Posted by Jerry Hinnen
A look at the key matchup that could decide the Little Caesars Bowl
Purdue CB Ricardo Allen vs. Western Michigan WR Jordan White.
Purdue has a problem. Their best defender by a mile and a half is defensive tackle Kawann Short, whose 17.5 tackles-for-loss led all Big Ten defensive tackles -- yes, ahead of All-Americans Jerel Worthy and Devon Still -- and made him the only Boilermaker on either side of the ball named to either the Coaches' or media's All-Big Ten first team. His 6.5 sacks weren't bad at all, either. But Western Michigan's quick, controlled passing game doesn't really care about trying to run up the middle (the Broncos were 8th in the FBS in passing but 87th in rushing), neutralizing much of Short's impact there, and getting to quarterback Alex Carder before he delivers the ball would be a challenge for any defensive tackle. No matter how good Short is, this doesn't look like the best matchup for him.
Which means the most pivotal defender for the Boilers will be corner Ricardo Allen, Purdue's best one-on-one pass defender and a second-team coaches' all-conference selection. Allen will almost certainly draw the assignment of covering receiver Jordan White, who we're confident will provide Allen with quite the challenge; White's only an All-American who led the nation in both receptions and yards and finished second in receiving touchdowns. And if Allen can't slow down White, the rest of the Boiler secondary is in real trouble; fellow Bronco seniors Robert Arnheim and Chleb Ravenell are tricky veterans who combined for 118 catches and 1,431 yards themselves.
But here's the good news: if Allen can slow down White, the entire WMU operation might slow to a crawl. Not counting a rout of FCS Nicholls State in which he barely played, White was only held below 100 yards receiving twice all season--once again Eastern Michigan, and once against Northern Illinois. In those games WMU scored a total of 32 points (nearly 4 points below their single-game average), posted their two lowest yardage totals of the season, and went 0-2. And if that Carder-to-White connection is disrupted, players like Short mean that the Boilers have far more capacity elsewhere for big plays vs. the Broncos than the Eagles or Huskies.
The task ahead for Allen is a tall one. But the rewards for his success should be substantial.
You can check out our extensive Little Caesars Bowl Pregame preview here.
PURDUE WILL WIN IF: They're focused and motivated, which isn't always the easiest task for Big Ten teams squaring off against MAC opposition in the postseason. And let's be honest--a Tuesday afternoon game in Detroit on Dec. 27 doesn't exactly scream MUST-WIN EPIC MATCHUP TO DECIDE FATE OF THE PROGRAM AND ENTIRE WEST LAFAYETTE WAY OF LIFE. It more kind of whispers "hey, guys, a win would be nice." The good news for Danny Hope: after three years of being shut out of a bowl game (including the first two years on Hope's watch), the Boilers should be excited to make any kind of postseason appearance, and they should have enough overall depth and talent to get past a 7-5 MAC team if they are sufficiently motivated. But we'd have said the same thing before their failed trip to Rice in Week 2 of this season, and Western Michigan is much, much better than Rice.
WESTERN MICHIGAN WILL WIN IF: Alex Carder and Jordan White do their thing. Of all the things either the Boilers or the Broncos do, the only one either side does especially well is Western Michigan throwing the ball; they're eighth in the nation at 329 yards per-game behind Carder's pro-grade arm, and White has received All-American notices after leading the FBS in yards and receptions. Purdue, meanwhile, isn't terrible at defending the pass but -- like we said -- isn't great at it, either, ranking 54th in opposing passer rating. Still, WMU hasn't always lived up to that air-it-out billing--Carder failed to top 233 yards in any game of a three-game midseason slump, during which time the Broncos went 1-2 and fell to Eastern Michigan. But as long as the usual Carder/White tag-team shows up, Purude may be hard-pressed to keep pace.
SEC 
BIG 12
PAC-12 
BIG TEN 
ACC 
BIG EAST 
CONFERENCE USA 
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE 
WAC 
MAC 
SUN BELT 
- Matt Barkley hit Randall Telfer for a touchdown to put USC up 38-14 over Oregon.
North Carolina, with an interim head coach and not much to play for, gave Virginia Tech a fight with two touchdowns in the 4th quarter before the Hokies decided to pay attention on defense. It was an off night for David Wilson, who never could get going, but a solid one for quarterback Logan Thomas. He tossed two touchdowns and ran for a third to provide most of the Hokies scoring to setup a showdown next week with rival Virginia for a trip to the ACC championship. The late comeback from UNC should have been a warning that no one was safe, home or road, regardless of the conditions.
'Every week is a playoff' is the line you'll see often in BCS literature. If that's the case then, Alabama would not be sitting at No. 2 in the country and set to play LSU - again - for the national title. They lost their playoff game at Bryant-Denny in the Field Goal Festival of the Century. Talk of another rematch involving Oregon was put to bed thanks to the conquering Trojans but had they won, they should have taken note that no, they can't be playing in New Orleans after losing a game earlier in the season.
Leaning this way
It would be interesting to see how much Miles' strategy would have changed had Alabama hit just one of their three missed field goals. Would we have seen one of his famous trick plays? I wouldn't exactly say 'The Hat' Les Miles out-coached Nick Saban since both adjusted conservatively but there's no question that Miles made decisions more inline with how the game was going, such as running Jordan Jefferson more than what the game plan likely called for. 
2. If Stanford beats Oregon, they'll move past Alabama in the BCS standings. If Oklahoma State wins out, they'll play in the championship game. Boise State needs help in droves.
Stat of the week
- Hats off to Rick Neuheisel and UCLA for fighting and clawing their way (as some Bruins said) to an upset of Arizona State at the Rose Bowl to, gasp, control their own fate in the Pac-12 South. Thanks to a "here's what we're made of" five minute drive to score a go ahead touchdown, it almost looked like the Bruins defense were going to allow the Sun Devils to get a decent field goal shot off. Alex Garoutte's 46-yarder fell short though and an exuberant sideline of powder blues jumped for joy. A lot of people have counted Neuheisel out, especially after the debacle at Arizona, but he still put his team in a position to win and they finally seized it. The loss was the latest in a line of head scratchers for Dennis Erickson, who seems to lose this type of game every year at ASU. Without a decent South team this year, it's looking very much like a two team league.
- The upset of the week comes courtesy of an NU on NU crime. With designs of making it to Indianapolis for the title game, Nebraska was upset by Northwestern despite Dan Persa standing on the sidelines. The Wildcats have not been great this season but they just kept coming through on defense, hanging on 28-25 for their first top 10 win in some time. "A great program win for us," head coach Pat Fitzgerald said. "To come on the road and put together our most complete game of the year. ... Not perfect. Not a work of art. There are some things we can correct."
- Remarkable stat from Bruce Feldman, Lamar Miller became Miami's first 1,000-yard back since 2002 (Willis McGahee), a stretch of five different offensive coordinators. Although the 5-4 Hurricanes has dealt with a lot on and off the field, you have to give credit to OC Jedd Fisch and Al Golden. Much maligned quarterback Jacory Harris has been playing as well as he has at any point in his career and probably better than that. The senior is remarkably sixth in the country in passing efficiency, right behind Andrew Luck, with an impressive 18-4 touchdown-interception ratio. Miami has been in every game they've played with the four losses coming by 22 points. Saturday's 49-14 thrashing of Duke put them one win away from bowl eligibility ahead of this week's rivalry game at Florida State. 