Jason Phillips
President, Purdue Club of Chicago


Time to BOILER UP Purdue fans.....
> Next weekend, Oct. 26th, Purdue will be traveling to Northwestern for a Big
> 10
> battle with the Wildcats. The early forecast is calling for a beautiful
> Autumn day with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 60's. Now that's the
> way it's suppose to be during football season!
> So grab your friends, families or neighbors and join fellow Boilermakers
> from Chicagoland, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa and elsewhere at our
> annual pregame tailgate party at Peter Jans Community Golf Course. The party
> is only 2 blocks from the stadium. (tickets are not included but you should
> be able to find them for less than face value around the stadium)
> Here are the details:
>
> When: Saturday, Oct. 26th, 8AM
> Where:1031 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201 for driving directions go to:
> http://www.mapquest.com/
> How much: $20 Adults, $10 kids 12 and under
> What's included: Food (chicken, burgers, brats, salads, etc.) drinks ( beer,
> pop, etc. Cash bar for cocktails) a visit from the Cheerleaders and
> Boilermaker Special?
> What's not included: game ticket, parking
>
> We will also have a table set up with our high quality Purdue Club of
> Chicago golf shirts (get some Christmas shopping done AND attend the game!)
> For the price of postage, we'll even mail the shirts for you so you don't
> have to carry them around all day!
>
> We encourage you to RSVP as we expect a large crowd.
> 2 ways to RSVP:
>
> 1) Print this form and mail it
> 2) email the form with your credit card # and information. ( you can pay
> cash at the check-in or leave it on the card. If you're a no-show, the card
> will be charged).
> ____________________________________________________________________________
> __________________
> Purdue vs. Northwestern Tailgate Party
> Oct. 26th, 8AM
> Name:______________________________________
> Address:____________________________________
> email:_______________________________________
>
> # of Adults at $20 each ______
> # of Kids at $10 each ______
>
> Total $__________
>
> cash/check/credit:Amex, Visa, Dis, MC
> card number _________________________________ exp. ___________
> ____________________________________________________________________________
> ________
email to: jalphillips@msn.com

> Mail forms to:
>
> Jason Phillips
> 2614 N. Clybourn Ave.
> Unit 107
> Chicago, IL 60614
773-327-4883
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Tiller sticks with freshman

Kirsch anticipates being more patient against Northwestern

By Tom Kubat, Journal and Courier

http://www.boilerstation.com/football/stories/200210210purdue_football1035177011.shtml

"There will be no quarterback mystery this week. Purdue coach Joe Tiller has already made up his mind -- true freshman Brandon Kirsch will start for the second game in a row Saturday when the Boilermakers travel to Northwestern.

"The reason I can say that already, and hindsight is always 20-20, but the only negative thing about last week's competition (between Kirsch and Kyle Orton), was that they shared snaps in practice," Tiller said Sunday.

"Kirsch is a lot like Kyle was a year ago. He needs every snap in practice to elevate his game."

Actually, Tiller confessed Sunday that he knew early last week he was going to give Kirsch his first collegiate start, in Saturday's 23-21 loss to Michigan, although he didn't tell the quarterbacks until 90 minutes before kickoff.

"Because if I told them, they would tell you," Tiller said, referring to the media. "We'll start Kirsch this week. We've already had a discussion about that with the staff.

for the full story click on the link above

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Michigan leaves Boilers blue

Wolverines hand Purdue third consecutive loss

By Tom Kubat, Journal and Courier

http://www.boilerstation.com/football/stories/200210190purdue_football1035088735.shtml

"If things keep going this way, Purdue Pete may be out of a job.

"Someone said our team mascot is Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda," Boilermaker wide receiver Taylor Stubblefield said Saturday after another tough, close loss, this one a 23-21 decision to Michigan.

Purdue, which has lost five games by a combined total of 22 points, fell to 3-5 overall and 1-3 in Big Ten Conference play.

