BLOOMINGTON AND WEST LAFAYETTE -
Throughout the college football season, I've done "The Hawley Three" for each Purdue and Indiana football game, pointing out the things to watch for when the teams meet on the gridiron on Saturday afternoon.
We'll since the two teams play each other on Saturday, things have changed so to be fair for both teams, this week we'll have "The Hawley Six" as the teams square off for the Old Oaken Bucket. Both teams enter the game without a chance for bowl eligibility since they have records of 5-7, but this would fall into that "Records Are Thrown Out" category.
So for the final time this season, its "The Hawley Three" x 2 as Indiana and Purdue meet in the 85th Old Oaken Bucket Game at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.
1. Salvage A Season? For Purdue it might actually surpass expectations, since three wins for Danny Hope's first season was considered about midrange. Going home to West Lafayette with the bucket would give Purdue a 5-7 record, more than most would have believed when camp broke in August. Indiana would be in a similar boat because they were expected to do very little, but the positive vibes might not be as great considering the Hoosiers' blown leads and near misses that kept them out of bowl contention.
2.More the Merrier?-In an attempt to gain a bigger home field advantage, Indiana athletic director Fred Glass has opened up 2,500 more student seats in the northwest corner of Memorial Stadium. He did this due to the demand for student tickets that have already increased from 8,100 to 12,500. Don't underestimate the power of the home field advantage, because the Hoosiers' last two bucket wins (2001 and 2007) both came at home. In 2007 the sellout crowd caught many by surprise, including Purdue head coach Joe Tiller, who said the crowd had a big effect on the game.
3. The D-Lines Have It-One of the big points of emphasis this season in "The Hawley Three" has been the solid defensive line play that both teams have had. Ryan Kerrigan of Purdue leads the conference in sacks with 11-2.5 more than his nearest competitor. He also has 16.5 tackles for loss and a conference-high five forced fumbles in his junior season. Tied at the top with Kerrigan in the latter category is Indiana's Jammie Kirlew, who has followed up a suprising 2008 with another solid season. He also has 14.5 tackles for loss along with 5.5 sacks, and figures to get lots of interest in the draft come April.
4. Something For Joey...or Ben-Another favorite for this article has been the chase for the Big Ten passing title that's gone on between Purdue's Joey Elliott and Indiana's Ben Chappell. Right now its the Boilermaker senior who has the lead over the Hoosier junior, as Elliott leads the conference with 256.5 yards per game passing as opposed to Chappell's 243.2. So who's got the better chance to win? Elliott might be the favorite, because Indiana has the conference's worst passing defense, allowing 245.3 yards per game. The Boilermakers, meanwhile, are a respectable fourth.
5.Aint That A Kick?-Its worth noting that one of the more memorable games in the series was the last time these two rivals met for the bucket in Bloomington. On that day a close game was decided by kicker Austin Starr-who'se field goal in the final minutes gave Indiana a 27-24 victory. If it comes down to that again, things could get interesting, because the kicker for each team has had their moments this season. Purdue's Carson Wiggs started the season off with a bang, nailing a school-record 59-yard field goal in a win over Toledo. But his percentage of kicks made is a pedestrian 68.4-tied for seventh in the conference. The Hoosiers' Nick Freeland, however, is below that, as he's made just 60.4 percent of his kicks, which is last amoung the regulars in the Big Ten. If the game comes down to a field goal, things could get interesting.
6. Feeling The Heat-Pressure on the sidelines at this game is always high, especially for the coaches. Last season it was for Tiller, who hoped to win his last game as head coach of the Boilermakers. The year before it was for both Tiller and then interim Indiana head coach Bill Lynch, as each were hoping for some job security in the victory. Examples are all over the place in the past, especially at Indiana where there have been five coaches since 1996. Lynch would have been feeling the heat a ton had it not been for some reassuring words from Glass over the past few weeks, as he expressed his desire to have coaches finish out their contracts. Hope, beyond pride, won't feel much heat on the sidelines one way or the other since he's already exceeded low expectations that were given to him this season.
