Author: Andrew

Posted on

Game 123: #22 Wisconsin @ Purdue

Boilermaker Spirit Weekend at Purdue is saturated with activities culminating with the conference clash on Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium. The festivities were cut short this year thanks to the Badger defense that held Purdue to its lowest offensive output at home in thirteen years. The weather reached perfection and West Lafayette offers a classic Midwest venue that can please even the most sensitive of college football critics. The only missing link this weekend fell on the shoulders of the Purdue offense that couldn’t move a feather with an industrial fan much less a football.

Continue reading “Game 123: #22 Wisconsin @ Purdue”

Posted on

Game 122: Purdue @ Northwestern

Northwestern needs to review the rules of football. Lately, it seems as though they believe that the game lasts a mere thirty minutes. Take this past weekend’s tussle with Purdue at Ryan Field in Evanston: The Wildcats played an extremely competitive first half and then morphed into a submissive punching bag for half number two. When we reached the ticket gate and asked if any tickets were available for today’s game, the response from the ticket window was, “Of course, we have hundreds!” That was the first indication that Northwestern had better make room for another notch in the loss column. Perhaps I should have asked for half off the ticket price knowing that the Wildcats would only offer one half of entertainment …

Continue reading “Game 122: Purdue @ Northwestern”

Posted on

Game 120: Northern Illinois @ Ball State

Ball State University might want to replace their maintenance staff with NIU tailback Garrett Wolfe as he covered more ground and clipped more blades of grass with his shoes than John Deere could with a fleet of mowers. On an evening where nearly every type of imaginable weather came over Sheumann Stadium, nothing could stop the nation’s leading rusher.

Continue reading “Game 120: Northern Illinois @ Ball State”

Posted on

Game 118: #16 Iowa @ Illinois

Electricity bills will be lower in Iowa this weekend seeing that the entire state population including the band made their way to Champaign. Illini fans seemed to be in attendance merely as a diversion until basketball season. That truth became evident when four former Illini basketball stars were honored during the first half at Memorial Stadium. The excitement for those four athletes in street clothes brought on more cheers than the football squad’s performance. Yet, that is the nature of Illinois football right now. The gloomy, overcast skies reflected the emotions of the orange and blue. Head coach Ron Zook in his second season with the Illini is still searching for a conference victory. Upon my visit to the bathroom before the game and listening to swarms of Hawkeye fans screaming their fight song, something gave me the feeling that today wouldn’t be Zook’s day.

Continue reading “Game 118: #16 Iowa @ Illinois”

Posted on

Game 116: Toledo @ Western Michigan

In recent years, Toledo has been to the Middle American Conference as Michigan is to the Big Ten – a dominant, conference champion-grabbing machine. Western Michigan has enjoyed only one victory over the Rockets in the past twelve years. Both teams gathered in Kalamazoo on this chilly, atypical September evening carrying 0-1 records. With this matchup being a conference clash, neither team could afford to dig themselves deeper into the loss column. Already at week two, the Rockets and Broncos were in must-win situations.

Continue reading “Game 116: Toledo @ Western Michigan”

Posted on

Game 115: Wisconsin vs. Bowling Green

Finally, the first game of this tour since launching collegefootballtour.com and I end up traveling 400 miles to view a game between two teams I have already seen in a venue that doesn’t even count toward my stadium goal. Why? Bret Bielema. Since Barry Alvarez’s departure from the sidelines, many Wisconsin fans have questioned the changes that loomed ahead. Seeing that I have more Badger games on my record than Tommy Lee has tattoos, my interest in the new coaching change was significant.

Continue reading “Game 115: Wisconsin vs. Bowling Green”

Posted on

Game 114: Northwestern @ Illinois

The University of Illinois probably could have lured more fans to a grass picking festival than the last Illini football game of the season. The scene at Memorial Stadium in Champaign had completely changed from my last visit in 2003 when over 70,000 fans crammed into the bleachers. Now, a flood of orange had been reduced to a light spattering. Talk of the upcoming basketball season dominated conversations across the tailgating lots, which only widened the opening in the balloon.

Continue reading “Game 114: Northwestern @ Illinois”