With only four regular season games remaining, not only is the Boilermakers' string of five consecutive bowl trips in jeopardy, the possibility of a losing season is very real.

Purdue has now lost three in a row and the Boilermakers are two games under .500 for the first time in coach Joe Tiller's six seasons.

The Boilermakers took no joy in playing the 11th-ranked Wolverines (6-1, 3-0) close."

for the full story click on the link above

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Tiller picks Kirsch but results remain the same

Freshman will start against Northwestern

By Tom Kubat, Journal and Courier

"Different quarterback, same results.

Purdue coach Joe Tiller opted to start true freshman Brandon Kirsch at quarterback Saturday against No. 11 Michigan, but at the end of the day the Boilermakers had suffered a familiar result -- a 23-21 defeat, their fifth close setback of the season.

Kirsch, who had come off the bench in relief of sophomore Kyle Orton the past two weeks at Iowa and Illinois, didn't have time to get nervous about his first collegiate start.

"I only found out I was starting about an hour-and-a-half before the game," Kirsch said.

Kirsch became the third true freshman to start behind center for Purdue since the 1990s.

Orton did so last season, on Nov. 24 at Indiana, but you have to go back 11 years to find another true freshman that started a game for the Boilermakers, when Matt Pike did it, also against Indiana, on Nov. 23, 1991.

for the full story click on the link above

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Special teams one of many reasons for tailspin

By Jeff Washburn, Journal and Courier

http://www.boilerstation.com/football/columns/200210192purdue_football1035088735.shtml

"Moments after 11th-ranked Michigan dotted the final "I" and crossed that last "T" Saturday in Purdue's Ross-Ade Stadium, basketballs began bouncing across the street in Mackey Arena.

How fitting that athletic officials set "Mackey Madness" -- its annual men's and women's hoops lovefest -- for the same day the Boilermakers' football season took what will prove to be the knockout punch.

The Wolverines became the most recent foe to hand Purdue a loss so painful that neither a well-stocked liquor cabinet nor a winning lottery ticket could produce a smile on a Boilermaker fan's face this morning.

While the schedule lists remaining games against Northwestern, fourth-ranked Ohio State, Michigan State and Indiana, Purdue's 23-21 loss to Michigan has the makings of the one from which a team does not recover.

Five losses. A combined 22-point deficit. Amazing."

for the full story click on the link above

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Big play receivers give Michigan edge

By Jeff Washburn, Journal and Courier

"Establish the run. Play fundamental defense. And don't make kicking game mistakes.

Throughout 11th-ranked Michigan's rich football history, the passing game -- for the most part -- has been an afterthought.

The Wolverines, however, relied heavily on their wide receivers Saturday during a 23-21 victory against Purdue in Ross-Ade Stadium.

Sophomore Braylon Edwards caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from quarterback John Navarre, junior Calvin Bell scored on a 34-yard reverse and senior Ronald Bellamy kept the chains moving with seven receptions for 83 yards.

"It's easier to run the ball and then pass as opposed to not having a decent running game and having to pass all the time," said Edwards, who finished with three catches for 71 yards.

"Chris Perry is running the ball so strongly that the opponent has no choice but to come up and cheat on the run."

for the full story click on the link above

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Defense can't tackle inconsistency

By Mike Carmin, Journal and Courier

"There were moments during Purdue's 23-21 loss to Michigan that its defense was brilliant.

A pair of fourth down stops, an interception to start the second half and a blocked field goal were among the highlights for the Boilermakers on Saturday afternoon at Ross-Ade Stadium.

There were other moments, but those belonged to the Wolverine offense, which delivered enough big plays to keep Purdue's defense frustrated for another week.

"It's very disheartening," Boilermaker defensive coordinator Brock Spack said. "We have a poor sense of timing. We come up and do some not so good things in the wrong situation."

Those discouraging plays included a 34-yard reverse that Calvin Bell scored on to give Michigan an early fourth quarter lead. Purdue cornerback Antwaun Rogers blitzed but didn't adjust on the play.

