A night game in B1G country in November? What a time to be alive! Yes, get your blankets, hoodies and hot cocoa ready for the first 11th month night game in Northwestern football history. The forecast calls for a 39 degree air temperature and a 37% chance of precipitation at kickoff, 6 pm on ESPN2. Purdue has not beaten the Wildcats since 2010, which was coincidentally also a night game in Evanston.
Also, have a listen below at my Northwestern football analysis segment on KOZN 1620 the Zone, Omaha.
https://soundcloud.com/user-614766533/nov-3-seg-9-paul-banks-owner-northwestern-illini-expert-the-sports-bank-see-you-on-monday
Cardiac Cats
NU became the first team in FBS history to win three straight games in a row in overtime. The OT rules have been in place since 1996, and for the sake of keeping everyone as warm as we can, given the frigid conditions, hopefully this doesn’t end in extra time, and gets settled in regulation.
Tim McGarnigle (yes, like the police detective on The Simpsons) was the original baby Pat Fitzgerald, but Paddy Fisher might ultimately prove to be the truest. He also, like former Illini QB Reilly O’Toole, has a name that sounds like the public house you may have spent some time and money at on St. Patrick’s Day.
Here’s a link to more on Fisher, who’s becoming the next big thing.
If you didn’t hear him speak at B1G Media Day in our exclusive, and judging by the page views numbers, you most likely haven’t, go to this link.
He was already someone to root for, no matter what your side you’re on. Then this happened, in the win over Illinois on Saturday. Blough suffered a dislocated ankle, a small break in the fibula and ligament damage. The way he handled it all though, is a phenomenal example for the children of the world.
David Blough firing up the crowd as he's carted off the field🎥⬇️ pic.twitter.com/JLAPqQVTNI
— Caleb Noe (@CalebNoeTV) November 4, 2017
Best wishes and speedy recovery to David Blough. Love his attitude.@GoldandBlackcom @HammerAndRails pic.twitter.com/vcA4tbf634
— Scott Engelken (@PurdueToes) November 4, 2017
Best of luck to Blough in his recovery, and hopefully, he comes back strong in his senior year next fall.
Will the emotion be enough to propel Purdue past NU, and pull off the six point upset? It really depends on how Elijah Sindelar fares against a ball-hawking NU secondary.
The Cats picked off Nebraska QB Tanner Lee three times last week, and dropped three interceptions (but they did get one) versus Michigan State quarterback Brian Lewerke, who is hotter than any other passer in the nation (outside of the Bedlam teams) right now.
Purdue’s Stout Run Defense vs Justin Jackson’s Inconsistency
Purdue has held three opponents under 100 yards rushing this season, the best since 2012. The 120 rushing yards allowed in the last two games is the fewest in back-to-back B1G games since 2004 against Penn State and Wisconsin. Now they’ll face Justin Jackson, leading rusher in Northwestern football history, but someone who’s not been 100% healthy this season, and thus his production has declined.
He’s been up and down in 2017, as has the line blocking in front of him, so this will be an interesting match-up to watch Saturday night.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune corporation blogging community Chicago Now.
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