If Purdue quarterback Drew Brees wants to boost his Heisman Trophy hopes, perhaps he should consider taking a spot on the Boilermakers’ beleaguered punt unit. Don’t think it hasn’t crossed his mind. But the softspoken senior from Texas decided it would be better if he offered encouragement, for lack of a better term.
“We’ve had a block and a mess-up from just about every place on the punt team,” Brees said Tuesday. “The only thing I can do about that is just kind of talk to those guys and let them know how big a part of our team that punt team is. I think I’ve got that across to those guys and I think that’s going to change. In fact I know that’s going to change.”
With No. 6 Michigan coming to town Saturday, it had better. Purdue has botched six punts this year, and they’ve been quite costly. Two errors led to 10 Notre Dame points in a 23-21 loss at South Bend Sept. 16 and two more blunders led to a couple of Penn State TDs in a 22-20 loss at State College, Pa., last Saturday.
If Purdue had managed the basics of snapping, blocking and punting, it might be 5-0. And this weekend’s showdown with Michigan would have national implications.
Give and go: No. 24 Wisconsin watched two of its preseason goals–a national title and a Rose Bowl berth–go down the drain in the last two weekends. With No. 8 Ohio State rolling into Madison on Saturday, the Badgers are trying to avoid going 0-3 in conference for the first time since 1996, when they started 0-4.
The Badgers’ woes are many, but perhaps the most critical is turnovers. A year ago Wisconsin ranked fifth in Division I turnover margin; on average it took the ball away once more per game than it turned the ball over. This year Wisconsin ranks 50th. It has created eight takeaways while committing seven turnovers. But in Big Ten play it has only two takeaways against four giveaways.
“It’s something this program has kind of prided itself on,” said quarterback Brooks Bollinger, who has thrown three interceptions, one more than he did in eight starts last year. “We’re making too many mistakes.”
Backing up the boast: After Wisconsin’s 13-10 loss to Michigan Saturday, Badgers cornerback Jamar Fletcher insisted he had won his individual battle with Wolverines receiver David Terrell. It seemed an odd boast given the fact that Terrell leaped above a crowd of players, including Fletcher, to snag the winning touchdown pass.
But a review of the game tape by Wisconsin coaches supports Fletcher. On the 33 plays that Wisconsin employed man-to-man coverage, Terrell caught one pass for 22 yards. His other four catches, including the 15-yard game-winner in the fourth quarter, came against a zone.
Taliaferro update: The condition of injured Penn State football player Adam Taliaferro has improved, the university announced this week. Taliaferro, 18, who suffered a severe spinal injury in the Sept. 23 game at Ohio State, is listed in stable condition at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. Dr. Wayne Sebastianelli, Penn State’s director of athletic medicine, said Taliaferro’s lungs have become stronger since being taken off a ventilator last week.
Penn State has established a fund for long-term care and to defray expenses not covered by family, university and NCAA catastrophic injury insurance programs. Donations may be sent to the Adam Taliaferro Fund, c/o University Development Office, The Pennsylvania State University, One Old Main, University Park, PA 16802. Any money not required for long-term care will be transferred to an endowed scholarship in his name.
More Top Picks All Reviews
Sidelines: Saturday will go down as a day of infamy for Michigan State fans. After watching the Spartans roll over against Northwestern in East Lansing, many Sparty followers got home just in time to watch former State coach Nick Saban lead LSU to a thrilling overtime win over then-No. 11 Tennessee in Baton Rouge. To top it all off, Michigan won. . . . Michigan Stadium is among the finer venues in the nation. Michigan Stadium’s playing surface is another story. Can’t the Wolverines spare a few bucks for groundskeeping? Players for Wisconsin and Michigan were slipping all over the place last Saturday.