Yes, Bill Diedrick allows, he might have played a small role in Joe Tiller’s belief in a wide-open offense and his ability to tailor a scheme to his personnel.
The Notre Dame’s offensive coordinator and Purdue’s current head coach worked together in 1989-90 under Mike Price at Washington State, where Diedrick might have preached the gospel of the West Coast offense to Tiller. But then Tiller hardly needed a wholesale conversion.
When the No. 23 Irish (1-0) take on the Boilermakers (1-0) Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium, they will be facing a team that put up 51 points, ran up 556 yards in total offense and converted better than half (8-of-15) of its third-down plays in its season opener against Illinois State.
“We recognize that it was against a Division I-AA opponent, and I think we jump out of the frying pan and into the fire going to South Bend,” Tiller said.
Irish coach Tyrone Willingham doesn’t buy that.
“If you amass the amount of yards that they amassed, I don’t think it matters who you play–that’s hard to do,” Willingham said.
“You could put a clock out there and see if you could get that much yardage with the clock running. It’s difficult to do.”
Tiller spent much of his early career as a defensive assistant, which might be responsible for his subsequent mastery of offense, Diedrick said.
“As a defensive coach you know things that kind of hurt you, that you’re kind of weak against, things that really kind of give you problems,” he said. “Joe was exposed to a lot of open offenses, and I think it was something he really caught on to.”
And perfected over time. First at Wyoming and more recently at Purdue, Tiller’s teams consistently have been willing to take risks with his innovative spread offense.
After quarterback Drew Brees attempted an NCAA-record 83 passes in Purdue’s 31-24 loss to Wisconsin in 1998, Tiller said, “We’re shameless when it comes to throwing the football.”
They’re also successful. The Boilermakers have played in a bowl game in each of Tiller’s five years at Purdue, one of only 13 schools to participate in the last five postseasons. Purdue made its first Rose Bowl appearance in 34 years after the 2000 season.
“They have a tradition of winning since coach Tiller has been there, so we have our hands full,” Notre Dame defensive coordinator Kent Baer said. “When they spread you out on the field, it’s like basketball on grass. They do a better job of running the football than people give them credit for, so that’s a real concern of mine.”
The numbers bear out Baer. Junior running back Joey Harris ran for a career-best 144 yards on 23 carries in the opener and caught a 57-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kyle Orton.
“Mind you, it has just been one game,” Tiller said. “We are just as anxious as anybody to see his performance from this point forward.”
Tiller said he would prefer Harris touch the ball a little less “so he can be fresher when he is on the field. We think his productivity level can actually increase.”
Combine Harris’ productivity with sophomore Orton’s increased maturity and the Irish could have their hands full.
“Purdue swings the ball around the field,” linebacker Mike Goolsby said.
“We’re just going to try and get after them and see what we can do.”
