-Purdue starts possession with Elliott-Bolden- Adams reverse- no gain.
-Mis-direction toss to Valentin for gain of 6
-Dropped pass by Crank ends first possession
-Very “fun” play calling
-Holding on the punt return gives NIU long field
-NIU doesn't seem to be able to run-easily...jailbreak pass from deep shotgun gets NIU's first first down
-Play-action deep pass, Pender gives too much space- 28 yard gain
-First successful run for NIU- read option- gain of 5 by Brown
-Students quite noisy in spite of many empty seats in the stadium...NIU QB had problems with audible on 2nd down
-pick-Werner off of the deflection by Williams- great defense by Twill on the coverage...good play call by NIU's coach, Harnish's pass was a bit high. First INT on the season for Harnish.
-Purdue takes over on its own 31
-Bolden breaks three tackles on his first run- NIU stacking the box...couldn't stop him short even with sideline help. First down Purdue
-Bolden stopped for 2 yd gain...like last week, O-line seems to struggle in between tackles
-Elliott to Adams- gain of 2
-Bad pass by Elliott- Purdue to punt from its own 47
-NIU gets close on block attempt. Adams with great tackle at the 7- 2 yd gain
-Purdue winning field position battle
-Good gang tackling by Williams/Carlino; gain of 2 by Span
-Delay draw for Harnish- gain of 9; First down @ NIU 18
-Play action pass, Kerrigan comes clean from left end for sack; loss of 8-first sack of season for Kerrigan)
-Gain of 1; on draw left- 3rd & 17
-Good misdirection toss pitch play- Span, gain of 9. NIU to punter on his own 5
-Good kick, finger tip catch by Valentin- goes right into traffic, back left...beats first level...great return TD!!!!!! 62 yard return- first punt return TD since Chambers in '04 v. MSU
Students look very into it and the student section is large- goes from 110 to 106...my father-in law is in the student section today- called me excited as he shook his keys before opening kick. He's a Marion grad.
-Short kick by Wiggs (to the 12), poor coverage/tackling rears its head again. NIU ball on their
-Missed tackle by first attempted tackle- Brown gains 7 tackled by Beckford
-Beckford in the game for Carlino
-Close to first down-Brown tackled by McKinley...Brown looks more-effective than Span so far @ RB
-Third and very short- ball on the NIU 47
-NIU shifts personnel before snap- inside read draw- Brown gains 6; first down on Purdue 47
-Roll out right pass toward student section- good pass; would have had the first by three; dropped/broken up by Pender
-Harnish audibles- swing pass into flat on the right to Cox- missed tackle by Pender; Holland makes tackle...1.5 to first down
-Power I formation-Kerrigan got close; ball caught first down; gain of 7
-Inside read draw- no gain for Brown- tackle by Neal
-Harnish empty backfield shotgun, fakes inside read draw; QB draw third and 9
-NIU tries to catch Purdue on subs; not fast enough.
-Despite fresh legs on defense, Brown catches pass underneath; tackled by Neal. First down
-Harnish lone in shotgun- designed draw, gain of 6. Tackle by Werner
-Good drive for NIU so far
-NIU on the 13- Span carries on inside draw- thought he was going to be tackled at line...no Purdue player there...stumbles for first down- McKinley on the tackle
End of 1st quarter.
NIU 12:36 possession
Purdue 2:24
NIU 7 1st downs
Purdue 1 1st down
NIU 115yds
Purdue 23yds
Purdue 7
NIU 0
Offense looks out of rhythm...NIU looks very good on both sides of the ball