How well Purdue does in Joe Tiller’s 12th and final season as coach may hinge on how well the inexperienced offensive line does under his successor, Danny Hope.
An assistant coach for the Boilermakers from 1997-2001, Hope came back after leading Eastern Kentucky to the 2007 Ohio Valley Conference championship in his fifth season as head coach.
The head-coach-in-waiting arrangement served the Purdue basketball program well when Matt Painter left Southern Illinois to become the assistant and heir to Gene Keady.
Tiller is confident his joint venture with Hope will work out the same way.
“It’s an easy transition because Danny is rejoining the staff,” he said.
Tiller has led Purdue to 10 bowl games in 11 years after taking over a team that made only one bowl appearance the preceding 16 seasons.
“He’s a guy I’m very comfortable with, and he’s very comfortable with me,” Tiller said of Hope. “We suffered when he left our staff because of the intensity and passion he brings.”
The only offensive lineman with extensive experience is senior tackle Sean Sester, a starter in all 38 games of his career.
Two other 2007 starters are back: junior tackle Zach Jones and junior guard Zach Reckman. But neither got any playing time before last season and, like Sester, both missed spring practice because of injuries.
A cohesive line is an essential component of Tiller’s spread offense, which last season led the Big Ten at 435.9 yards per game.
Senior quarterback Curtis Painter, who needs 3,030 yards to surpass former Boilermaker Drew Brees as the most productive passer in Big Ten history, makes the offense go.
But his 0-7 record and eight interceptions against Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin and Penn State raise questions about his ability to excel in important games.
The good news on defense is six starters are back. The bad news is the Boilermakers surrendered 48 points three times last season.
Purdue will contend for a Big Ten title if … Painter has big games against Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan; the 15 players who missed all or most of spring practice recover; and the defense cleans up its act.
Purdue will drive Tiller nuts if … the defensive linemen are unable to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks, and the secondary’s window of vulnerability remains open.
The Boilermakers’ indispensable players are … Painter, Sester, receiver Greg Orton, linebacker Anthony Heygood, defensive tackle Alex Magee and running back Jaycen Taylor.
In a word, the schedule can be described as … intriguing. After ending its non-conference schedule at Notre Dame, the Boilermakers will play Penn State at home and Ohio State on the road. If they can win those three games, Tiller’s last hurrah could be in a BCS game.
Last season’s defining moment was … a 26-19 loss at Penn State that began a three-game November skid.
This season will be considered a success if … Purdue sends Tiller into retirement with another victory in a bowl game.
Boilermakers at a glance
Coach: Joe Tiller, 83-54 in 11 seasons, 122-84-1 overall in 17 seasons.
Coordinators: Ed Zaunbrecher, offense; Brock Spack, defense.
Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Ind., grass
Avg. att. (capacity): 59,326 (62,500)
%% D OPPONENT SERIES
S6 N. Colo., 11 a.m. 1st game (the date for game against Northern Colorado as published has been corrected in this text)
S13 Oregon, 2:30 1-0
S20 Cent. Mich., 11 a.m. 4-0
S27 at Notre Dame, 2:30 26-51-2
O4 Penn State, TBA 3-9-1
O11 at Ohio St., TBA 12-36-2
O18 at NU, 11 a.m. 49-25-1
O25 Minnesota, 11 a.m. 30-31-3
N1 Michigan, TBA 12-41
N8 at Mich. St., TBA 28-29-3
N15 at Iowa, TBA 45-32-3
N22 Indiana, TBA 68-36-6 %% ———-
nmilbert@tribune.com
