BSD Prediction Roundtable: Purdue

I hate saying any game is a sure thing, but this game should be a sure thing. This Penn State team is wildly inconsistent, a common trait of youth, however this may be just the opportunity to demonstrate their potential and give us all a glimpse of what's possible going forward. This is the type of game where I'm less interested in predictions and more interested in eliminating the problems that have plagued this team all year. I'd like to see the offense avoid turnovers and force a few on defense. Watch the offense convert third downs and score touchdowns when they get to red zone, the defense wrap up and get off the field on third down. If they can manage many of those things against Purdue, I'll have far more confidence about the final two games of this season and even further down the road.

Penn State 37 - 13

Galen: I think it's going to be back to basics and force the ball down Purdue's throat. I wouldn't be surprised if the theme at practice this week was turnovers. As in, stop doing them and start making them when you get the opportunities. I'm looking in your direction Malcolm Willis.

I would love to see Penn State use play action to hit the Tight Ends this game. Remember when we had the best Tight Ends in the Big Ten and defensive coordinators feared that?! Good times.

Penn State 21 - 10

Jersey Nick: This is going to be a boring game. I don't think Hack throws the ball more than 20 times, as BOB will just pound the ball with Belton and Zwinak all game long. Purdue's defense is really, really bad, so our guys shouldn't have much trouble picking up big chunks of yards on the ground. Give me a Hack to A-Rob touchdown, and a rushing touchdown each for Zwinak and Belton.

As far as Purdue's scores, at some point in the 1st half Zwinak is going to fumble. One of the Boilermakers is going to pick it up, and return it for their only TD of the day. And at some point they'll kick a field goal. I'm just hoping for an exciting play or two, that I can get a cool view of from the press box. That means you all get to enjoy my lovely tweeting on the BSD account for Saturday, so get pumped up for that. Go State.

Penn State 27 - 10

Chad: The gameplan here should be simple: run the ball all day. Purdue is exceptionally bad against the rush and as long as Penn State's duo of Belton and Zwinak hold on to the ball there shouldn't be any reason to worry about this game. Hack completes a high percentage of passes and tosses a couple of long TD passes to Brandon Felder, who has himself a nice bounce-back game. The defense will let in a couple of pity scores, and people will call for John Butler's head because of it.

Penn State 31 - 14

bscaff: There's a movie called "Casino". In that movie there's a scene where gangster Joe Pesci and his goons have kicked the **** out of a guy, 'Tony Dogs', for two days. Dogs has refused to talk despite 48 hours of beatings. "He was one of the toughest Irishmen I ever met," states Pesci via voice over.

Regardless of that admiration, Pesci needs Dogs to talk, so they drag his battered body across the floor, and stick his head in a table vise. They crank. 'Dogs' tells Pesci to go **** himself. Pesci cranks some more, and one of Dogs' eyes pop out of his skull. Dogs finally gurgles out a first name while spitting blood - a name Pesci already knew well. Then they cut Dogs' throat.

And scene.

It's a good movie to watch with young children. But the point I'm trying to make here is that one of us - either Penn State or Purdue - gets to play the role of Tony Dogs this Saturday. Purdue - you're it. (And yes, Pesci gets beaten to death with a ball bat, so....ultimately we're both dead men here. But for now, we get to point and laugh.)

Penn State 27 - 10

Tim: Penn State is likely good for a turnover or two, one of which will give Purdue's anemic and dysfunctional offense excellent field position which they will take advantage of to the fullest by finding the end zone against a PSU defense that's been oh...less than stellar this year. On the other hand, Purdue's anemic and dysfunctional offense will likely shoot itself in the foot with a costly turnover or two themselves, of which PSU's offense for all of its issues lately, will take full advantage of. Tack on a hat trick's worth of Sam Ficken field goals along with a few TD's mostly set up by a boatload of runs from the Zwinak/Belton combo and a few well-timed Hack-to-ARob connections, and you'll have the makings of an ugly, but somewhat comfortable win.

Penn State 30 - 14

Bill: Purdue is hot garbage. I wholly believe that they are the worst AQ school in America, which is saying something, because teams in the AAC are technically AQ schools and that conference is trash. The only thing the Boilermakers are good at is being bad. If you slightly upgraded them at every position, they'd upgrade to "horrible." They're that bad.

I think Belton, Zwinak, Lynch, and whoever else gets snaps at RB shreds Purdue, which opens things up for Allen Robinson to do Allen Robinson things all over the field. I also expect Penn State's defense to maybe have its best game of the year, swarming Purdue's anemic offense, sacking the sacrificial lamb that the Boilermakers line up at QB multiple times, and forcing a few turnovers. I expect a blow out. This is weird.

Nick will be in the press box this week, so I hope that he gets kicked out by the third quarter. However, if he doesn't get kicked out until the fourth quarter, that's cool. I just want Nick to get kicked out.

Penn State 38 - 9

From the preview:

Jared: Penn State 27 - 14

From the podcast:

Cari: Penn State

Adam: Penn State

Dan: Penn State

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