When Is It Okay To Rush The Court?

B-dowd and I were discussing this topic this morning, especially in light of Illinois students rushing the court after their upset win over MSU. An act that Dick Vitale took serious issue with but that Illini students felt was their right, especially in that moment.

First off, Dick Vitale is a buffoon and he's been a caricature of himself for going on 20 years. He adds almost nothing to broadcasts, he's annoying, he bellows stupidity and paws at his play-by-play guy and, worst of all, he makes me like Bob Knight as a color guy. For Vitale -- a clown who gets animated over the stupidest little things -- to criticize students for going crazy is, well, effing stupid. They're going bananas, Dick, just like you do when talking about John Wall like you want to hump his leg. But I digress.

When, dear readers, is it okay to rush the court in college basketball? I was thinking today that there is hardly a situation left where it would seem that Purdue fans would rush the court...correct? I mean, let's say the rankings are reversed when MSU comes to WestLaf and Purdue wins -- the students aren't rushing the court then, are they?

And by the same token, there's absolutely no way MSU fans are storming the floor if they win over the Boilers tomorrow night. That we can say with certainty.

On the other hand, you had the Illini fans rushing on after beating #5 MSU and, earlier this year, you had IU fans storming the court after knocking off powerhouse Minnesota.

So when is it okay? Because there has to be a time, right? Or are you always supposed to pretend you've been there before? We want your opinions on this one.

I'll tell you some of my personal guidelines for what I think is okay:

1) You're mediocre and take down the #1 team in the country. A great example of this was a marginal South Carolina team knocking off #1 and undefeated Kentucky a couple weeks ago. That was cause for celebration.

2) You're a small-time team from a small-time conference and you knock off a powerhouse team from a big-boy conference. Doesn't have to be a #1 team, but they should definitely be top ten, let's say, and a team that is a shock for you to beat.

3) The win clinches a conference title or undefeated season or championship of some kind that's been a long time coming.

That's about it for me.

Times when it's definitely not okay but seems to have become acceptable:

1) When it's a conference foe that's not #1 in the nation. You're supposed to sometimes beat your conference opponents. Acting like you can't believe you pulled one out against a conference opponent is kind of embarrassing. This falls under acting like you've been there before, because you probably have.

2) When it's simply a team ranked higher than you. If you're #25 and you beat #15, simply cheer from your seats.

3) When it's going to get you mocked relentlessly. See Indiana over Minnesota.

What say you, BS faithful?

Coronation

Purdue's favorite son reaches the pinnacle.

Drew Brees grew up in Texas and went 28-0-1 as a high school QB in Austin. But none of the big time Texas schools wanted Drew. He was too small. He'd hurt his knee in high school. He wasn't the right material for them.

Drew went on to Purdue, becoming the favorite player of many of us. He took over Joe Tiller's offense in 1998 and produced, without question, the most exciting moments of the past 40 years of Boilermaker football. He's remained a loyal Boilermaker, still doing ads for local businesses in West Lafayette as well as donating $1.5 million back to the University.

Drew's next stop was with the San Diego Chargers, where (as hard as this is to imagine) there were questions about whether he could make it in the NFL. Eventually, Drew persevered and became successful, leading the Chargers from poor back to respectable. However, they had acquired Phil Rivers and decided when Drew's "franchised" year was up, after the 2005 season, that they would let him walk. And he did. But not before grotesquely wrecking his throwing shoulder in his final play as a Charger, on a meaningless fumble recovery, in a meaningless game...for a team that no longer wanted him anyway.

He gutted out months of rehab in order to be ready for the 2006 season, for whoever took a chance on him.

The only two teams to show interest in him as a free agent were Miami and New Orleans. Miami eventually decided he wasn't worth the risk and went with *cough/laugh* Daunte Culpepper. Drew signed with New Orleans, a team coming off a horrid year after playing their whole 2005 season away from home following Katrina.

In 2006, Drew quietly led the Saints to within one win of the Super Bowl. They took a dip the following two seasons, though Drew most certainly did not, throwing for over 5,000 yards in 2008.

In 2009, the Saints put it all together. But many felt the 5-0 Giants were better than the 4-0 Saints in October. The Saints crushed New York. Many felt the Pats would be a challenge -- the Saints waxed New England. Many felt the Vikings and Brett Favre would take out the Saints, who hadn't played a complete game in a long time. The Saints still found a way. And then, of course, for these past two weeks, all we've heard about is Peyton's second Super Bowl title. It sounded forgone.

