GBI Express

ADVANTAGE? PURDUE PASSING GAME VS. EASTERN KENTUCKY PASS DEFENSE MATCHUP PREVIEW: Purdue vs. Eastern Kentucky PLAYER TO WATCH The Boilermakers have to be a passing team this season and will want to get off on the right foot in that sense. All due respect to Eastern Kentucky, but Purdue should be able to keep its quarterbacks clean, get its receivers open and make plays off the arm of whichever quarterback happens to be in the game. PURDUE RUNNING GAME VS. EASTERN KENTUCKY RUN DEFENSE Akeem Shavers went for nearly a buck-fifty in the bowl game in his first game as Pur- due's alpha in the backfield. This will be his second such game as he heads into the season set to be Purdue's primary ball-carrier. The O-line is unsettled, but it shouldn't matter much against a team it ought to be able to handle at the line. EASTERN KENTUCKY PASSING GAME VS. PURDUE PASS DEFENSE Eastern Kentucky is a sub-standard passing team even with record-threatening T.J. Pryor, who's held back by a sore hamstring. Receiver Tyron Goard is worth worrying about, but Ricardo Allen and Josh Johnson should be more than up to the challenge. Purdue will want to force the Colonels to throw, then dominate. EASTERN KENTUCKY RUNNING GAME VS. PURDUE RUN DEFENSE Under normal circumstances, we'd never give an FCS team an edge at the line of scrim- mage against a Big Ten team, but Eastern Kentucky's running game should be a prolific one and catches Purdue at the right time in its first game with a new defense and just after it loses its top run-stopping linebacker, Dwayne Beckford. SPECIAL TEAMS Not sure what to make of Purdue, which hasn't even settled on a kicker yet, but we'll give the Boilermakers the benefit of the doubt here, because so much of its kicking and return games are settled and it should be the bigger, faster team. BOILERS 41 PREDICTION Perception is that Big Ten teams should roll over FCS teams no matter what; most of the time, perception becomes reality. But this is a quality FCS team vs. a Big Ten opponent in transition, so we'll see. In all likelihood, Purdue wins big, but will have to work to separate itself from a Colonel team that can do some damage on the ground. This might be a blowout, but the more the Boilermakers are tested, the better they'll be for it in the weeks to come. How will the amended NCAA kickoff rules affect Raheem Mo- stert, the nation's top returner from last season? We'll see. This will be a good trial run, as EKU will probably have to kick off at least a couple times. COLONELS 17 GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • volume 23, express 1 • 10 Colonel senior Matt Denham ran for nearly 1,600 yards last season and is no stranger to major college competition having been a former SEC recruit himself. He's got two star linemen blocking for him, too. Purdue needs to find a pass rush and needs some presence from its defensive ends in that regard. Ryan Russell may be on the verge of big things at Purdue. No better time than now. Purdue wants to pass to set up the run this season, as opposed to vice versa in 2011. But this is a game it should be able to establish the ground game in. That should mean plenty of work for senior Akeem Shavers and a nice, conservative game plan for the Boilermakers a week before heading to Notre Dame. This is a less obvious pick, but junior tight end Gabe Holmes has been billed by his coaches this offseason as potentially one of the best in college football, even though he's done little to this point. Purdue will want to get him involved early. ADVANTAGE?

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