Boilermusings - September 9, 2021

Welcome to Boilermusings the article in which I cram three stories together to see if I can create a new taste sensation ala chocolate and peanut butter. So far? No success but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to keep trying. Let’s give it a go!

Purdue Volleyball Rolls On

Purdue volleyball sits at 4-0 on the young season with one win over a top 25 team. After the fast start the team was rewarded with their highest ranking in program history.

One of the things you’ll notice if you take any time to look at that tweet is that despite being ranked #6 in the country Purdue is actually the 4th ranked Big Ten team. Absolutely incredible. With three conference foes ahead of them it’s going to be a hell of a slog to try and win the conference. The Big Ten is consistently one of if not the best conferences when it comes to volleyball and this season is no different.

Coach Shondell takes the team on the road this weekend to face #10 ranked Louisville. It will be a strong test for this squad and should give us an idea of what type of team they are.

Drew Brees

Drew Brees has started his career as an analyst with NBC and he looks...different.

Look, I’m not gonna begrudge the guy because he’s clearly got the money but this is just very noticeable. I’m much more focused on the fact that in addition to his position as an NFL analyst I’m going to have to listen to Brees call Notre Dame guys and to me that just feels dirty. I don’t like it all. I know it’s not like he’ll be rooting for ND but it just feels so off. We will have to see how he does this season but with his intelligence and knowledge of the game I’d expect we will be seeing Brees on TV for as long as he’d like to be there. And who knows, maybe we’ll get a Drew Brees NFL game in the future ala Madden. Maybe they would at least do more than update rosters...

Football Expectations

It’s easy to get very excited about your football team when they win game one. It doesn’t matter who game one is against as long as they win there’s almost always a reason to be optimistic. This Purdue team is no exception. Oregon State was expected to be a team that gave the Purdue defense trouble on the ground but Purdue held them to 78 yards on the ground. Yes, I know Oregon State isn’t a top 25 opponent and no it isn’t like they truly are a Wisconsin like team as Brohm compared them to in his presser but it’s still a good sign.

So, this week when Purdue plays UConn it will likely make Purdue fans even more excited because as we’ve discussed, UConn is very very bad. Don’t be surprised if Purdue scores 40+ points. Make sure to keep the terribleness of UConn in mind though. For me, no matter what happens against UConn my expectations haven’t changed. I’m still hoping for a 6-6 season. I know I mention this all the time but I’m gonna paraphrase Matt Painter “you’re never as good as you look after a win and you’re never as bad as you look after a loss.” That’s the case for Purdue. Even if they start 2-0 I’m still skeptical that the line can hold up against tougher opponents and I don’t know if the defense has enough firepower to slow down a lot of Big Ten offenses. Regardless of that though, it’s great to watch Purdue football and I’m gonna enjoy every moment.