HUGE weekend for Purdue

This is a really big weekend at Purdue, the football team hosts Ohio State at noon on BTN, but the reason the weekend is so big they are re-dedicating Mackey Arena this weekend. For those that don't know our basketball venue Mackey Arena, has been undergoing a major renovation the last few years and it's finally done!! I have to say I don't think there is another arena in the country that is louder than Mackey, and I am very excited to see all the changes in person. I didn't attend the exhibition games but watched online and it looked amazing!! The festivies start tonight with the #10 ranked volleyball team playing Iowa, although not in Mackey but still, and then it begins a new basketball season. The Boilers kick off their 2011-2012 season Friday against the Northern Illinois Huskies, with the first "real" game in the new Mackey Arena. The women start their campaign on Sunday vs IUPUI. It's going to be an exciting season again and I have to say after this football season I have never been more happy to have hoops back. BOILER UP!

Guest picking with me this week is the one and only Duck! I probably badger and bother him way too much on gmail chat so I appreciate him putting up with me haha :) If you don't know he's a Boise State guy so he's pretty excited right now with their season being so successful. He doesn't blog anymore so I can't really redirect you to his blog, but I can tell you he plays a mean ukuele

PRO GAMES
Minnesota Vikings(Thomas) at Green Bay Packers
Duck- Another big rivalry game, although I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to say that the
Vikings don’t exactly measure up to Green Bay this year. Aaron
Rodgers and company should continue to roll at home.
(Pack 31, Vikes 13)

Phats- I am sure the Pack are going to lose sooner or later, and if this were in Minnesota I might take the Vikings, but for now Green Bay reamins undefeated another week
PACKERS 31 vikings 24

Pittsburgh Steelers(Rocket) at Cincinnati Bengals
Duck- Well, as a Seahawk fan I am obligated to hate the “Stealers”, and I do, although
honestly I’ve never cared for them anyway so it didn’t take much to
push me over the edge into pure blind hatred territory. Despite all
this, I was about to pick them to win this game anyway because they
are a decent team, but they’re on the road against a surprisingly
talented Bengal defense and Andy “Fire Crotch” Dalton, so I will
instead pick them to lose, and hope that my prediction comes true.
(Bengals 17, Steelers 10)

Phats- Hmm didn't the Colts almost beat the Bengals?
STEELERS 38 bengals 21

New England Patriots(Thomas) at New York Jets
Duck- Wow, this must be rivalry week in the NFL. I didn’t even know! Thanks for making me pick this
week Phats! Anyway, what more can be said about the Patriots versus
the Rex Ryans? I honestly don’t know, so I won’t even try. Patriots
win! (Patriots 13, Jets 6)

Phats- It's amazing how many people hate the Patriots, my twitter feed goes crazy with happiness when they lose, I think this might be one of the better games on Sunday, but I think Brady and the boys pull it out
PATRIOTS 17 jets 10

COLLEGE GAMES
Texas Longhorns(Gary, Cheryl) at Missouri Tigers(Nutz, Delta)
Duck- No offense Gary, Cheryl, Delta, and Nutz, but I couldn’t care less about
this game. I’ll pick Missouri I guess. (Missouri 20, Texas 17)

Phats- Hmm Texas should win this game, but it is on the road where Missouri can be tough I think it will be a good game, and I see the Horns pulling it out late. HOOK EM HORNS!
TEXAS 35 missouri 24
FINAL SCORE MISSOURI 17 texas 5
Duck- WOOHOO
Phats- D'oh

Tennessee Volunteers(Emily, Tiggy) at Arkansas Razorbacks
Duck- Yay, another SEC matchup. Since they’re both SEC teams, they’ve got to be great
right? (insert eye rolling here) Anyway, sarcasm aside Arkansas is a
decent team and they should cruise through their next two games until
they lose to LSU to wrap up their season. (Arkansas 28, Tennessee 14)

Phats- Don't know much about either so give me the home team
ARKANSAS 31 tennessee 10
FINAL SCORE ARKANSAS 49 ut 7
Duck- WOOHOO
Phats- WOOHOO

