From: gritter@cs.purdue.EDU (Carl R. Gritter)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.college
Subject: Re: Purdue Info?
Date: 12 Oct 92 19:21:44 GMT
Organization: Department of Computer Science, Purdue University

In article  <1992Oct12.123439.15311@doug.cae.wisc.edu> saunders@luther.che.wisc.edu (Brian E. Saunders) writes:

%Offense:

%QB:  Eric Hunter (if not hurt) has had big games in the past, and is always
%dangerous.  We Boiler fans don't depend on him much, anymore.  Matt Pike
%has had a few decent games.  3rd string QB Hoffman may end up starting.
%I'd have given Purdue the edge here at the beginning of the season, but now
%it is a push.

Hoffman started against Minnesota and looked good at times and bad at
others.  He is VERY immobile.  Pike is better when he is on, but
Hoffman can do a decent job at backup.  Hunter's shoulder is still
hurt and his playing status is still questionable (week to week).  He
can still qualify for a medical redshirt if he doesn't play again this
year.

%RB:  Junior Jeff Hill has had some big games at TB, and Arlee Connors has
%had a few at FB.  It's very similar to Fletcher and Moss at Wisconsin, IMO.

Hill sprained his ankle (or severly agravated a sprain he got in
practice) on his first carry against Minnesota.  He will not play
against Wisconsin.  Arlee Conners ran for 100+ yards against the
Gophers.  He is more powerful but not as agile as Hill.  He catches
passes much better than Hill.  True freshman Mike Alstott is playing
very well at fullback.  He is a powerful runner and probably has the
best "hands" on the team.  He catches passes very well and knows what
to do after the catch.

%Receivers:  Purdue has one or two that are OK, but the for the most part,
%they like dropping passes.  Wisconsin easily gets the edge here with
%"Famous" Duramous.

Ricky Calloway is dependable but he has a nasty habit of fumbling the
ball after the catch.  Bad asset for a punt returner.  Jermaine Ross
catches the tough ones but drops the easy ones.  Weird.

%Line:  Wisconsin's line is a bit more experienced, and a bit better.

Purdue's offensive line has been decent but can be confused if you
slant alot on defense.

Serious injury: Starting OL Ryan Grigson suffered kidney failure on
Saturday night and is on dyalisis (sp?).  He is out for the season and
maybe more.  He was very lucky.  He got hit in the game which caused
pancreatitis and when he went to get help the doctors noticed his
kidney problems (unrelated to the hit).  If he gets full function of
his kidneys again (this is most likely the case) he can play football
again.

%Defense:

%Line:  DT Jeff Zgonina is one of the best in the Big 10 and the country,
%but he often doesn't have a lot of help.  They moved him back here from
%Nose Tackle so he'd be more effective.

Zgonina now holds the Purdue record for most tackles for a loss.  He
was MIA against Minnesota until late in the game.

%LB:  Eric Beatty has had some decent years, leading the Big 10 in tackles
%last year, I believe.  He was SI's player of the week after the Cal win.
%Not a lot else.

Beatty is everywhere on the field.  He is a very smart player.  He
lacks blazing speed or he'd be an all-star.  Needs one more fumble
recovery to tie the Purdue career record.  The other line backers are
VERY young and make many mistakes.  True freshman Bart Conley has made
his presence felt lately.

%DB:  Jimmy Young led the conference in interceptions last year, but hasn't
%been as effective this year.  Wisconsin hasn't thrown very effectively this
%year (for the most part), so Purdue's weakness here should not hurt them.

So far, the secondary has not been very good.  If you can throw well
you will beat Purdue.  The defense line gets no pressure on the
quarterback so the secondary may not be completely at fault.  Both
Northwestern and Toledo quarterbacks had field days against Purdue.
Cal and Minnesota quarterbacks threw interceptions so Purdue won.
Minnesota ran effectively against Purdue but mainly because of the
threat of the pass.

%Overall, Wisconsin's defense has performed a bit better than Purdue's.
%They both have had their big games (Purdue-Cal, Wisconsin-TOSU), but have
%had games where they've allowed a lot of yards (Purdue-Notre Dame, Toledo,
%Northwestern; Wisconsin-Iowa, Bowling Green).

Purdue's offense depends alot on how the quarterback is performing.
They can run on most teams.  If Pike throws well, this offense can put
points on the board when the recievers actually catch a pass.

%Should be an interesting game.

Purdue can win, but the edge has to go to Wisconsin.  They are playing
at home and have beaten Ohio State and played tough at Iowa.

Carl