As recently as this morning even, the doofuses on ESPN were debating whether or not Drew Brees was an "elite" quarterback. I guess it was up for debate because he hadn't won a Super Bowl. Which is a simply idiotic debate. The guy is one of the absolute best in the league, much the way Dan Fouts and Dan Marino were -- two guys who never won a Super Bowl. Drew needed to do nothing else to prove he was an elite quarterback.

But then, Drew's been overcoming being not giving him the credit he deserves or believing in him fully for a long, long time. Going back to the end of high school, when nobody really recruited him in Texas and he wound up at Purdue. And changed all of our football-viewing lives for the better.

Drew Brees went 32 of 39 tonight in a nearly flawless peformance and beat a Colts team that has looked unbeatable all season. He beat the unflappable Peyton Manning. Before that he beat Kurt Warner and Brett Favre. And now he is a Super Bowl champion and a Super Bowl MVP.

Congrats, Drew. We couldn't be prouder. And since all three of us here at Boiled Sports became papas in the past six weeks, the below photo made us saps love it all even more.

Who dat Boiler? He's Drew Brees...champion.

Back in Business.

Purdue now has its destiny in its own hands.

Tuesday should be fun...Beware of Kalin Lucas doing his best Willis Reed impersonation in East Lansing.

Good Guy Super Bowl

A lot's been said over these two dragged out weeks where we're all repeatedly reminded how awesome it is to work in sports -- especially if you're not playing the Super Bowl. All athletes and celebs and every single sports radio show in America (except the Handsome Hour) seem to descend upon the host city. I will admit I rather enjoyed the fact that they had marginal-to-crappy weather in Miami most of this week. Serves you all right for rubbing the rest of our noses in it, jerkwads. Also, have fun trying this in Dallas next year. It actually snows in Dallas in Jan/Feb. Have fun with that.

Also, why can't we go back to those few years where there was only one week between the conference title games and the Super Bowl? They did a few times maybe ten or so years ago and I'm guessing it didn't work as well for the sponsors and host city and, well, basically everyone trying to make money off this event. You know who it did work out well for? Fans. You know, the people who, ostensibly, these games are being played for. I loved that. A week off sucks. From preseason games in late July through the NFC/AFC championship games, there is NFL football every single week. And then we just grind it to a halt for two weeks. So stupid and illogical. Of course, they could be like the BCS and take off 5 or 6 weeks and then play the Super Bowl in March, so I guess I should be thankful.

Anyway, here we (finally) are. Colts versus Saints and, honestly, unless you have some irrational hate for one of these teams, I think the majority of neutral fans (i.e., not a true fan of either) are in the boat I am -- it wouldn't be awful if either team won. Which is a rare place for the Super Bowl to be. Usually I really do or do not want to see a team win. Usually, it's the latter. Unless the Giants are in it, I'm usually rooting against someone. Two years ago was utterly awesome because not only was I rooting for my Giants, but I would have been rooting against the Patriots anyway.

For Boilerdowd, the season before was the ultimate. And now, here we are, with a game that matters probably more to him than me (since as for pro football, he's a Colts guy and a Drew Brees lover fan) but that I cannot wait to watch.

Neither team plays a whole lot of defense, though we've heard a lot of talk about the beating New Orleans put on Brett Favre. And that's fine, but Favre has always taken hits. The guy holds on to the ball and waits for a sandlot play to develop. He often throws at the last second and he also tries to throw a block sometimes. Make no mistake, though, the Saints gave up a lot of yards and points in that NFC title game. The Vikes couldn't stop turning the ball over and yet they still should have won. Crazy.

The Colts are surgical, as everyone talks about ad nauseum regarding Peyton, so I won't rehash it here. Suffice it to say, though, that when Tom Brady had marginal, unknown receivers back in 2006, he lost to the Colts and everyone said they needed to upgrade their receivers for Terrific Tom. The Pats then did that in a major way (Moss, Welker, Gaffney, etc.) and Handsome Tom still hasn't won a Super Bowl since the 2004 season. Manning, on the other hand, takes unknown receivers and turns them into stars. Funny how that works.

