Dedicated to those doing all in their power to defy the odds in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
That spread was higher than my age, and I still blew it.
The Player: Sean Robinson, Purdue QB
The Spread: Wisconsin -20 @ Purdue
The Situation: With the beleaguered Boilermakers putting together an inspired effort, Purdue had the ball in the 4th period trailing by a touchdown, 20-13. What appeared to be an easy cover quickly changed when freshman QB Sean Robinson decided to reward those who took the road favorites by personally blowing it. It started with 9:27 left on an interception which was returned to the Purdue 13 and promptly punched in by Wisconsin. Then only 3 plays later, he threw a pick to the house to put the Badgers up 21 and insure the cover by 1 point.
The Verdict: Even though he’s a freshman QB who was 4th on the depth chart to start the year, we can’t cut Sean Robinson any slack for blowing an easy cover for the Boilermakers. While blatantly giving away 14 points did help lead Dave Mason to a 4-1 week in his award winning Big Ten Conference picks, Robinson’s performance in the 4th won’t install confidence in gamblers going forward. He’s probably too young to be caught up in a large scale point shaving scheme, but no one would be surprised if he met with Arnold Rothstein before the 11:00 kickoff.
[...] Purdue (2-5-1) Probably should have covered, but 4th string QBs are the likeliest of spread killers [...]