"He was supposed to change his angle," Spack said of Rogers."

for the full story click on the link above

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Lacevic trying to kick bad habit

By Ken Thompson, Journal and Courier

"Failure is a new experience for Purdue junior kicker Berin Lacevic, who heard some boos in Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday after missing a pair of field goals.

The misses, his sixth and seventh in 10 attempts this season, started a pair of scoring drives for Michigan that led to 10 second quarter points.

"I've never started off 30 percent on field goals after eight games," Lacevic said. "I've never missed more than four field goals (in a season) my whole career."

The second-team junior college All-American was 12 of 16 on field goal tries last season at Garden City Community College.

"(Friday) was real windy, but I was still making field goals. I was making field goals in warmups," Lacevic said. "I just didn't get it done again today."

The first attempt, a 41-yarder, was into the wind and short of the goal posts. The second kick, a 40-yard attempt with the wind, came after coach Joe Tiller decided not to go for it on fourth-and-2 at the Michigan 23."

for the full story click on the link above

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Patience pays off for Williams

By Ken Thompson, Jeff Washburn, Mike Carmin and Tom Kubat

"Freshman wide receiver Ray Williams knew he would catch passes at Purdue this season. He just didn't think it would take eight games to get his first reception.

"I've been waiting patiently, not trying to rush anything," Williams said. "I knew all week in practice that my time was going to come. I never took a play off during the game.

"The whole coaching staff believes in me, and I believe in myself. I know I can do it. It was just a matter of time to get that first catch."

That first catch came in the fourth quarter and seemingly gave Purdue momentum after Michigan had taken a 23-14 lead. His 38-yard reception from Kyle Orton on third-and-17 gave Purdue the ball at the Michigan 37.

However, Orton was intercepted by Markus Curry at the Michigan 1 on the next play."

for the full story click on the link above

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Tiller can't reach these Boilers

October 20, 2002

http://www.indystar.com/article.php?kravitz20.html

"WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- He just doesn't get this team. Joe Tiller, the best thing to happen to Purdue football in a long time, has tried everything with this group, including changing quarterbacks an hour-and-a-half before the Michigan game. He has drawn on more than 30 years of coaching experience to find a way to make this incorrigible group understand they are throwing away what should have been another solid, bowl-worthy season.

And nothing has worked.

By now, then, it's too late.

"Is this the most confounding, frustrating team you've had since you've been here?" Tiller was asked pointedly after his Boilers semi-officially flushed the season and any bowl chances Saturday.

His face was impassive.

"Yes," he said tersely.

He then paused, listened to part of a question, and spoke again through gritted teeth."

for the full story click on the link above

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Football Game Notes

Purdue-Northwestern: Oct. 26, 2002

http://purduesports.ocsn.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/102102aaa.html

Oct. 21, 2002

Purdue Boilermakers (3-5, 1-3 Big Ten)
at Northwestern Wildcats (2-6, 0-4 Big Ten)
Ryan Field (47,130) - Evanston, Illinois
October 26, 2002 - 11:05 a.m. CDT

ALL-TIME RECORD: 525-452-48 (.536) - 115th season
BIG TEN RECORD: 281-315-32 (.473) - 107th season

PROJECTED ATTENDANCE: 31,000

RADIO: Boilermaker Sports Network (Flagship - WAZY, 96.5 FM, West Lafayette) - Joe McConnell (play-by-play), Pete Quinn (color commentary), Brett Schetzsle (sideline), Tim Newton (pregame/halftime/postgame)

TELEVISION: ESPN Regional - Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play), Randy Wright (color commentary), Jim Barbar (sidelines)

A LOOK AT THE BOILERMAKERS: The Purdue football team, under sixth-year head coach Joe Tiller, travels to Northwestern on Saturday, Oct. 26, to take on the Wildcats at Ryan Field in Evanston, Ill. It is Homecoming at Northwestern. The Boilermakers have lost three consecutive games, while the Wildcats have dropped their last four contests. Purdue is one of merely two schools in the Big Ten Conference and one of only 13 nationally to play in a bowl game each of the last five seasons. "

for the full story click on the above link

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'That's Why We Love This Game'

Koutouvides an emotional leader on defense

Oct. 20, 2002

http://purduesports.ocsn.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/102002aac.html

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Nick Koutouvides may be from Plainville, Conn., but there's nothing plain about the 6-foot-3, 226-pounder play at middle linebacker for the Purdue football team.

