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Friday, December 13, 2002
Boilermakers ready for Indiana
By Tim Stratton
Special to BCSfootball.com
Tim Stratton and the 19th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers missed an opportunity to clinch their first trip to the Rose Bowl since the 1966 season, losing to Michigan State 30-10 on Saturday. The junior tight end made only one catch for 14 yards in the loss. Purdue is still in control of the Big Ten, though, and can earn a trip to Pasadena with a win this weekend against Indiana (ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET).
|  | | Vinny Sutherland scored Purdue's only touchdown against Michigan State. |
We entered another hostile environment at Michigan State, but this time we didn't play nearly as well as we had to in order to win. Credit goes out to the Michigan State Spartans for playing a solid game.
A large thank you goes out to the Iowa Hawkeyes for keeping our dream alive in our quest to become the Big Ten champions. The coaches said that if they could trade the entire season in order to play Indiana for the Big Ten championship, they would do so in a second. A lot is on the line this weekend and both teams will come out firing.
MSU review: Offensively, we just didn't come to play. We underestimated the Spartans' defense and they took full advantage of it. Our running game never got going, and I can't say too much about the passing game except that was the poorest showing by us since I've been here. They say that defenses play their best when they're emotional and that's exactly what we ran into in East Lansing.
On defense, there isn't much I can say that wasn't evident from watching the game. T.J. Duckett, in my opinion, is one the best backs in college football. It took three or four guys just to slow him down. Stu Schweigert made some great stops that prevented The Horse from going all the way, but it didn't seem like our defense was playing with a lot of emotion. We see what happens when a defense does.
Special teams did a good job Saturday. Patrick Schaub made a great tackle inside the 10-yard line and other guys made some plays, but it just wasn't enough.
On to this week's game. Perhaps one of the more-hated rivalries in college sports, this game will be remembered for a long time. Whether it's a Purdue victory or an Indiana victory, people know the stakes and the anxiety will be high. Every year, the PU-IU game sells out regardless of records -- it's just a given that everyone in central Indiana goes to this game. Every year, a great game is played and I'm sure this year will be the same.
IU played us very well last year and it took Vinny Sutherland's punt return for a touchdown to secure the game for us. Considering we only let Drew Brees attempt 23 passes, I don't expect that we'll be as conservative this year, especially with what's at stake. We're going to come out firing all weapons and see what IU has to defend. Our crowd must play a factor in this one, so if all the PU fans are reading this, rest those voices and get ready for a loud one in Ross-Ade.
On a personal note, I'm really looking forward to this game, considering I almost attended IU to play football. Indiana quarterback Antwaan Randle-El and I played on the same All-Star team back in Chicago, and it's always a thrill to play against friends from high school.
Take care and have a great week.
P.S.: Happy 21st Birthday Bobby D., you finally made it.
Stratton's Purdue Statistics
| Year |
Rec. |
Yards |
Average |
TD |
Long |
| 2000 |
52 |
532 |
10.2 |
1 |
29 |
| 1999 |
49 |
593 |
12.1 |
4 |
34 |
| 1998 |
38 |
381 |
10.0 |
7 |
29 |
| Total |
138 |
1,506 |
10.9 |
12 |
34 |
Click here to go to Purdue's official web site.
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Drew Brees airs it out to Vinny Sutherland for a 68-yard TD.