this is it..

the time has come...

yes.. it's Purdue VS Wisconsin!! hehe.. if it wasn't for the 2004 season this game might not be that important. just another annual meeting with one of the upper-end teams of the big ten conference.

just a quick recap:
it was homecoming at Purdue. we were ranked 5th, badgers were ranked 10th nationally. college gameday went to Purdue for the first time ever. all we needed was a win to sealed the perfect moment, a moment that should bump Purdue into the elite groups of NCAA football.

then it came... with about 3 minutes to go Orton ran play that somewhat looked like a naked bootleg to the right.. one of Wisconsin's linebackers tackled him, forcing Orton to fumbled the ball, that was returned for a touchdown. the booth reviewed the play, and the call stands. with a few seconds left on the clock, Jones missed the field goal sealing the win for Wisconsin.

I never hear the stadium more silence than that day... ever!

National Championship hope? gone.
Big Ten Championship hope? gone.
Orton as Heisman Trophy winner? gone.

Purdue went to lose the next 4 games and it was just really painful to watch the games. We DID win the game against Ohio St and Indiana, but none of those seems important at that time.

Pontiac used the fumble-return for touchdown play for the 'game changing performance' campaign they have. and guess what? it won!! congrats to wisconsin.. and purdue... i guess? ESPN used to play Orton's fumble so much that I had to switch the TV to another channel whenever that happens. it was just too painful too watch.

Now the situation is quite different. Wisconsin is ranked 21th nationally, and Purdue is unranked.

All the statistics and opinions favor Wisconsin over Purdue. I mean, who wouldn't? We're still struggling with our defense and Wisconsin is rolling with their big linemen and their freshman running back PJ Hill. I read in the news that PJ Hill was the fastest freshman ever to reach 1000 yards or something. (they and their silly statistics) the point is that they're good.

So, what will it be? will Purdue finally get over the most painful loss in the last couple of years, or they will go back to the drawing board and try to get another win next year (as much as last year's team tried to do.. and failed!).

Nonetheless, 21 is my favorite number ^^. and somehow I figured it's not really impossible to get a win this weekend.

I just hope even if we lose, the game won't be as painful as the one in 2004

enough football talks.. the weather doesn't support my plan to take some autumn color photographs this week, so I'll probably try again tomorrow or sometime in the weekend. Also hopefully the weather won't be too cold or cloudy during the game this saturday as I plan to take some football pics.