... which is another way of saying, this is not where the Blob boldly predicts a mammoth Purdue upset in the Big Ten championship game tonight.
This is where the Blob says it wouldn't be the first time it happened.
As Adam Rittenberg of ESPN points out here, the reason why the Boilermakers have occasionally been nicknamed the Spoilermakers is because Purdue has an eerie habit of ruining expectations/assumptions on the football field. It's in the Boilers DNA. you might say. So don't go into tonight thinking Michigan's a lock to drop a 45-14 extinction event on the Purdues or anything.
This is not to say it won't happen. It's not to say you won't be able to switch over to "NCIS: New Orleans" reruns at the end of the third quarter. It's just to say it's not a lock.
The assumption is Purdue does not live in the same neighborhood as unbeaten Michigan, especially after the way the Wolverines annihilated archrival (and equally unbeaten) Ohio State in Columbus last weekend. But a couple of things you might want to consider:'
1. Purdue's been a much bigger underdog than 17 points and won. So maybe the Boilers have Michigan right where they want them.
2. Michigan whipped Ohio State largely because the Buckeyes chose to employ an utterly foolish defensive scheme. They basically told the Wolverines "Go deep on us all you want. We won't mind." And even at that, it was a four-point game going into the fourth quarter.
3. Utah 47, USC 24.
That was the score of the Pac-12 title game last night, a game everyone in America assumed USC was going to win. But USC quarterback Caleb Williams plinked a hammy in the first quarter, Trojans coach Lincoln Riley unaccountably let him play on even though he could barely move by the second half, and the Utes laid a 30-7 lamination on Tommy Trojan in the second half.
This undoubtedly came as a shock to all the social media folks who were already looking forward to USC vs. Georgia after the Trojans jumped out to a 17-3 lead. And who were assuring us all there was NO WAY IN HELL Utah, which earlier handed USC its only loss, could beat the Trojans twice.
Um, well ...
Well, if Jim Harbaugh's as smart as he seems to have gotten this year, he's no doubt made his Wolverines very aware of all that. As has Purdue coach Jeff Brohm with his Boilers.
And so, tee it up.
And take Purdue and the points. Just a suggestion.
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