same logic to the Group of 5 conferences when awarding

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue coach Darrell Hazell has a simple philosophy for Saturdays season opener.Stay loose, play fast and follow the rules.He figures if the Boilermakers stick to those three things, everything else should fall into place Saturday against Eastern Kentucky.I think youll see a team that makes few errors, Hazell said. Weve really harped on that, just playing within the rules, as simplistic as that sounds. A lot of people dont always do that, but if you play within the rules, probably youre not going to beat yourself.Fans would welcome any change after what theyve witnessed over the past three seasons -- six wins, 30 losses and a revolving door at quarterback.Half of those wins have come against Football Championship Subdivision schools like Eastern Kentucky. But the Colonels are no pushover.A year ago, they went 6-5 and scored more than 40 points five times. They also led Kentucky by 14 in the fourth quarter before allowing the Wildcats to win it in overtime -- and they could be even better this year.New coach Mark Elder has two established quarterbacks -- record-setting incumbent Bennie Coney and former Missouri starter Maty Mauk, who is eligible immediately because he transferred to a lower-division school. Elder was not expected to announce a starter until Saturday morning.So Purdue has been studying footage of both quarterbacks and the offenses and defenses they think theyll face this weekend.We watched a lot of film, watched their old film for personnel, Hazell said. You really dont know until you play the first couple series.Another potential problem: Purdues best cornerback, DaWan Hunte, didnt practice Tuesday or Wednesday because of an injured leg. If he doesnt play, it would be a major loss against a high-scoring team like the Colonels.Hazell believes, however, that this Boilermakers team is better equipped to change on the fly -- and still succeed.Here are some other things to watch Saturday:BLOUGHS STARTFor the fourth straight year, Hazell will start the incumbent quarterback on opening day. Can David Blough keep the job? Hazell has made midseason changes each of the previous three years, but this time could be different. He asked new offensive coordinator Terry Malone to install a less complicated system that is a better fit for Blough. Saturday will be the first time everyone gets to see whats changed.SPECIAL TEAMSElders background as a special teams coach has the Boilermakers concerned about trick plays. Elder already has a pretty unique group to work with. Punter Keith Wrzuszczak was named to three preseason watch teams and Devin Borders is a kick-blocking specialist. The 6-foot-6 receiver begins this season with 12 blocked kicks, an Ohio Valley Conference career record.END OF THE LINEThe Boilermakers have traditionally played one FCS opponent each season. This game will be the last one. When the Big Ten adopted a policy of not playing lower-division teams, the Eastern Kentucky game as already on Purdues schedule, so conference officials allowed them to keep it.FRIEDNLY FOESMalone and Eastern Kentucky assistant head coach Terry Heffernan are more than just friendly coaches. Malone is actually Heffernans uncle. Malone also worked on Michigans staff at the same time Elder was an assistant.WELCOME WAGONNew Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski is expected to attend his first Boilermakers game Saturday. Bobinski was hired Aug. 9, then put the finishing touches on his duties at Georgia Tech. This week, he arrived in West Lafayette and took over the reins from the soon-to-be retired Morgan Burke. 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That the College Football Playoff rankings differ so markedly from the media polls is perhaps the biggest sign of the wisdom of the selection committee waiting until November to make its first decision. Preseason polls are an exercise in dart throwing, and speaking as a former 17-year AP voter, as well as someone who participates in the ESPN Power Rankings, I can attest to how easy it is to get locked into a viewpoint. That said, I am in no way, shape or form advocating to dump the polls. Theyre fun. And they serve their original purpose: to sell newspapers (and, these days, clicks).1. For those of you who, like me, have drawn blood scratching your head over how Texas A&M is ranked ahead of Washington in the first CFP rankings, there are two consolations. The odds of the rankings being the same on Dec. 4 as they are on Nov. 3 are slight. And if this is how it ends, we would have a fantastic set of New Years Six bowls: Ohio State-Washington in the Rose Bowl;?Oklahoma-Auburn in the Sugar Bowl;?Louisville-Wisconsin in the Orange Bowl; and Western Michigan-Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl. The traditional bowls have suffered in the playoff era; anything that benefits them is a plus.2. Clemson is No. 2, despite being pushed to the limit in three of its past four games. The Tigers trailed No. 7 Louisville and No. 22?Florida State?in the fourth quarter, and they needed overtime to beat NC State. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney agrees with the premise that the Tigers arent playing their best football. But he also chose to look at the big picture that illustrates how far Clemson has progressed in his nine seasons as head coach. In 2010, we had five losses by seven points or less, Swinney said, and this year, we have five wins by seven points or less. That is a program. Thats culture.3. The rise of Colorado?is one of the feel-good stories of the 2016 season, and I mean that literally. The No. 15 Buffaloes, 6-2 and leading the Pac-12 South by a half-game (4-1) over No. 16 Utah and USC, have remained remarkably injury-free this season. Fourteen players have started every game, and four others have started seven of eight. That makes the Buffs fortunate, but theres one other stat that illustrates why they are good: Six players have started 30 games. Head coach Mike MacIntyre recruited well, and Colorado took its beatings for three years. The Buffs are grown up now.4. The Campbell Trophy finalists announced by the National Football Foundation are a mix of 12 players with big names and small, from big schools and small, all of whom share in common a high GPA and the ability to play collegge football.dddddddddddd Quarterbacks Taysom Hill of BYU, Zach Terrell of No. 23 Western Michigan, and Cooper Rush of Central Michigan are the stars of the list, but a special shout out goes to Duke safety DeVon Edwards, a finalist despite suffering a season-ending knee injury in September. The finalists receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. The winner, announced at the Hall of Fame dinner in New York on Dec. 6, will receive an additional $7,000 grant.5. When the conference commissioners created the College Football Playoff, they debated at length over whether a team must win its conference to reach the semifinals. They decided against that requirement in order to ensure the playoff got the four best teams, not the four best conference champions. However, the commissioners didnt extend the same logic to the Group of 5 conferences when awarding them a New Years Six bowl slot. No. 23 Western Michigan is only one slot ahead of No. 24 Boise State. But the latter Broncos, after losing at Wyoming on Saturday, need the Cowboys to lose twice in order to win the MWC West. I understand the hackles that would be raised if a nonchampion got the berth. But why pick the best team in one instance and not the other?6. Fourth-quarter point differential is an interesting stat. No. 1 Alabama has its smallest point differential in the fourth quarter (plus-41), but the Crimson Tide have begun six of eight fourth quarters with at least a three-score lead. With Nebraska, however, it means something. According to ESPNs Stats & Information research, the Huskers lead the FBS in the fourth quarter at plus-95. What makes that impressive is that Nebraska has entered the fourth quarter at a cumulative plus-23. The Huskers have had two leads of 11 points, four leads of seven points or fewer and have trailed twice. That plus-95 has made Nebraska 7-1, with the loss coming in overtime on Saturday at Wisconsin.7. When Vanderbilt beat FCS Tennessee State 35-17 on Oct. 22, the Commodores not only won consecutive games for the first time in head coach Derek Masons three seasons, they also reached .500 (4-4) for the first time. One big reason is that Vandy is taking care of the ball. They have gone from minus-16 in 2014 to minus-8 in 2015 to this seasons plus-6. Their seven giveaways are two fewer than any other SEC team. If the Commodores are to get their first winning record under Mason, they have to do so at No. 9 Auburn, which is second in fewest turnovers, with nine. ' ' '