There's good reason Koutouvides went into Saturday's game against Michigan as the Boilermakers' leading tackler and ranked fifth in the Big Ten with an average of 10.4 stops per game.

"He is a very aggressive guy," Purdue coach Joe Tiller said about Koutouvides, who posted six solo tackles and two assists in a heartbreaking 23-21 loss to the 11th-ranked Wolverines.

"He is really comfortable inside. He's really adapted well to the middle linebacker position. That move (switching Joe Odom from middle linebacker to outside linebacker and Koutouvides from outside to inside linebacker) has really helped us as a football team. He's been playing steady football for us this fall."

Koutouvides entered Saturday with a team-leading 73 tackles -- 47 solo and 26 assists. Free safety Stuart Schweigert was second with 47 total tackles. Koutouvides registered a career-high 14 tackles Oct. 12 in a 38-31 overtime loss at Illinois. He's been in double figures in tackles four times this season and had nine in two other games.

"We knew Michigan was going to run the ball inside," Koutouvides said. "With the big and powerful backs that they have, we knew we had to step up and make the play. We got good penetration up front. We have to make the stops in order to gain momentum and put the ball back in the hands of the offense to put some points on the board."

for the full story click on the link above

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Purdue fans can relive memorable moments at Spoilermaker.com

By Ken Thompson, Journal and Courier

http://www.boilerstation.com/football/columns/200210210purdue_football1035263335.shtml

Purdue football fans wishing to relive some of the greatest moments in the last 25 years should make a stop at www.spoilermaker.com.

Dave Mengel, with a big assist from fellow Purdue fans who supplied the clips and the know-how to install it on his Web site, is enjoying the latest addition to his fan page.

"I take no credit other than offering the webhosting," said Mengel, who resides in Walnut Creek, Calif. "I need to thank all the Purdue fans who contributed their clips to the section. The directory will always remain free of charge for Purdue fans everywhere to download for their own enjoyment."

The video clips, which are best viewed with a Windows Media Player, include the most famous touchdown pass in the last 30 years of Purdue football -- Drew Brees to Seth Morales against Ohio State, complete with the call by ABC's Brent Musberger.

Other top clips include Travis Dorsch's game winning field goal against Michigan in 2000, Brees' 99-yard TD pass to Vinny Sutherland against Northwestern in 1999, Adrian Beasley's fumble return for a touchdown against Notre Dame in 1997 and Scott Campbell's game winning TD pass and two-point conversion to Steve Bryant against Notre Dame in 1981.

Anyone who wishes to submit clips should e-mail Mengel at spoilerdave@spoilermaker.com.

With a constant presence on the Old Gold Free Press (a.k.a. Mr. Gridiron) Purdue bulletin boards, Mengel qualifies as a "knucklehead" in Joe Tiller's dictionary. Unlike some of his anonymous brethren, Mengel has been a mostly positive voice during difficult times for his favorite teams.

"Am I a 'knucklehead?' Well ... I suppose anyone who is a die-hard fan could be considered a knucklehead," Mengel said. "I have my opinions as does everyone else, and I guess ... I just have a medium to express my opinions and nobody can delete my thoughts."

for the full story click on the link above

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Basketball teams impress, give hope to fans Saturday
By Doug Elish
Staff writer

http://www.purdueexponent.org/interface/bebop/showstory.php?date=2002/10/21§ion=sports&storyid=mackeymadness

"After the disappointing performance by the football team against Michigan, the Purdue basketball teams tried to give some hope to their fans at Mackey Madness Saturday afternoon.