The Saints have been riding emotion for a long time now. They played like a machine for the first three months of the season, dispatching quality opponents like the Giants and Pats as though they didn't belong on the same field with the Saints. These weren't "solid wins" or clear victories -- these were destructions. One could argue that the G-men and the Pats were never the same after being de-pantsed by the Saints in New Orleans. The Giants were 5-0 heading to New Orleans, in what was billed as a test for the Saints. Turned out the Giants were pretenders, getting hammered and reeling a 3-8 finish. Ugh.

The Pats entered 7-3, got trounced, and went 3-2 down the stretch, flaming out in the first round of the playoffs.

My point? The Saints were a buzzsaw, absolutely mowing down anyone in their path. And then they sort of lost their way, losing their final three games. I knew this would be a problem, as they then had a bye week and it had been five weeks since they had won a game. You can't overstate how much repetition and mindsets factor into NFL success -- after all, it's one-and-done; you can't have a bad game and go get 'em tomorrow like in a playoff series in other sports.

The Saints got their act together in destroying the Cardinals and then put together a somewhat nervous performance against the Vikes. And here we are.

The Colts, meanwhile, are almost frighteningly methodical in how they flatten teams. No trash talking. No responding to remarks by idiots like the Jets. They, in what is unfortunately rare, let their play do all their talking. They go out there and ground their opponents into dust. How many times were the Colts even seriously challenged this year? I saw them in person here in Houston against the Texans and the Texans looked in control early, building a 23-7 lead, I believe. And then, predictably, the wheels came off because Peyton has something few others have -- complete confidence in his and his team's abilities as well as patience. It doesn't matter how long it takes for him to figure things out -- he will figure them out. The Patriots had outplayed the Colts all night in that November game famous for Bill Belichick's going for it on fourth down. But that call kind of overshadows how Peyton brought the Colts back from a 20-point deficit in the fourth quarter. That's incredible and few guys -- if any -- could do that to a Patriots team. The fourth down call never should have been an issue -- Peyton forced it to become one.

Another Colts tidbit that I have heard a few times and find myself completely agreeing with is that they haven't lost a single game they've tried to win. On its face, this sounds like a little kid argument: "Well, I wasn't trying!" But it's not. The Colts lost two games this season. One to the Jets, in which they held a third-quarter lead before the team inexplicably decided to fold the tent for the week and remove key players, such as Manning. And the other in the final week, in a snowy game against the Bills -- a game which I definitely agreed with yanking the starters since the game was truly rendered as meaningless as possible as a result of the previous week's dumb decision. The Colts should have gone for perfection, in my opinion. But they didn't and so now they're pissed and want to crush anyone in their path -- at least that's how I see it. So maybe it was a genius move. We'll never know for sure.

My (rambling) point is this.... we think the Colts are going to wind up the champs this weekend. As mentioned on the Handsome Hour, our loyalties are divided. Boilerdowd is a Colts fan who likes Drew Brees more than the supple, young, impressionable lads he "guided" as a counselor in the Purdue dorms -- and he's come to the conclusion that he wants the Colts to win. He also threw in the girl-like (no offense ladies) comment that he wants to see Drew do well, too. So, basically, he's like a mom who wants all the kids to get a trophy at the end of the soccer season. Yay!

Me, I'm pulling for the Saints all the way. I've been the Superdome to see Drew play, I (like many of you) watched him play in Ross-Ade and I really like pretty much everything about this Saints team. Again, this is not to disparage the Colts, who for the most part do everything the classy, right way (aside from going for perfect seasons, at which they are poor). And again as mentioned, if the Colts were to win, I'd be fine with Peyton having a second Super Bowl and would honestly hope he wins a few more to cement his status as the best QB ever -- because he really is.

The BS pick, as though you care:

Colts 38, Saints 35

I Guess It's Good That Hoosiers Can At Least Read

I loved this account of the trip to Bloomington posted by our Twitter-verse friend Sara, where she shares the rather hilarious (and yet sad) account of how few IU students seem to actually know their school's fight song:

The band played Indiana’s fight song every now and then, and I noticed that they really only knew certain words–mostly the ones that mentioned “Indiana.” Well...the words to their own fight song were put on the jumbo screens and, surprise — everyone was singing. I was almost in tears I was laughing so hard.

I'm sure someone on an unread IU site would take issue with this account, but it's rather hard to refute if there are witnesses.

Maybe they should put their own school's fight song into their pregame notes for the students. You know, instead of the nonsense they currently put in there.

See you in Mackey, Forehead.

