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Despite already matching their season total for conference wins from a year ago, fanfare for our most hated rival, the Purdue Boilermakers, has been pretty limited so far this season (and every season, really, since ever). In an effort to attract a couple hundred home fans to Ross-Ade Stadium (ugh) this weekend, Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski announced today that the school will be hosting an alumni game with Iowa immediately following the 11am contest on Saturday with the Hawkeyes.
In an exclusive interview with The Pants, Bobinski had the following to say:
Originally, we wanted to host the alumni game Friday night or before the game with Iowa Saturday, but we were afraid people would come and then leave before kickoff. So we decided to have a meet and greet with the former players ahead of the game and then play the alumni match immediately following the finale.
It’s a bold strategy, Cotton, let’s see if it pays off. The early indications are this could be rough. Tickets to Saturday’s game can still be had for less than $20 on StubHub and there are plenty available even after the typical strong following of Iowa fans have bought up several thousand tickets.
According to Purdue’s press release, each school will attempt to field a full team with alumni from this millennium (anyone who played for either school since 2000). Iowa has released their starting lineups for both offense and defense. They are listed below:
Iowa Offense
WR - Marvin McNutt
WR - Derrell Johnson-Koulianos
RB - Shonn Greene
QB - Brad Banks
TE - Dallas Clark
TE - Scott Chandler
RT - Bryan Bulaga
RG - Marshal Yanda
C - Bruce Nelson
LG - Brandon Scherff
LT - Robert Gallery
Iowa Defense
CB - Amari Spievey
CB - Shaun Prater
SS - Bob Sanders
FS - Micah Hyde
DE - Adrian Clayborn
DE - Matt Roth
DT - Jonathan Babineaux
DT - Mike Daniels
LB - Chad Greenway
LB - Abdul Hodge
LB - Pat Angerer
When asked about choosing a starting lineup, Iowa’s alumni coach, Hayden Fry, said it was difficult to decide as there are so many talented players who were excited to play. Given the enormous depth at some positions (LB, DL for example), the plan will be to rotate guys quite a bit and keep everyone fresh.
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As we transition to the Boilermakers, the story is quite a bit difference. To date, Purdue has actually only released one starter. Drew Brees will be leading the offense. While Brees is a fantastic place to start, one has to wonder how effective he will be without anyone playing alongside him.
Purdue’s alumni coach, Joe Tiller, was asked about filling out the roster and had the following to say:
We really struggled with this, you know. Purdue has a long history of producing a football team that is on the field. Unfortunately, the players on that team aren’t typically very good. We’ve sent out a request to basically everyone that’s played for us since 2000 and Drew is the only one who wanted to play. I think there is a real concern about being beaten to a pulp by this Hawkeye alumni group. At this point, we will allow anyone wearing Purdue gear on Saturday to join Drew on the field, provided they sign a liability waiver.
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Here is a closer look at that roster:
Purdue Offense
WR - Random Fan
WR - Random Fan
WR - Random Fan
RB - Random Fan
QB - Drew Brees
TE - Random Fan
RT - Random Fan
RG - Random Fan
C - Random Fan
LG - Random Fan
LT - Random Fan
Purdue Defense
CB - Random Fan
CB - Random Fan
SS - Random Fan
FS - Random Fan
DE - Ryan Kerrigan
DE - Random Fan (Rob Ninkovich was slated to fill this role, but is still serving a suspension for cheating at football)
DT - Random Fan
DT - Random Fan
LB - Random Fan
LB - Random Fan
LB - Random Fan
When asked for his comments on the alumni game, Purdue head coach Darrell Hazell had this to say:
We are really just focused on our game with Iowa. I think anything Mike wants to do to try and get a couple people to watch our game is great. But right now, we are just focused on Iowa. That said, I’d like to commend former coach Tiller on a fantastic mustache. I’d also like to follow his lead and invite anyone at the game Saturday with any NCAA eligibility left to please sign in at will call when they enter the stadium if they have an interest in suiting up for the Boilermakers. We need warm bodies.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Purdue make a concerted effort in boosting attendance. Just this week we learned of plans to update Ross-Ade Stadium to include a functioning steam engine with full turntable in the south endzone. I have to commend the new AD on his thinking outside the box.
Hawkeye fans wanting to see the carnage of the alumni game are encouraged to drink less and purchase an official sarcasm meter.