In another promotional activity by the athletic department, both the men and women's teams scrimmaged and showed off their skills in front of 8,000 fans at Mackey Arena.

The men had their chance to show off their individual skills next in their slam-dunk contest.

Freshman David Teague, juniors Brent Buscher and Chris Booker and senior Darmetreis Kilgore each had two rounds to impress the crowd. Kilgore became repeat champion of the contest after his bounce pass to himself slam-dunk got the crowd excited.

The men took the court next for their own scrimmage with the black team winning again, 30-29. Kilgore led the scoring with 12 points including two three-pointers for the losing gold team.

"I am glad all of these people came out to support us; I really appreciate that a lot after we had a losing season," said Kilgore. "I wish I could tell them all thank you."

Senior Willie Deane and Buscher, who had seven points, led the black team.

There is not going to be a repeat of last year; we turned it around," said Deane. "Last year has been sitting in our guts all summer and we are ready to get it out of us."

for the full story click on the link above

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My impressions of the scrimmage .....
Posted by: MDC on October 19, 2002 at 20:59:42 - IP 209.43.105.62

http://hoopscampus.com/bb/bigten/PUR/messages/41292.shtml

are pretty limited. I was disappointed in the size of the crowd (which I would estimate about half filled Mackey) and it's just sad to see the lack of enthusiasm from the students for Purdue basketball. As far as the players go, I liked what I saw from all of the newcomers albeit it's hard to tell a whole lot in a 15 minute scrimmage with a running clock. Kartelo showed some good passing skills and some nice offensive moves. Booker was relatively quiet, but he did hit a 3-pointer, so it's apparent he has some shooting range. All 3 freshmen more than held their own and I liked the way Teague wasn't afraid to take the open shots. Those who seem to think Kiefer will start are going to be disappointed because while I think he'll help Purdue this year, he's not going to be better than Buscher or Carroll this year. Both of them appear to be bigger and stronger and both look to me like they are playing with confidence. Buscher even hit a couple of jump shots and looked good doing it. I also liked the way Brandon McKnight seems to have grown in confidence. He had one move where he flat blew by Parkinson and while he didn't finish, it was a move I don't think he would have made a year ago. Both Willie and Darmetreis played pretty well and my only criticism of either of them would be that it doesn't look to me like Darmetreis' shot selection still needs work (Grin). He hit one 3-pointer from about 6 or 7 feet beyond the arc, but he missed another from about 10 feet beyond the arc and I'm pretty sure that if he keeps shooting from way out there, his playing time is going to suffer. Parkinson played his usual steady way and even hit a 3-pointer but a couple of other times he just threw up "runners" that had very little chance of going in. I've said this before, but I'll say it again ... if Brandon can't beat Austin out for the starting job, this might be another long season for Purdue fans. That's not a knock on Austin, it just reflects my view that Purdue needs a defensive stopper at the point and I don't think Austin is that guy. Kevin Garrity made an appearance, but it looks to me like Purdue is going to ahve to depend on Kartelo and Booker to play most of the minutes at the 5.

For anyone reading this, please remember that this was an intra-squad scrimmage and as such the players probably took a few more liberties than they would in a real game. Also remember that the time was so short it was hard to get any definite impressions. I will say that the scrimmage re-inforced my belief that Gene and his staff have their work cut out for them in trying to find an effective rotation while still getting enough playing time for everyone. I can't remember another year in Keady's tenure where his 8th,9th,10th, 11th and even 12th men had as much ability as they do this year. I think there are probably 4 or 5 different line-ups that might work pretty well and it's going to take some time to sort through them. The bottom line for me is that it looks to me like this year's team will be a much better rebounding team than the past couple of years and I think they will also be better defensively. The $ 64 question is whether the improvement will be enough to allow Purdue to compete with the better teams ? After watching the scrimmage, I'm a little more optimistic than I was, but it's way too early to tell anything for sure.

MDC

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