Big 10 Preview: Purdue Boilermakers
August 20th, 2008 by Louis Papa
The swan song for long-time head coach Joe Tiller plays this year in Purdue. Tiller, (83-54 including a 51-37 record in Big Ten games), has been pacing the sidelines since 1997, which makes him the second longest tenured coach in the conference behind JoePa. Last season brought Boilermaker fans 8 wins, including a thrilling 51-48 win in the Motor City Bowl. They will need to do better in conference play if Purdue plans on sending Coach Tiller out with a New Year’s Day Bowl game. The offense, as usual, should be up for the challenge.
Senior quarterback Curtis Painter is back to lead the spread offense. All Painter did last year was complete 63% of his throws (356/569) for an astounding 3,846 yards and 29 TDs. With numbers like these, its hard to imagine ranking Painter any lower than #2 in the Big 10. However, you must consider the significant losses to graduation and the NFL in considering him on draft day.
Gone from last year’s high-octane offense are the #2 all-time receptions leader in the Big Ten, Dorien Bryant and 1st round NFL selection, TE Dustin Keller. Together these two combined for 155 receptions, over 1,500 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns. Bryant and Keller were approximately 50% of Painter’s aerial package. Add on top of that the team dismissal of Selwyn Lymon (40-450-2) and it appears Painter will lean heavily on senior wideout Greg Orton (67 receptions, 752 yards and 3 scores), a couple of freshman and RB Kory Sheets . Without a doubt, the WR position is somewhat of a question mark this season and as is the case with many schools, we will have more information after the first game.
At running back, Kory Sheets and Jaycen Taylor were originally worth a combo look in team selection leagues. However, the recent news on Taylor could change the value of Sheets. Prior to the injury, neither RB warrants individual attention so be sure to check our next Triage Time article by Will Carroll for an update. As a combination package, the 2 RBs produced 1,419 yards and 15 touchdowns with a gaudy 5+ yards per carry average. Sheets added an additional 300 yards receiving with 2 additional scores. You can see why those stats might be attractive if accumulated completely by Sheets this season.
On defense, this team is not as poor as their rivals in Minnesota but there is not much to get excited about here. This unit gave up 48 points or more 3 times last year. They lose Terrell Vinson (#1 tackler in 2007) to graduation and Cliff Avril (3rd round selection) to the NFL. Kicker Chris Summers is worth a backup spot on most rosters. He was a perfect 50/50 in extra point tries and a respectable 15/19 in field goals, including 12/13 inside of 40 yards.
For this upcoming season, expect more of the same for the Boilermaker faithful. At best, 4-4 in Big Ten play, with a trip to say the GMAC Bowl on December 27th .
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