West Virginia Mountaineers(Angel Jr) at Cincinnati Bearcats
Duck- Ah, good old WVU. Another team I love to hate. Bearcats win cause I say so!
(Cincy 30, WVU 15)

Phats- Everytime I pick WVU to roll they seem to lose, so lets try picking them in a squeaker and see what happens. Side note not sure why my font suddenly changed
WEST VIRGINIA 31 cincinnati 28
FINAL SCORE WVU 24 cincy 21
Duck- D'oh
Phats- WOOHOO

Idaho Vandals(Shife) at BYU Cougars
Duck- The Mormons win this one. Sorry Shife. (BYU 48, Idaho 9)

Phats- Can I just say after reading BYU's code of conduct I would be kicked out of that school in a week tops! Unfortunately for Shife, don't see the upset here
BYU 49 idaho 10

Kent State Golden Flashes(DG) at Akron Zips
Duck- Flashes versus the Zips? Both of these teams sound like they picked their names out of Marvel’s dumpster. Anyway, as much as the Design Goddess and I don’t see eye to eye politically, I won’t hold that against her college football team of choice. Kent State wins!
(Kent State 50, Akron 12)

Phats- What has gotten into the Flashes?! They went from a team that was constantly in ESPN's bottom 10 to winning a few in a row. I think that streak stops here to the Zips, who for a mascot have a kangaroo!?
AKRON 52 kent state 49
FINAL SCORE KENT STATE 35 akron 3
Duck- WOOHOO
Phats- D'oh

Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Clemson Tigers(Topolk, Emily)
Duck- Clemson gets their season back on track with an easy game against Wake Forest
this week. (Clemson 43, Wake Forest 20)

Phats- I think I upset some of my clemson readers in their last game by sort of cheering for Ga Tech on twitter, I wasn't exactly rooting against them but for the upset! Now I feel bad and to make it up to them I am going with a bold statement here the Tigers will not lose another game including a BIG BCS bowl win
CLEMSON 55 wake forest 21
FINAL SCORE CLEMSON 31 wake 28
Duck- WOOHOO
Phats- WOOHOO

Michigan Wolverines at Illinois Fighting Illini(Delta)
Duck- I have no reason that I can think of to dislike Michigan, but for some
reason I do. Just one of those things I guess. Anywho, I think the
Illini have more fight in them than the Wolverines this week, and get
the victory. (Illinois 24, Michigan 17)

Phats- See everyone hates scUM! I am not a fan either. Illinois has been a downward slide since starting out 6-0 if that field goal doesn't boink off the upright two weeks ago they might have righted the ship. Illini will take this one at home
ILLINOIS 28 michigan 17
FINAL SCORE UM 31 illinois 14
Duck- D'oh
Phats- D'oh

Alabama Crimson Tide(Gary, Cheryl, Booya) at Mississippi State Bulldogs
Duck- BulldogsYours truly will be at this game, and even though I should be rooting for Alabama as I am an Alabama resident these days, I can’t quite bring myself to utter the phrase “Roll Tide” quite yet. I’m a little steamed that they only fell to #3 in the BCS after that hideous display of football in last week’s so-called Game of the Century. I don’t think anybody other than Alabama fans want to see a rematch of that debacle, so here’s hoping they lose one they’re not supposed to and drop further in the rankings. (Mississippi State 13, Alabama 12)

Phats- I expect Alabama to get in the endzone in this game if they don't then well they deserve to lose. I don't see an upset here but you never know could be a hangover from such a tough loss
ALABAMA 35 mississippi State 7
FINAL SCORE BAMA 24 msu 7
Duck- D'oh
Phats- WOOHOO

Virginia Tech Hokies at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets(Emily)
Duck- Unlike last year, I have no rooting interest in the Hokies, so I pick the Yellow
Jackets in the battle of the tech schools. (GT 31, VT 21)

Phats- All depends on which Ga Tech team shows up in this one. My gut says taken the proven winner so....
VIRGINIA TECH 38 georgia tech 31 HOKIE HI!
FINAL SCORE VA TECH 37 ga tech 26
Duck- D'oh
Phats- WOOHOO

