The Buckeye Battle Cry Steps By To Talk To A First Place Team's Fans

We had the opportunity to do an old-fashioned blogger exchange of questions with the Buckeye Battle Cry and, while we don't usually stoop to speak with programs beneath ours in the standings, we made an exception for the fine gentlemen at the BBC.

Okay, okay, that's an exaggeration... they aren't really gentlemen. Hey-yo!

Anyway, below are our questions and their answers. Mosey on over to their page to see our responses to their questions. Thanks to MaliBuckeye for the responses and effort setting things up.

1) The first place Boilermakers are coming to town this weekend. Is all of Columbus a-scared?

It's really hard to tell, with all the pitchforks and torches being lugged around campus after the Wisconsin Debacle (slogan copywrite pending). It could be that Buckeye Nation is preoccupied a bit and hasn't yet learned of their impending doom.

Seriously, Purdue's having a great season, and the alumni will get to see yet another amazing Big T1en clash on Homecoming weekend. 

 

2) Do you think there is any chance at all that the Buckeyes lose this weekend? We're of the opinion that Tressel is the kind of coach who will remind these guys all week that they lost to Purdue last year.

There's a theory that The Senator has an evil counterpart that loves revenge- look at the ways that Ohio State has run the score up on Northwestern after the 2004 upset. So, yup, I think the Buckeyes will be focused.

However, the Boilermakers could be squaring off against a defense full of cadavers if the injury bug continues. It would be unwise, however, to think that the Buckeyes' "Morgue Package" is anywhere near as bad as what they're throwing on the field at Mich1gAAn.  So that's a possibility that Henry could take advantage of, in addition to the fact that Purdue ALWAYS plays Ohio State tough; they're coached up well.
 

3) Did it concern you last year when Terelle Pryor said the Purdue defense showed him things he hadn't seen before? Do you worry about Ryan Kerrigan manhandling him again? Or not so much?

As limited as his mobility has been since Illinois, and as all-world as JJ Watt was made to look by our offensive line, it's definitely not out of the question.

However, I think we've got a couple of things that may help- we have a fullback that loves to hit people, and have involved our TE into the quick passing game, so there may not be time to tee off, as it were.

 

4) Seriously, what's it like to be looking up in the standings at Purdue?

We're just as shocked as you.  I mean, it usually doesn't happen unless the Big T1e1n decides to start the preseason standings in reverse alphabetical order.

Hang on, I need to re-light my torch.

 

5) You're our Big Ten brethren... so tell me, if a big QB with a poor throwing motion accounted for four TDs in one game (as Rob Henry did last weekend) and played in the SEC, wouldn't he be getting Heisman talk? (Note, we're not suggesting Henry should get any such talk... just that his four TD game was barely noticed. Wouldn't be that way if it happened at, say, Florida, right?)

Man, no kidding. The SEC was bad enough before they joined forces with ESECPN. The problem with Henry getting the recognition that he deserves is that there wasn't anyone who had their scholarship revoked in order to get him playing time. I guess that's what it must take...

Although it may not be just an SEC thing- there's a certain undersized QB with a terrible throwing motion who racked up big yardage against underwhelming competition, and he certainly had a ton of Heisman hype.  Perhaps Rob doesn't get the love because he's smart enough to know how to tie his shoes?

 

6) Do you guys (and the fanbase in general) view Purdue as a "should-be-win" or as a dangerous little animal?

It depends on which fanbase you ask. There are those that think we should beat everyone 100-0, unless they are coached by one Mike Ditka.   There are others, though, that are still sweating a three score game with under two minutes to go. John Cooper was hard on a lot of us.

St. Woody of the Sidelines would want us to focus on the game at hand, and Senator Tressel carries on in that tradition.  So, I'm going with "valiant foe that should not be overlooked under any circumstances", especially after last weekend.


Thanks again to the BBC for having a sense of humor and going with our nonsense.

It's about time

Purdue forced some breaks and took advantage of some others. The miscues were there, but finally the West Lafayette All Black Unis beat a top 25 team.

It does feel good to let out some steam that had been building up. Purdue made Pryor look like a totally average quarterback. The question now is when will aOSU turn him into a running back or wide out? He just doesn't have the skills necessary to be a drop back passer.

Blah, blah, blah. What matters is a win. This should do wonders for the team's morale, and hopefully they can rattle off a few more wins in the upcoming weeks, but today, let's savor the victory because it's been a long time coming.

Now let's see a double dose with a USC victory tonight!

What you need to know.

Our Boilers have a lot of momentum right now as they head into Columbus. But, this one is not easy, not by a long shot. aOSU's team is very talented...and in spite of a the injury to David Lighty, the Buckeyes are still in great position for the NCAA tournament. And the longer Light stays injured, the more P.T. someone else is getting and the youth movement in Columbus is getting stronger each game.

Matta's team only starts one Junior (Simmons), three Sophomores (Turner, Lauderdale & Diebler) and one Frosh (Buford). And with Lighty still out, they go eight deep (Hill, Madsen, Mullens), but have talent all the way down to number 12 on the bench. Matta's incoming class last year boasted two 5-star recruits, a few four stars and a three.

The Bucks are a tough match-up as they have very long players...and most players are around 6'6" who play regularly. In spite of their height, they hover around the lower-middle portion of the conference in rebounding. In fact, the Buckeyes are around the middle in most statistical categories in conference...and their 5-4 in conference record places them in the dead center of the conference race.

But, they lead the league in shooting percentage, but Purdue leads in percentage defense...so something's gotta give there.

Painter is only 1-6 versus the Buckeyes, with his lone victory coming last season at Mackey. Even prior to Painter, Purdue has NEVER won in Value City Arena. aOSU plays a zone defense most of the time...Purdue has struggled against zones at times this season. The best way to beat a zone is shoot well...so if the Boilers hot shooting of late can continue, it should soften things up for JJ in the middle.

The most important factoid about the Buckeyes is they have a player with a porn star's name- Dallas Lauderdale. He's averaging just over 5 points/game. The leading scorer is Turner with nearly 17pts/gm. Both Buford and Diebler average 11, and two active players are in the 8-9 point range (Simmons, Mullens). So they're like Purdue in the fact that they have many players that can beat you during a given contest.

Steve Lavin will be lavishing the officials with praise all night as Dave O'Brien does the play-by-play...the game is televised nationally on ESPN at 7:00pm.

Quick Hit
LewJack has been cleared to play (was last night, actually)