The Clapper did what he does- he prepared his band of youngsters as well as possible for their game versus the seventh-ranked team in America...His tan looked fantastic, his pacing was frenetic and lasted the duration of the contest, his forehead glistening, his enthusiasm was infectious, as usual, and his Hoosiers almost earned a victory versus the much more talented, much more experienced Boilers on Thursday night...but they didn't.

Tom Pritchard out-performed JJ for a half, Verdell Jones, who seems to play very well v. Purdue, did so again, and Dumes and Hulls hit some long threes, but the best effort the Hoosiers could throw at Purdue simply wasn't enough...In the end, the Forces of Good prevailed 78-75.

The Ostrich had a solid night statistically, finishing with 21 and 7, but he looked scattered at times as he had some bad shots and poor turnovers. Smooge looked velvety-smooth at times, but never really got into a rhythm. JJ blocked shots like it was his job in the second half and made a lot of freethrows as he finished with 21 & 9, but, in my opinion, should have had more rebounds and points as he simply doesn't have an equal on IU's roster.

I was really pleased with Barlow's play, especially early in the second half as he kind of took the game over...at least for three minutes. Keaton was efficient and Kramer played ai-ight...but I would have loved to see either or both of these guys torch the Hoosiers and dance on center court like Todd Foster many moons ago.

I liked a lot of what I saw from both Hart and LewJack...both inject a ton of quickness, athleticism and energy when they're in. But, I still think LewJack might start this season as he continues to get his legs under him...Perhaps the Illinois game at Mackey? I guess it depends on what happens the next few games, but I wouldn't rule it out.

I think the 10-man rotation we are now seeing might become the norm as Byrd and Smith might not see a ton of action in most games, save Iowa, from here out. While I like Byrd a lot, I like the 10 guys in front of him a bit more at this point...and Smith, unless he starts hitting every 20 footer he shoots, a la Matt Waddell, is going not going to see a ton of action, in my opinion...there are only 200 minutes available each game.

The main positive I took out of this game was the rebounding. Purdue won the rebounding battle and subsequently won the game...it's not a coincidence. And while it's a good thing to win close games, IU doesn't belong in a close game with Purdue right now. For those of you who are IU fans and have stopped by to read this- it might sound like I'm dismissive of the Hoosiers...that's because I am.

IU beat Purdue this year? That's nuts.

I don't like IU. When I watch IU at Ass. Hall, I'm reminded why I don't like you guys. From the overly-demonstrative overhead clapping by you lemmings everytime Tom Pritchard's unathletic arse hits an ugly shot, to reveling in the Forehead's nervous habits, you guys grate on me. I have plenty of friends who graduated from the the school that boasts of a Folklore Department, and they're fine people...but when you congregate together in your poorly-designed arena, I lump you all together. I know some of you don't have UND T-shirts under your IU sweatshirts...but most of you do. I know some of you don't genuflect at the altar of Bobby Knight even though he's urinated in all of your direction, but most of you do.

Enough of my digression, you get my drift.

I'm already looking forward to March 3rd when Matty's boys can repay you schleps for almost beating his boys.

Next up the game that Purdue was looking through IU to get to- MSU.

Drew Brees: Performance first

As a father of two and a man who loves Drew Brees, I can honestly say I appreciate the message of this commercial.

Brittany Brees is OK too.

Signing Day: A Closer Look at Teenage Boys

Allen is one of the jewels of the '10 class

While I'm nowhere near the expert on the topic of young men that J is, I'm still a big fan of 18 and 19 year old athletes. So, today is a very special day in the halls of the BS world headquarters. Both J and I are walking with a hop in our step and you can see the twinkle in our eyes...It's Signing Day.

In previous years, a few athletes have gotten away and never made it to God's country to pursue higher education...Not so in '10. The class is a good stepping stone, in my opinion, to Hope's goal of a continued effort for Purdue to land more-athletic, and faster players at each position.

Here are some of the players that I'm excited to see on campus:

Bruce Gaston
6'2" 290 (+++) DT
Gaston, Melton, McDaniel, Short and Mondek in a season or so might be the most-formidable group of run-stopping DTs we've seen in WL ever. The depth at the position is might lead to one of these guys heading to offense, but it won't be Gaston. I'm stoked Bruce made it to Purdue as I thought the Williams departure might push Gaston another direction.