Oklahoma State Cowboys at Texas Tech Red Raiders(Jef, Fuzz)
Duck- I don’t think I could really call myself a Boise State fan if I didn’t pick Oklahoma State to lose this one. Texas Tech’s recent string of games isn’t too impressive, but they are undefeated against teams with “Oklahoma” in their name, so I feel pretty good about saying they’re going to knock the Cowboys out of their #2 ranking in the BCS. (Texas Tech 45, Oklahoma State 41)

Phats- I could see an upset here but then I remember Tech lost to Iowa State. Gotta go with the pokes!
OKLAHOMA STATE 35 texas tech 21
FINAL SCORE OSU 66 tech 6
Duck- D'oh
Phats- WOOHOO

Nebraska Cornhuskers(Travis) at Penn State Nittany Lions
Duck- In the wake of all the Joe Pa wackiness this week, this becomes a strange game to pick. With Paterno getting fired last night, and the ensuing student rioting, the Huskers are walking into a real hornet’s nest here. If it wasn’t for all the craziness, I’d probably pick Nebraska in this one, but football is a game that seems to swing on emotions at times, and you’ve gotta think the Penn State players are going to be extra fired up for this one. The Nittany Lions take this one.
(Penn State 24, Nebraska 21)

Phats- This is a tough one for many reasons, but first thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families that were involved in this disgusting case. I mean how do you even pick this game after what they have been through. I am glad PSU made the decision they made, I can't imagine having to watch Joe Pa lead out the team to a heroes welcome. That being said for Nebraska I think it's a case of bad timing they are going into the Lion's Den literally, Penn State wins a close one
PENN STATE 28 nebraska 24
FINAL SCORE NEBRASKA 17 psu 14
Duck- D'oh
Phats- D'oh

BIG GAME OF THE WEEK
Oregon Ducks at Stanford Cardinal
Duck- I personally don’t get all the love for Luck. I guess that’s one of the many reasons I’m not an NFL scout. Oh well. Since I don’t think Luck’s all that magical, I don’t have a hard time predicting that the Fighting Ducks from the Beaver State will walk into Stanford and wipe that stupid smile off their ridiculous tree mascot.
(Oregon 38, Stanford 27)

Phats- Doesn't someone with the moniker Duck have to take the Ducks?? I agree though I see Oregon going in and winning this game, I am not buying into the Stanford hype at all. Then again I have never been that high on left coast teams. Ducks win a thriller
OREGON 49 stanford 41
FINAL SCORE OREGON 53 stanford 30
Duck- WOOHOO
Phats- WOOHOO

TCU Horned Frogs at Boise State Broncos(Duck)
Duck- Both teams have had this game circled since the schedule came out I’m sure. Boise State’s struggles last week (they only beat UNLV by 27 points! The horror…) could possibly be attributed to them looking forward to this game. Coach Petersen does a good job of not running up the score unnecessarily, but I fully expect Boise to try to win this one big anyway. It’s the only game left on their schedule that anyone outside of the BSU faithful will even count as a win since apparently they spend the rest of their time playing high school junior varsity teams, so they have to be impressive if they have any chance of clinging to their top five BCS ranking. TCU’s not the same without Andy Dalton, but their defense is still pretty good, so this could be an interesting game. You know who I’m going to pick. (Boise State 24, TCU 10)

Phats- BOISE STATE ALL THE WAY BABY!! I want them to finally get a shot at the title, and they kind of need to win this one.
BOISE STATE 56 tcu 3
FINAL SCORE TCU 36 boise 35
Duck- D'oh
Phats- D'oh

Ohio State Buckeyes at Purdue Boilermakers(phats)
Duck- Purdue’s due for an upset at home aren’t they? Even though this is a down year for Ohio
State I’m sure they’re expected by many to win this one easily. Nay, I say. Nay! Purdue wins one for the faithful. (Purdue 30, Ohio State 21)

Phats- We always play OSU tough even in the down years, and the Big Ten is not that good this year except for a few teams. I like our chances to stop the 1 dimensional Suckeyes and get within 1 game of a bowl berth. BOILER UP.. HAMMER DOWN!
PURDUE 28 Ohio State 14
FINAL SCORE PURDUE 26 osu 23 OT
Duck- WOOHOO
Phats- WOOFREAKINGHOO!

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!!!