2007: 8-5 (3-5 in Big11Ten), Beat Central Michigan in Motor City Bowl.
Purdue. We tried to write something snappy or funny or interesting here about Purdue. But in all honesty, what is there to say? We know the book on them by now. They chuck the ball all over the field, they don’t play a ton of defense, and unless Drew Brees discovers he has another year of eligibility and wants to come back to start at QB, they’re probably not going to contend for the conference title.
It is coach Joe Tiller’s last season this year, and that is notable because he brought the gunslinging spread offense to the conference with him 13 years ago. Can that offense put up massive points sometimes? Yes. Does it usually work on the conference’s elite teams? No. Purdue led the Big11Ten in scoring offense last season, and while they gave Penn State a bit of a scare, they were only 3-5 in conference play. While it would be nice for Tiller to go out with a bang, things aren’t looking up for the folks in West Lafayette.
One thing Purdue has going for them is their quarterback, senior Curtis Painter. He’s probably the safest bet in the conference to be a solid QB this year, as he’s flourished in the spread during his career, to the tune of over 8,700 career passing yards. He had 3,846 last year alone. While those aren’t quite Graham Harrell numbers, they’re pretty good for the Big11Ten. As Painter goes, so goes the offense, and as long as he’s at the helm, Purdue’s scoring numbers should flourish.
Unfortunately for Painter, he’s missing two big targets from last year in receiver Dorien Bryant and tight end Dustin Keller, who combined for 155 receptions, over 1,800 yards and 15 touchdowns. Ouch. Dustin Keller is actually now catching passes from this unidentified man:
People from Wisconsin are starting to cry.However, senior Greg Orton had 67 catches for 752 yards last year, and seniors Joe Whitest and Aaron Valentin combined for 10 touchdowns last year. So Painter will still have a lot of experience to work with at wideout.
Senior Corey Sheets returns at running back this year after a pretty solid junior campaign of 895 yards (5.1 yards per carry) and 11 touchdowns. And, of course, we're all familiar with backup Jaycen Taylor:
Whoops. Wrong Jason Taylor.As for the offensive line, Purdue returns three starters in Sean Sester, Zach Reckman and Zach Jones. Unfortunately, all three missed time in the spring with injuries. If they can all hold up through the season, Purdue should be lighting things up on offense as usual. If not, Painter’s senior season could be a painful one.
If there was ever a defense we knew nothing about before the season, it would be Purdue’s (hey, unlike E!SPN, at least we admit that we don’t know what we’re talking about). But after extensive research (define that as you wish), we found that the defense that was very middle-of-the-pack last year should offer about the same this year.
The D is anchored by senior linebacker Anthony Heygood. The Butkus award hopeful racked up 81 tackles (15 for a loss) last season. New starters Kevin Green (junior) and Jason Werner (senior) join Heygood to make up the linebacking corp. The D-line appears to be in solid shape, with three returning starters in seniors Ryan Baker, Alex Magee and Keyon Brown. Sophomore Ryan Kerrigan will be the newcomer on the line and will try to help improve the 148 yards rushing per game that Purdue surrendered last year. Junior David Pender will anchor the defensive backfield as the team’s top cornerback.
Purdue’s schedule isn’t as cakey as some in the Big11Ten, but they do luck out by not having to play Wisconsin. We do think they will win their rivalry game with Indiana, mostly to get back at this guy:
However, four of their first six games will be against Oregon, Notre Dame, Penn State and Ohio State. That’s not going to be a fun run for the Boilermakers. Boiler down.
Our prediction for Purdue: 4-8 (2-6 Big11Ten).
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