Volume 7: Pete Leimpeter

The name Pete Leimpeter is really not whats important here, but what he calls himself is. You see, Pete has his first name also included in his last name, so he always says that his name is Pete Repeat. This is a very bad play on words, but the key word here is repeat. That’s not only what the Big Ten feels like, but also the content of this column. The whole time I feel like I am writing something along the same lines each and every week. I want to be interesting and vibrant, but when you are given the same product week after week, its hard to do. So here goes my best shot at trying something different.

Balloons! Yes this is an exclamation that Ludacris used in his famous song “My Chick Bad” but it is more than that. A balloon represents hope for a football team, and once that balloon is popped its over. Purdue had a chance to show they were something different than what they have been, but after the spanking Michigan gave them, their balloon is popped as well. Clowns blow up balloons at birthday parties, and clowns are the exact type of funny character that would have played better football on Saturday then Michigan State. They were losing big to Indiana, and although they won, they are officially no longer an elite Big Ten team.

Illinois stunk like a skunk against Wisconsin, but what else is new with the Illini? While most teams are trying to make a road to the Rose Bowl, they just want to take a bite out of the Pizza Bowl (yes I made that play on words).

Speaking of skunks, Nebraska’s defense sure stinks doesn’t it? They have given up 650 yards in a game and now they gave up 63 points to Ohio State last week. This time though, they gave up 371 yards rushing, which is unbelievably bad. Ohio State’s run game is good, but its not like they are Oregon!

It’s really too bad Ohio State is not eligible for postseason play, because they are by far the best team in the conference. It will almost be a guarantee that they will win the regular season Big Ten crown at this point, or at least their division. They play Indiana next week, so you can already chalk up a W in the win column.

Penn State is not that bad, in fact they are quite good. They have what Stacey King calls “Heart, hustle, and muscle” which is really not that easy to do. Matt McGloin has become one of the best QBs in the conference, and the defense is very solid. People thought this team was just going to give up, but they have stood their ground and have been quite fun to watch.

At this point, there is no point in making projections. Anything can and will happen at this point, which is a theme that will continue to repeat. On a totally separate note, I bet Pete Leimpeter never thought he would have his name in a football article, did he? In all seriousness though, Pete is a great guy and one of the best officials in the Northern California Golf Association. In fact, he probably would ref a football game better than the NFL replacements, but lets not repeat that fiasco.