess is this is somewhat of a rivalry game, and I am sure Memphis will play their best but it won't be enough.
TENNESSEE 31 memphis 17
EDIT FINAL SCORE TENNESSEE 56 memphis 28
Cheryl- WOOHOO
Phats- WOOHOO

Central Florida Golden Knights at Texas Longhorns(Gary and Cheryl)
Cheryl- Life is good when your two favorite teams—Alabama and Texas—are both in the top 3 and still have a shot at playing for the national title (that’s the matchup I’m wanting REALLY bad!). Texas finally looked dominant last week (after sputtering for a while, in my mind) and this game should be a walk in the park.
Texas 42 ucf 13.

Phats- Who the hell scheduled this game so late in the season? Not that it matters Texas might be the best team in the country and this will just be a breather from their Big 12 schedule. Hook Em Horns!
TEXAS 55 central florida 7
EDIT FINAL SCORE TEXAS 35 central florida 3
Cheryl- WOOHOO
Phats- WOOHOO

Louisville Cardinals at West Virginia Mountaineers(angel jr)
Cheryl- Louisville has really fallen on tough times this year (they barely beat Arkansas State last week), and I don’t think it gets any better this Saturday.
West Virginia 24 louisville 10

Phats- Doesn't seem like just yesterday that the Cardinals were tearing it up, what the hell happened? Not much of a game here, the "Eers" are clearly the better team.
WEST VIRGINIA 41 louisville 7
EDIT FINAL SCORE WEST VIRGINIA 17 louisville 9
Cheryl- WOOHOO
Phats- WOOHOO

Illinois Fighting Illini(Tsofah) at Minnesota Golden Gophers
Cheryl- Cheryl picked the Golden Gophers!
MINNESOTA

Phats- The Illini were the team of the week last week in the Big Ten knocking off Michigan and making the Wolverines more pissed off(Thanks Illinois!) Can they make it two straight? I could have sworn this team quit a few weeks ago, but now I think they have a shot to win a few more before the season ends, but not this one Minny play too good right now even without All American WR Decker.
MINNESOTA 35 illinois 21
EDIT FINAL SCORE ILLINOIS 35 minnesota 32
Cheryl- D'oh
Phats- D'oh

Boise State Broncos(Duck) at Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Cheryl- This could be a good match-up for the first half, but Boise State will take control and roll over the Bulldogs very easily in the end.
Boise State 42 louisiana tech 21.

Phats- Wow there are some decent road trips in the WAC, how the hell did these two end up in a conference together?? It doesn't really matter Boise will roll, and I have officially jumped on the bandwagon, sorry shife!
BOISE STATE 49 louisiana tech 14
EDIT FINAL SCORE BOISE STATE 45 louisiana state 35
Cheryl- WOOHOO
Phats-- WOOHOO

Florida State Seminoles at Clemson Tigers(Topolk)
Cheryl- Sheesh, who wants to win this game more? From one week to the next, I can’t figure out either the Seminoles or the Tigers. I’m impressed one week, then scratching my head the next. I just have a feeling, though, the Florida State will have a down game and Clemson will win this one (besides, I really like Clemson’s coach, Dabo Swiney, who played for Alabama ).
Clemson 20 florida state 13

Phats- Ahh yes the Tigers taking on the CrimiNOLES who read at a 3rd grade level. Clemson seems to be playing better, but that Miami win doesn't look as good after they about lost at Wake Forest. I think Fla State gets a slight upset on the road here
FLORIDA STATE 28 clemson 17
EDIT FINAL SCORE CLEMSON 40 florida state 24
Cheryl- WOOHOO
Phats- D'oh

Oklahoma Sooners at Nebraska Cornhuskers(Travis)
Cheryl- I really want Nebraska to win (very few Texas fans—of which I am one—want Oklahoma to win), but I just think that Oklahoma has more offense and will win a good, competitive game.
Oklahoma 35 nebraska 28