O.J. Ross
5'10" 175 WR
If you've seen Ross' hightlight films, you see he wears #9...but don't compare Ross to Dorien Bryant. Sure, they might both be speed merchants on the shorter end of the WR height spectrum, but I don't see him as a DB clone. First, I think he'll put on some muscle a la Steve Smith. Second, he runs behind his pads a bit more and can shed a tackle a bit better than Bryant. Lastly, he seems to catch the ball well with his hands rather than relying heavily on his body to make grabs.

Ricardo Allen
5'9" 170 CB
Like his two Mainland counterparts, Allen has speed for days. These three are all Boilers because of the impact the aOSU game had on them and their collective recruiting visit.

He had offers from nearly everybody and might be able to make an impact right away. With the depleted defensive backfield in '10, look for Allen to make the field very early...he almost has to.

Sean Robinson
6'5" 205 QB
If you've read anything about this guy, you know he's a competitor...and a winner. I don't think he cares at all that Robert Marve, Justin Siller, Rob Henry and Caleb TerBush are all vying for the same job, he just wants his shot. Don't rule out seeing Robinson in the two-deeps this fall. He can throw a lot of different balls, has great size and he has the ability to run it.

Plus, he verballed a long time ago and never wavered in spite of a crap ton of good offers...Gotta like that.

Ryan Isaac
6'4" 255 DE
Unlike the other four, he's not heralded...but I like this guy. He's got good size, decent speed and plays like the quarterback talked bad about his Grandma. You might not see him on the field in '10, but I think you'll see him after a redshirt year...and like Jack Deboef, watch out when he fills out...it shouldn't take too long.

These are but five players in this year's class...something with which you can whet your appetite. From Lucas to Torwudzu to Gilliam and beyond...there's lots to be excited for...Congrats to Hope and Co...and congrats to the Purdue football fanbase. This is a solid class.

Cheering 101 by The Crimson Guard

When I heard that the IU students finally decided it was trendy enough to start sort of caring about IU basketball again and formed an "official" student section, I decided to look into it. And at first, I wanted to mock them. Ha! A student section formed in December 2009 -- what, did they want to wait to see how bad the season would be before doing it?

But then I said to myself, "Self, that's not nice. This is a program trying to claw its way back after being decimated by a cheating coach."

A coach who had a history of cheating who they hired while knowing he was a cheater. So you could argue it was something IU did to itself. But still -- if you're a student there now, it's not your fault. You have the right to assemble. Hell, it's the clever name of your gym.

So I checked out their web site, CrimsonGuard.org. And, of course, they put up the grainy pictures of their championship banners, ranging from 23 years old to 70 years old. Rah-rah, yay!

But still, I thought they should be proud of whatever they want to be proud of. This is Indiana basketball -- these are people who truly know hoops. Right?

They even have several warnings to students not to rush the floor and to "act like you've been there before." And I respect this, because it's good advice.

What I don't respect, though, is a school whose students mock Purdue and act as though they're somehow superior.......and yet need cheering lessons. Let's take a look at the guidance given to students by the Crimson Guard's leadership:

click to embiggen

So we start with the "Purdont" roster. Clever, with the "Purdont" thing. Here's a tip for student sections -- be clever. Being an original idiot makes you sound like a southern Indiana hillrat. Oh, wait....

Among the tips on the first page is not to leave early, "unless you're meeting Purdue in the parking lot." What the hell does that even mean?

I love that they suggest that Rob Hummel "ran his best friend Scott Martin out of Purdue." Indeed, that's how it happened.

They also have a "pop quiz" asking how many national titles the Purdue men's team has won, and then indicate -- erroneously -- that the answer is zero. Way to do your homework, IU students! Not that you're used to having to study or do any research to skate through college.

But that's just the first page. The second page is the true treasure of this embarrassment:

click to enlargerate

Let's start at the top. "When the announcer says the name of a player you scream the first name."

And then....and THEN...they feel compelled to give an example!

"For example: 'Christian Watford.' Balcony and Bleachers unison: 'Christian'"

What, no guidance on how they should pull off doing it in unison? Will there be a conductor? A sign? A megaphone? HOW WILL THEY KNOW??

And then the "Main Level students shout the last name after the balcony and bleachers shout the first name." And yes, they have "after" in bold.

They then tell you that when a player "shots an airball" (assume they mean "shoots" but hey, that's an IU educashun for you) that you chant.... wait for it.... "airball...airball every time that player touches the ball for the remainder of the half."

