What I watched yesterday

Northwestern at Penn State. This one was ugly, a 33-7 pasting in front of 108,000 fans at Happy Valley. The defense gave up too many long tosses to an inexperienced QB, and the offense was hapless. The tough goal line stand right before the half gave me heart, but the Lions poured it on in the third quarter.

The final score did not really reflect how bad the beating was, as Penn State beat us in every phase of the game:

• Net yards rushing, 233 to 81
• Net yards passing, 295 to 157
• Third down conversions, 9 of 17 to 1 of 13
• Sacks, 3 to 0

Like I said, it was ugly. Andrew Brewer got his first start, and he had 17 of the team's 28 rushes. Yes that's right, the team that has Tyrell Sutton and Terrell Jordan in the backfield, rushes the QB 17 times. Now in fairness, many of those were on pass plays due to pressure or Brewer's inability to throw the ball, but still. I am not sure what it takes for the coaches and O-line to begin smashing the ball up the middle like they should be.

My DVR begged me to erase this one. And my wallet was happy that I didn't take the points.

Purdue at Notre Dame. A satisfying win by the golden domers, 35-21. Brady Quinn had a superlative day, finishing 29 of 38 for 318 yards, and Darius Walker had his best game of the year. But most satisfying of all was the brilliantly executed fake field goal with Jeff Samardzija running to the left, untouched into the end zone. Take that, Joe Tiller! I'll have to check with my brother and see if he gave 13.5 or 14.5 on this one, since the line was 14...