Phats- A few weeks ago this was a great game as both teams were on the up, but now Sam Bradford is out, and Nebraska isn't playing as well. However, Nebraska prides itself on defense and defense wins championships, add that to being at home in the sea of red, and Nebraska gets a nice win over Boomer Sooner
NEBRASKA 28 oklahoma 21
EDIT FINAL SCORE NEBRASKA 10 oklahoma 3
Cheryl- D'oh
Phats- WOOHOO

BIG GAME OF THE WEEK
Ohio State Buckeyes at Penn State Nittany Lions
Cheryl- Neither team has impressed me at all this season, but I’m going with the team I like the most. In fact, I’ve always like Penn State and JoePa and all the tradition that surrounds the Nittany Lions (and I’m SO excited because we start a series against them next year!), so I’m going with a big win for Penn State this year. Ohio State gets knocked out again!
Penn State 27 ohio state 17.

Phats- The traditional big ten powers will play in what is probably a BCS elimination game. Ohio State has rebounded nicely since the Boilers put the hammer to them, while Penn State seems to just win as long as they aren't playing Iowa. Penn State has the better defense and is at home, the Lions win a squeaker.
PENN STATE 17 ohio state 14
EDIT FINAL SCORE OHIO STATE 24 penn state 7
Cheryl- D'oh
Phats- D'oh

Louisiana State Tigers at Alabama Crimson Tide(Cheryl, Gary, & Booya)
Cheryl- Okay, I’ve made it back to the main attraction for the week in college football…and I have to be honest, I’m pretty nervous! LSU always plays us strong, there is a lot riding on this game, and our offense has sputtered in the last several games. Still, our defense is great (I think it’s the best in the country!) and our running attack wears down the other team. LSU has looked impressive in their last two wins, so they’re coming in to Tuscaloosa looking the best they have all year. But throw everything out the window! I think my Bama Boys know what’s on the line (and if they haven’t, rest assured that Coach Saban has made it VERY clear to them!), and they will play their best game of the year. Alabama comes out victorious in a defensive battle, and our offense pulls a few tricks out of its pocket; a key interception, a few field goals, and some defensive stands wins it out and we’re heading to Atlanta for a rematch against Florida in the SEC championship.
Alabama 23 louisiana state 13.

Phats- I have been really hard on Alabama all season long, when in reality they are a great football team, but they have one major flaw. They have no offense to speak of, however they have the best defense in the country. I still think their offense not being able to score is going to catch up to them sooner or later, probably against Florida, but not this week. Bama takes another step towards a National Championship with a HUGE win over the tigers
ALABAMA 17 louisiana state 10
EDIT FINAL SCORE ALABAMA 24 lsu 15
Cheryl- WOOHOO(you were close!)
Phats- WOOHOO

Purdue Boilermakers(me) at Michigan Wolverines
Cheryl- I’m one of the few people in Alabama who actually keeps up with the Boilermakers (I love the looks I get when I wear my Purdue shirt to Walmart on gameday!), so I’m pulling for them to get a big win this week against Michigan . It won’t be easy, but if “Good Purdue” shows up (not the Bad Purdue who played so poorly last week against Wisconsin ), then I think they can take care of Coach Rod and his Wolverines. Boiler Up!
Purdue 21 michigan 20.

Phats- I'll be honest here we haven't won in the Big House since the 60's, even Drew Brees took a team there and lost pretty bad, so what makes me think we can win this year? It's simple this isn't a typical Michigan team. Everyone wanted to jump back onboard because they beat an overrated Notre Dame team, well not me! I think it's an average team at best, but so are we, so why can't we win?! I think we go in there and shock the crowd by building up a big lead, and then having to hold on to the bitter end but finally break the big house streak! The All American Marching Band will be in attendance and I will love hear me some Hail Purdue! BOILER UP... HAMMER DOWN!
PURDUE 35 michigan 28
EDIT FINAL SCORE PURDUE 38 michigan 36
Cheryl- WOOHOO
Phats- WOOHOO BTFU BABY!

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!!!