Start of 2nd Qtr.
-Direct snap to Span, Werner on tackle; gain of 3
-Power I formation- fullback slides before snap- Span gets close to goal line...1ft line
-3rd Down inside the 1- Span scores after over-powering Williams on the 1
-Point after is good
-Great drive by NIU
-Very short kick- Adams from 17- returned to the Purdue 31
-I formation- Crank at FB- Bolden strung out for loss of 1- NIU saw film of that play
-Elliott rolls left- pass to Valentin, gain of 9
-Elliott in the gun, Bolden on his right- inside draw to Bolden. First down
-Hurry-up Purdue- inside draw to Bolden, gain of 2
-Purdue returns to normal huddle
-Elliott under center, Bolden alone in backfield- draw off left tackle, gain of 4
-Adams wide right w/ Carlos, Elliot scans, ball deflected and caught by Smith in the middle- first down, gain of 6
-Short pass to Adams out in the short right flat, gain of 2
-I formation, play action, Elliott's pocket collapses, scrambles for no gain in heavy traffic on right side
-Purdue 2 of 4 on 3rd down...now 2 of 5. NIU pressured up the middle had Elliott in his grasps when Elliott tried to dump it to Bolden
-Placement punt goes into the endzone- Williams down there to attempt to down it
-NIU will take over on their own 20
-TV timeout- Bolden looked good that drive...NIU packing more and more personnel in the box. Elliott making decisions slowly it seems and NIU pressuring him on almost every passing down.
-We haven't seen any unusual personnel yet on offense
-Single back, Harnish under ctr, draw to Brown for loss of 2...Neal on the tackle
-NIU better out of the 'gun
-5 wide, Harnish looks right, throws to the TE on inside slant to Palmer...Carlino on the stop. 1st down
-Harnish inside read draw, broken tackle (Williams missed tackle & Pender didn't wrap him up)...long touchdown run for Brown- 67 yards.
-Poor Purdue tackling continues to be problematic...should have been a gain of 11 yards.
-Extra point good
NIU exerting their will on Purdue...Miko Brown already has 86 yds rushing, 22 yds receiving...his last run was the longest of his career.
NIU 14
Purdue 7
8:21 in the second as NIU kicks
-Kick out of the back of the endzone
-Purdue takes over at their own 20...
-Strong N to S wind helped that one out of the endzone
-Elliott rolls right, overshoots Lindsay at about 12 yards out
-NIU offsides
-2nd & 5. Read draw to Crank...poor read again by Elliott from the shotgun with Crank on his rt, Bolden on his left. Loss of 1.
-Elliott underneath to Bolden, gain of 5. Purdue to punt.
-Summers will punt from the 10
-NIU getting close to Summers.
-50 yard punt, no return. NIU ball at their 25
-A little chippiness on the play by NIU
-Harnish in the 'gun...inside draw to Span...Harnish got out in front to block. Tackled by Pender after gain of 3
-5-wide for NIU; three right, two left. Harnish's pass a touch behind the TE and dropped. Carlino on the coverage
-3rd and 7 for NIU. Purdue needs the stop.
-Students loud
-Harnish looks deep, overthrown. Pender with Moore down the right sideline...was in very good position to pick it off had the ball been well-thrown.
-Good stop for Boilers
-Purdue gets close to blocking it
-Valentin botches catch..looks like it's NIU ball- it is on the Purdue 35
-This was foreshadowed by Valentin's near-drop on his TD
-NIU players jawing as they leave field
-Harnish under center, Span bounces outside left for a gain of 4...
-NIU getting more space
-Harnish under center- Span bounces around for gain of 2.
-3rd and 4. Harnish again under center, I formation. FB in motion. Neal misses tackle as pocket collapses. Harnish gains 9 and gets 1st down after run to the rt.
-Harnish in 'gun.
-Huge fumble on Spans carry...Purdue recovers.
-Unprofessionalism abounds in box as NIU media grunts and groans
-Purdue on their own 19
-Elliott under center, draw to Bolden for gain of 2
-Elliott fires left, gain of 2
-Elliott under center, rolls right, overshoots Smith at the first down. Purdue gives the ball up on downs again.
-Summer punting from the 8...almost blocked again
-OK punt, no return, 48 w/ roll. Flag down.
It's been a clean game so far- only two flags come to mind.
-NIU on its own 34.
-Harnish sweep to Palmer, gain of 4.
-NIU seems to be able to do what it wants
-Seem route to Cox...a little deep or he might have scored
-Third down. Harnish under center, I formation. Play action, good defense by Williams in traffic; pass was a bit high and away. NIU to punt.
Purdue only down by 7, but it feels like more...NIU moving the ball very well, Purdue unable to get into rhythm on offense.
-NIU punting from their own 21...short punt, Valentin drops the ball. NIU nearly picks it up and runs it into the endzone. Instead, recovers on the 23.
-Harnish under center. Draw to Brown, drags the pile for gain of 5. Tackle by Gooden.
-NIU effective w/ Harnish under ctr.
-Play action, good pressure by Gooden, block picked up by NIU line. Pass completed to Cox on right sideline. First down
-Harnish inside draw to Brown, gain of 1, tackle by McKinley.
-Harnish still under ctr. I formation. Pass off his back foot to TE Cunningham for score.
-The short field was a gift taken advantage of by the Huskies
-NIU has a real Huskie dog that just ran across the endzone w/ cheerleaders
NIU 21
Purdue 7
-Valentin has another good return, this time on a KO...Facemask to be tacked on to the end. Purdue to have excellent field position- on the Purdue 45.5. Little over a minute left
-Elliott in the 'gun. Pass underneath to Bolden...gain of 4
-21 seconds left in the half
-Taylor in the flat....looks like a hold; it is.
-Pass to Smith complete; 3rd and 4 with 7 seconds left
-Elliott tries to pass deep to Carlos; incomplete...Purdue to punt.
-Wiggs will try a 60 yard field goal against the wind.
-Wide right and a bit short
Halftime
I'm going to do this differently in the second half...hopefully Purdue does as well.
Quick analysis-
-Purdue's offensive line isn't creating enough space on blocking schemes for the run game to be effective.
-Elliott looks inconsistant with his arm and seems to be making decisions slowly.
-Bolden is being keyed on, smartly, by NIU and Purdue coaches aren't changing game plan to react to NIU's packed box.
-Lack of downfield passes is not punishing NIU's aggressive front 7
-Purdue's pressure on defense is late on almost every pass...Harnish is moving outside of the pocket to create lanes and evade rush.
-Harnish in complete control of the game
-The recurring theme of poor tackling once-again badly-hurting Purdue
-Valentin's botched punts more than negate his punt return for a TD...Much like the Oregon game, if you give good teams the chance to capitalize, they usually do.
Purdue
74yds
2 TO
7pts (special teams TD)
NIU
247 yds
1TO
21pts
Purdue very slow out of the tunnel prior to second half...kind of look like a beaten team by their body language.