Sorry that it's been two hours and I'm just posting this. But I had to DVR the game and I just finished it a bit ago. Here's some of my thoughts coming out of what is a huge victory for the Chips.
First things first, Purdue is really bad for a Big Ten team. They wouldn't be that good for MAC team. They had penalties on penalties, plus really poor quarterback play. Etling was brutal (17-of-32) and Appleby wasn't any better (7-of-17). Both guys had some really bad misses throughout the day.That said, a 21-point win at a Big Ten team still means something. If you're going to be a serious contender in the MAC and you're playing a below-the-basement Big Ten team like Purdue, this is what should happen. Let's see how they do against Syracuse and Kansas before proclaiming them ready to win at NIU or Toledo, but this is a very encouraging performance. That said, I don't think it's crazy to think this team could be 4-0 heading into conference play.At some point in the fourth quarter, I remembered that CMU didn't have Titus Davis. To do this without your best offensive player is that much more impressive. Anthony Rice played well in his absence and CMU did a good job using Rawls in the passing game. For the most part (see: one really bad interception late), Rush was very effective, completing 11-of-16 passes and averaging an impressive 10.75 yards-per-attempt.Thomas Rawls is a man! This is the Thomas Rawls that Michigan fans thought they would see for three years. He still occasionally tries too hard to bounce runs to the outside or run around guys, but for the most part, he was running downhill today, and running through guys. At this point, he's the clear number one back in the offense and could be headed for an All-MAC season.Not sure who the number two back is going to be. Lavallii struggled last week and only got one carry today, with Spalding running well on four carries. Think Rawls is going to get a large majority of the carries, but to see Lavallii only get one carry is surprising, less than a season removed from being an All-MAC candidate.Have to give the offensive line a ton of credit. They wore Purdue down over the course of the game. Rawls didn't seem to have a ton of room early, but had massive holes to run through for most of the second half.Purdue's offense didn't help themselves at all, but CMU held them to 211 yards after three quarters.Great coverage in the secondary, with a great interception by Jason Wilson. Good pick-six from Greer, but I also thought that ball by Etling was a duck, FWIW. Annese was all over the place too, especially in the first half.The defensive line was in the Purdue backfield all day. Kept seeing Walton, Ostman and Serpa making plays in the backfield. Along with the linebackers, they did a great job on any outside running plays. There were a bunch of runs to the outside where a Purdue runner couldn't find a cutback lane and didn't really gain much.Losing Coluzzi for any extended period of time would be very bad. Eavey was fine on short kicks, but there's no track record on longer field goals. Coluzzi consistently gets touchbacks on kickoffs, but Eavey wasn't reaching the endzone. Mills was spotty as a punter. Along with several breakdowns on return coverage, special teams play will be an issue if Coluzzi can't come back.Pretty sure Cooper M is headed for a redshirt. If he was gonna play, today would've been it. Unless he wasn't on the travel roster, and I'm not sure on that.One play that won't show up on the stat sheet, but was a game-changer was the fumble recovery by Jesse Kroll early in the third quarter. He came from 15-20 yards away to recover the Rush fumble. If he doesn't get to that ball, Purdue either scores on the play or potentially puts the ball in the endzone shortly after, which would've cut the lead to 21-14. Instead, CMU punted and held Purdue to a field goal. The following drive, the Chippewas put the ball in the endzone to extend the lead to 28-10. Most fans might not have noticed, but I guarantee the coaches did. Small play that completely changed the course of the game.
First things first, Purdue is really bad for a Big Ten team. They wouldn't be that good for MAC team. They had penalties on penalties, plus really poor quarterback play. Etling was brutal (17-of-32) and Appleby wasn't any better (7-of-17). Both guys had some really bad misses throughout the day.That said, a 21-point win at a Big Ten team still means something. If you're going to be a serious contender in the MAC and you're playing a below-the-basement Big Ten team like Purdue, this is what should happen. Let's see how they do against Syracuse and Kansas before proclaiming them ready to win at NIU or Toledo, but this is a very encouraging performance. That said, I don't think it's crazy to think this team could be 4-0 heading into conference play.At some point in the fourth quarter, I remembered that CMU didn't have Titus Davis. To do this without your best offensive player is that much more impressive. Anthony Rice played well in his absence and CMU did a good job using Rawls in the passing game. For the most part (see: one really bad interception late), Rush was very effective, completing 11-of-16 passes and averaging an impressive 10.75 yards-per-attempt.Thomas Rawls is a man! This is the Thomas Rawls that Michigan fans thought they would see for three years. He still occasionally tries too hard to bounce runs to the outside or run around guys, but for the most part, he was running downhill today, and running through guys. At this point, he's the clear number one back in the offense and could be headed for an All-MAC season.Not sure who the number two back is going to be. Lavallii struggled last week and only got one carry today, with Spalding running well on four carries. Think Rawls is going to get a large majority of the carries, but to see Lavallii only get one carry is surprising, less than a season removed from being an All-MAC candidate.Have to give the offensive line a ton of credit. They wore Purdue down over the course of the game. Rawls didn't seem to have a ton of room early, but had massive holes to run through for most of the second half.Purdue's offense didn't help themselves at all, but CMU held them to 211 yards after three quarters.Great coverage in the secondary, with a great interception by Jason Wilson. Good pick-six from Greer, but I also thought that ball by Etling was a duck, FWIW. Annese was all over the place too, especially in the first half.The defensive line was in the Purdue backfield all day. Kept seeing Walton, Ostman and Serpa making plays in the backfield. Along with the linebackers, they did a great job on any outside running plays. There were a bunch of runs to the outside where a Purdue runner couldn't find a cutback lane and didn't really gain much.Losing Coluzzi for any extended period of time would be very bad. Eavey was fine on short kicks, but there's no track record on longer field goals. Coluzzi consistently gets touchbacks on kickoffs, but Eavey wasn't reaching the endzone. Mills was spotty as a punter. Along with several breakdowns on return coverage, special teams play will be an issue if Coluzzi can't come back.Pretty sure Cooper M is headed for a redshirt. If he was gonna play, today would've been it. Unless he wasn't on the travel roster, and I'm not sure on that.One play that won't show up on the stat sheet, but was a game-changer was the fumble recovery by Jesse Kroll early in the third quarter. He came from 15-20 yards away to recover the Rush fumble. If he doesn't get to that ball, Purdue either scores on the play or potentially puts the ball in the endzone shortly after, which would've cut the lead to 21-14. Instead, CMU punted and held Purdue to a field goal. The following drive, the Chippewas put the ball in the endzone to extend the lead to 28-10. Most fans might not have noticed, but I guarantee the coaches did. Small play that completely changed the course of the game.