We'll since the two teams play each other on Saturday, things have changed so to be fair for both teams, this week we'll have "The Hawley Six" as the teams square off for the Old Oaken Bucket. Both teams enter the game without a chance for bowl eligibility since they have records of 5-7, but this would fall into that "Records Are Thrown Out" category.
So for the final time this season, its "The Hawley Three" x 2 as Indiana and Purdue meet in the 85th Old Oaken Bucket Game at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.
1. Salvage A Season? For Purdue it might actually surpass expectations, since three wins for Danny Hope's first season was considered about midrange. Going home to West Lafayette with the bucket would give Purdue a 5-7 record, more than most would have believed when camp broke in August. Indiana would be in a similar boat because they were expected to do very little, but the positive vibes might not be as great considering the Hoosiers' blown leads and near misses that kept them out of bowl contention.
2.More the Merrier?-In an attempt to gain a bigger home field advantage, Indiana athletic director Fred Glass has opened up 2,500 more student seats in the northwest corner of Memorial Stadium. He did this due to the demand for student tickets that have already increased from 8,100 to 12,500. Don't underestimate the power of the home field advantage, because the Hoosiers' last two bucket wins (2001 and 2007) both came at home. In 2007 the sellout crowd caught many by surprise, including Purdue head coach Joe Tiller, who said the crowd had a big effect on the game.
3. The D-Lines Have It-One of the big points of emphasis this season in "The Hawley Three" has been the solid defensive line play that both teams have had. Ryan Kerrigan of Purdue leads the conference in sacks with 11-2.5 more than his nearest competitor. He also has 16.5 tackles for loss and a conference-high five forced fumbles in his junior season. Tied at the top with Kerrigan in the latter category is Indiana's Jammie Kirlew, who has followed up a suprising 2008 with another solid season. He also has 14.5 tackles for loss along with 5.5 sacks, and figures to get lots of interest in the draft come April.
4. Something For Joey...or Ben-Another favorite for this article has been the chase for the Big Ten passing title that's gone on between Purdue's Joey Elliott and Indiana's Ben Chappell. Right now its the Boilermaker senior who has the lead over the Hoosier junior, as Elliott leads the conference with 256.5 yards per game passing as opposed to Chappell's 243.2. So who's got the better chance to win? Elliott might be the favorite, because Indiana has the conference's worst passing defense, allowing 245.3 yards per game. The Boilermakers, meanwhile, are a respectable fourth.
5.Aint That A Kick?-Its worth noting that one of the more memorable games in the series was the last time these two rivals met for the bucket in Bloomington. On that day a close game was decided by kicker Austin Starr-who'se field goal in the final minutes gave Indiana a 27-24 victory. If it comes down to that again, things could get interesting, because the kicker for each team has had their moments this season. Purdue's Carson Wiggs started the season off with a bang, nailing a school-record 59-yard field goal in a win over Toledo. But his percentage of kicks made is a pedestrian 68.4-tied for seventh in the conference. The Hoosiers' Nick Freeland, however, is below that, as he's made just 60.4 percent of his kicks, which is last amoung the regulars in the Big Ten. If the game comes down to a field goal, things could get interesting.
6. Feeling The Heat-Pressure on the sidelines at this game is always high, especially for the coaches. Last season it was for Tiller, who hoped to win his last game as head coach of the Boilermakers. The year before it was for both Tiller and then interim Indiana head coach Bill Lynch, as each were hoping for some job security in the victory. Examples are all over the place in the past, especially at Indiana where there have been five coaches since 1996. Lynch would have been feeling the heat a ton had it not been for some reassuring words from Glass over the past few weeks, as he expressed his desire to have coaches finish out their contracts. Hope, beyond pride, won't feel much heat on the sidelines one way or the other since he's already exceeded low expectations that were given to him this season.
