2009 Opponent Preview - Purdue Boilermakers

Playing Purdue is like fighting with your little brother. You're going to kick the snot out of him almost every time, but it never stops him from trying again. The Irish lead the series with 33 wins and 19 losses, which is impressive, but what is even more impressive is a 18-5 record in their last 23 games. Purdue did beat the Irish in 2007, but it was the rebuilding year 3 for Charlie Weis, and let's be real - everyone beat us that year.

The most memorable moment from Charlie Weis' tenure as coach against Purdue has to be Brock Spack's bewildered face in Weis' first year. It looked something like this:


Get's me every time. The two teams play for the Shillelagh trophy, not to be confused with the Jeweled Shillelagh (the USC rivalry) or The Daily Shillelagh (more of an unknown rivalry). The Irish beat ole Pee-You last year by a score of 38-21. This year's game is in West Lafayette, where the Irish lost in 2007 by a score of 33-19, despite outgaining the Boilers by more than 50 yards.

The Boilers have a new coach this year in Danny Hope, who was promoted after Joe Tiller (Wilford Brimley) retired. Hope was the head coach at Eastern Kentucky before joining the Boilers last year. He also spent time as the offensive coordinator for Louisville in 2002. Hope was an offensive line coach for the Boilermakers when Drew Brees was the quarterback, the same year the All-Pro Matt Light was at Purdue.


So without further ado, let's break down the Boilers
Offense- There's a lot of fresh meat on the Boilermaker offense this year. There's only five returning starters, with four of them coming on the offensive line. However, that's not to say there isn't experience. There are two sophomores (both returning starters), two juniors (one of whom is a returning starter), and SEVEN seniors.
Backfield- New everything. Curtis Painter graduated and his heir, Justin Spiller, was dismissed from the team. That leaves Joey Elliott, a senior, as the starting quarterback. Elliott is 8-15 for 81 yards in his career. Last year's leading rusher Kory Sheets is also gone, leaving the rushing duties to senior Jaycen Taylor, who missed last season with an ACL injury. True freshman Al-Terek McBurse is the backup runningback.
Receivers- Keith Smith is the only returning starter in this unit. Smith was third on the team in receptions last season, bringing in 49 balls for 486 yards and 2 touchdowns. Desmond Tardy and Greg Orton, who both caught over 65 passes last year, are both gone. Senior Aaron Valentine, who is slated in as the #2 WR, caught 11 balls last year for 224 yards and 2 touchdowns. Tight end Kyle Adams was injured last year, but has three starts in his three years at Purdue.
Offensive Line - Four of five return, with the lone new starter being Jaren Zwilling, a center. Ken Plue and Dennis Kelly started as true freshman, while Eric Hedstrom and Zach Jones started as juniors last year. Tiller once said that Dennis Kelly was the best lineman they've had since Todd Light, so you can tell he's a bit bullish on the left tackle. This group will most likely improve upon their performance last year, a year that saw Purdue's offensive production drop by more than 60 yards a game.

Defense- Again, a lot of seniors on defense, seven to be exact. And of three of the four who are not seniors are returning starters. Needless to say, it's an experienced group on defense. The Boilers were solid against the pass last season, limiting opponents to just 183 yards a game, but they also gave up 175 yards rushing a game, which is crippling in the plodding Big 10.
Defensive Line - Kawann Short is a kid at defensive tackle compared to his colleagues, Short, a redshirt freshman, is flanked by returning starter Ryan Kerrigan and senior Keyon Brown as his ends, with senior Mike Neal next to him in the middle. Kerrigan was a Big Ten Honorable Mention last season with 56 tackles, seven sacks, and 4.5 TFLs. Neal has 7.5 sacks in 34 games, which isn't bad for a tackle. This unit has to improve against the run for Purdue to be successful.
Linebackers - Chris Carlino and Joe Holland both started as freshman last year and were a pretty solid pair. Holland was third on the team with 76 tackles, including one sak, while Carlino came on strong, making 36 tackles over a year in which he started 5 games. They will be joined by Jason Werner, who is probably the most talented player Purdue has on defense, though he missed last season but is expected to return. This is a pretty decent squad that will only get better as the two sophomores gain experience.
Defensive Backs - All four are seniors, which is important when considering that experience is most valuable in the defensive backfield. SS Dwight McLean is the only non-returning starter from last year, with cornerbacks Brandon King and David Pender and free safety Torri Williams all returning for the 2009 season. McLean and Williams both had 2 interception last year, most among any Boiler. Pender was an Honorable Mention All-Big 10 guy last year, as was Williams.

Special Teams - Both kicker Carson Wiggs (a sophomore) and punter Chris Summers (a senior) return from last year's team. Wiggs was 8-11 last year as a true frosh, with a long of 53 yards and six touchbacks on 41 kickoffs. Summers averaged 38.4 yards per punt last season, with a team net of 29.6 yds/punt. Summers can also kick field goals if needed, as he has gone 31-52 in his career with a long of 50 yards. Aaron Valentine is their main return man, averaging 25.6 yards/kick return last year.

Final Thoughts: I'm actually a bit conflicted here, and I see this as a bit of a trap game. I can easily see the Irish overlooking Purdue, especially if they start the season with wins over Nevada and the two Michigan schools. Purdue has a lot of seniors, which seems to be an indicator of a surprise team. However, it's Danny Hope's first season as a head coach at this level, he's bringing in new coordinators, and is breaking in new skill players on offense. Tiller was never a great coach, but he was able to do some things at a school that has never really been great to begin with. Then you have to remember that the game's on the road, which shouldn't usually matter unless Purdue can manage to keep it close.

I see the Irish winning here, but I think the game will be closer than most will expect. We will learn a lot abotu Purdue when they play at Autzen Stadium against Orengon on September 12th, the same weekend that we will learn a lot about the Irish when they play Michigan on the same day. Purdue has Toledo at home in week one, the game at Oregon week two, and a matchup at home against Northern Illinois in week three. Then the Irish come to town before they head off to Big-1o play.

I really don't know what to make of Purdue, as they don't have a lot of talent and we usually put a beating on them when we have any sort of competent coaching, but it wouldn't surprise me if this becomes a trap game. The senior leadership is the only thing that has me on edge.

Oh, and before I forget:

Every time.