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Friday, December 13, 2002
Rebounding from a tough loss, Boilermakers gear up for Big Ten opener
By Tim Stratton
Special to BCSfootball.com
On Saturday, Tim Stratton and Purdue fell to 2-1 with a last-second 23-21 loss at Notre Dame. The junior tight end caught five passes for 53 yards in the loss.
A tough game to handle, our first loss of the season came to a talented Notre Dame team. A lot of people have underestimated the Irish this season, but they proved to be a very tough team. Like I said in the last entry, their stadium is very difficult to play in and that is all attributed to their fans. They were nuts. We handled it pretty well, but we just didn't come up with the plays when we needed to.
|  | | Vinny Sutherland scored two TDs in the Boilermakers loss. |
Our offense never clicked like it had in the previous weeks, although our running game was great. Montrell Lowe and Sedrick Brown ran extremely well and our offensive line proved to the country that they can run block as well pass block. Vinny Sutherland had another excellent game, catching two touchdown passes. Notre Dame played man free, which left many of our receivers one-on-one.
I was surprised at the fact that we only passed the ball 22 times in the whole game. I've been in the offense for three years and have seen Drew attempt 25 passes in a single quarter. Oh well, we played well but not nearly as well as we should have.
Our defense did a great job all game, and considering that Notre Dame's offense only scored one touchdown says a lot about our D. Notre Dame's best plays came on screens. Other than that, the Irish never really moved the ball until the last drive, and in the end, that's the one that counts.
I would definitely say that this was a fan's game. A last second field goal is definitely a climactic end to a great game. Coach Joe Tiller said that it would come down to a field goal or some last minute play and that's exactly what happened.
We have no time to dwell on the loss because we open our Big Ten season with Minnesota this weekend. They play a similar defense to what Notre Dame played, so it should be another thriller. I think playing at home is going to help. We're going to need our fans in this game as the 12th man. I'm really looking forward to this one because this is really the start of the season.
On a personal note, I hope you all will say a prayer for my family because my grandmother is dying and doctors say it will be any day now. I would really appreciate it.
Thanks and have a safe week.
Stratton's Purdue Statistics
| Year |
Rec. |
Yards |
Average |
TD |
Long |
| 2000 |
15 |
190 |
12.7 |
1 |
29 |
| 1999 |
49 |
593 |
12.1 |
4 |
34 |
| 1998 |
38 |
381 |
10.0 |
7 |
29 |
| Total |
102 |
1164 |
11.4 |
12 |
34 |
Click here to go to Purdue's official web site.
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Purdue coach Joe Tiller talks about establishing the running game.