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The Boilers deserve your attention

Sporting News, The, Sept 27, 2004 by Matt Hayes

He stood there in the big hotel in the big city not so long ago, talking big about a team that just couldn't be as good as it sounded. But remember this about Purdue coach Joe Tiller: He doesn't--what's the best way to phrase this in a family magazine?--blow smoke. He is what he is, and he means what he says. This is a million-a-year everyman with a vacation home in Wyoming, not the Cayman Islands.

That's what made his revelation in July at the Big Ten media days in Chicago so intriguing. He said Purdue would be good enough to compete for the Big Ten championship. He said his quarterback, Kyle Orton, could have a "Drew Brees-type" (that means Heisman Trophy-type) season. He asked, almost incredulously, why wouldn't everyone expect those things?

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He said all of that knowing the nine Purdue players selected in the NFL draft last spring were the most from the school since 1960 and knowing he had little experience to replace them. A month into the season, we know why.

Purdue appears to be the most complete team in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers are faster than any team in the league and are playing with intensity and attitude. Orton, after giving glimpses of All-American potential for three years, is out of the gate quickly in the Heisman race.

"You would think with all we've accomplished," Tiller says, "someone would give you the benefit of the doubt."

Yet the Boilers barely were on the radar in the preseason top 25. Heck, the SPORTING NEWS had them finishing fifth in the Big Ten, and they were No. 32 overall in the preseason rankings. In two weeks, Purdue outscored Syracuse and Ball State 110-7 and goes into its Big Ten opener Saturday at Illinois already hitting its stride. Scoff at the competition, but consider these two glaring examples of how Purdue is playing much better than anyone expected.

* Syracuse tailback Walter Reyes was one of the nation's top running backs at the end of last season, and he was among a handful of legitimate 2004 Heisman candidates. Purdue, which returned three starters from one of the Big Ten's best defenses, held him to 31 yards in 12 carries.

* Orton has completed about 70 percent of his passes; against Ball State, he was almost perfect. He completed 23 of 26, and one miss was a clear drop by a receiver, another was an intentional incompletion, and the other was a poor throw. I don't care whether you're throwing against wind, 23-of-26 is ridiculously good.

"You always knew he had the ability," one Big Ten defensive coordinator says of Orton. "Now he looks scary."

With Orton's arm and Tiller's offensive mind, scoring points wasn't going to be a problem this season. Stopping teams was the issue--at least that's what we thought. Tiller was so confident and excited about this defense because he knew where everything was headed after three consecutive strong recruiting classes. When he gathered his assistants before the first week of recruiting three years ago, he told them he wanted recruits with specific 40 times. He didn't want hearsay from assistant high school coaches, guidance counselors or grandmothers; he wanted facts, and he wanted speed.

That's why Purdue looks so impressive on defense. Why the Boilers lead the nation in scoring defense and rank among the leaders in nearly every other defensive category. Why, after three starting linebackers from 2003 were drafted by the NFL, this year's group is faster and more active.

Young end Ray Edwards might not have the reputation of former Boilermakers stars Akin Ayodele and Shaun Phillips, but he has NFL scouts saying he could be the next great rush end in college football.

The core players in this year's defense didn't play much last season, but not because they weren't talented or ready--because the guys in front of them were NFL-caliber. That is what happens when you build a program and a reputation, recruit to your philosophy and players but into everything they're told. That is what walking, talking television bobbleheads like to call "reloading, not rebuilding."

Forget about cliches; let's talk reality: Purdue gets Big Ten heavies Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio State at home. If the Boilers can dodge a dangerous trip to Iowa, they'll play in the Rose Bowl for the second time in five years.

Maybe then we'll all be believers.

SPEED READS

* Time for our annual lesson in non-BCS 101: The biggest obstacles to unbeaten seasons for Utah, Boise State and Fresno State aren't BCS teams. There's considerably more danger for BCS-busters in road conference games--against teams that know their personnel, schemes and tendencies--than in a one-shot deal against an unprepared BCS team.

* Cal missed an opportunity to test its emerging defense when the Bears' game at Southern Miss was postponed because of weather. The Bears have three weeks off before consecutive road games against Oregon State and USC. If the Bears are stale, it could mean two losses and the end of league title hopes.

The Boilers deserve your attention

Sporting News, The, Sept 27, 2004 by Matt Hayes

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