*raises hand* But what if someone airballs it in the final seconds before the half? Can they chant "airball...airball" early in the second half? I NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE RULES HERE!!

It goes on from there, telling them how to clap and cheer for players, and all about the "left right left right" chant for players who foul out -- which you'll recall SMRT Illinois fans did to Kramer when he fouled out in Champaign with the game comfortably in hand.

Frankly, I'm surprised they don't have rules listed to help the students understand why some buckets count for three and some only for two.

I fully encourage anyone attending the game to create a new, more creative version of this guide, print a couple hundred copies and then distribute to students entering Ass Hall.

Joe Tiller, Game Changer?

Was this man partially responsible for changing the game?

This is a bit off the current topics of the season, but since it's Super Bowl week, I thought it might be appropriate. I was listening to the radio today and every radio show in America is being done from "radio row" at the Super Bowl and Tiki Barber was on. He was discussing the current state of the game and, of course, the upcoming game this weekend. And a point he made really resonated with me and made me wonder if it was possible that Joe Tiller had some hand in changing the way the game of football is played....nationwide.

Tiki was discussing the Super Bowl combatants and he commented on how Indy's rushing offense is 29th in the league -- and how that doesn't matter at all, because of how surgical Peyton Manning is. Fair point. He went on to talk about how the position of running back is quickly becoming less relevant to the point where he expects it to soon be less relevant than ever. This is because everyone runs some variation of the spread offense and bubble screens and quick outs and slants -- when done precisely -- are just as effective as a first down run play that used to be the bread-and-butter of every offense out there. You always ran on first down unless you were some wild-ass, Bill Walsh offense. And he was considered kind of kooky when he first ran it in the NFL.

So yes, the West Coast offense existed -- and succeeded -- for a number years, starting with those '80s Forty-Niners teams. But it's safe to say everyone else mainly relied on the tried and true method of success (and the "conventional wisdom" of many football lifers): run on first down, run on second down, maybe pass on third down. Oh, and the quarterback spent almost all of his time under center. The shotgun was a gimmick, sort of, and something that good defenses felt they could use to their advantage because it was almost always a sign of a sure passing down.

Then something funny happened over the past ten years or so. Spread offenses took over. They say football is a "copycat" sport (see the ridiculous proliferation of the dumb-ass, 1940s Wildcat offense) and so as spread offenses began to succeed more, more teams began to institute them. This spread (no pun intended) like wildfire, burning through the college ranks and down to high school, to the point where the guy currently referred to as maybe the best college football player ever can't get comfortable taking a snap from center. Crazy.

Joe Tiller came to Purdue in 1997 and immediately implemented a spread offense, infamously called "basketball on grass," a term that is still used by know-nothing commentators today, even when Purdue is running more plays on the ground than in the air. But think back -- Cowboy Joe's system in 1997 was a lot more revolutionary than it would be in 2010. Now, everybody runs a version of the spread. In 1997, approximately zero Big Ten teams ran such an offense. For years (up until his retirement, in fact), Tiller was cited as the reason that the Big Ten's offensive statistics and approach changed. Tiller began passing on first down and frequently "using the pass to set up the pass." We all loved it, of course, because it completely baffled Big Ten defenses (remember, that 1997 team was coming off a 3-8 1996 and didn't even really have the personnel for such an offense) and allowed the Boilers to race to a 9-win season. It was amazing.

Before long, more offenses in the Big Ten opened it up, as did many offenses around the country at that time. Just prior to that, what kinds of teams won national titles in college football? Teams like Nebraska, running the effing OPTION. Now what kinds of teams win it? Teams like Florida and Alabama and USC. Sure, they're not all overly pass-happy teams, but the threat of their passing attack is one of the keys to making them successful. Nebraska used to win titles with quarterbacks who had no business even being referred to as quarterbacks.

Whereas winning Super Bowls at the NFL level used to be done with running game and crushing defense, the St. Louis Rams of '99-'01 showed that you could be very successful (and win a Super Bowl) by passing the sh-t out of the ball and playing defense once in a while. The Rams did what nobody had ever been able to do -- outscore everyone.

So the question I ask you is this: Did Joe Tiller play some significant role in changing the way the game is played? Clearly, I'm not silly enough to think he was the cause, but is it fair to say that what he brought to the Big Ten helped make the pass-happy, spread approach more mainstream?

Well, the 29th-best rushing team in the NFL is playing against Joe Tiller's first big recruit and the man who ran his offense better than anyone.