Boilers plan to use bye
week constructively
By Paul Trembacki
Sports
Editor
As quarterback Brandon Hance said after Sunday's
19-14 win over Cincinnati, Purdue can't afford to take any practices
off this week.
After escaping Cincinnati with a win in their opener,
the Boilers have a bye and won't play this weekend. However, they will
still practice as much as, if not more than, they practice during a
normal game week.
"I think it will be a good opportunity for us to
get out there and get better in practice," Hance said. "We have a lot
of improving to do before the Notre Dame game."
Purdue's next game is against the No. 17 Fighting
Irish at 2:30 p.m. Sept. 15 in Ross-Ade Stadium.
Although the Fighting Irish will present Purdue
with several matchup problems, especially between Purdue's offensive
line and their defensive line, the Boilers are focusing on themselves,
especially on offense.
The Boilers are concerned about the point total
and passing yardage (117), which were both lows for a win under coach
Joe Tiller. They're trying to get first downs on cue, rather than go
4 for 15 on third downs. They're also concerned about the poor communication
that caused several breakdowns Sunday.
"The overall timing of the offense is not where
it needs to be or where we want it to be," Hance said. "That is something
we need to improve."
Tiller said Purdue's focus will be internal for
the majority of time, with Notre Dame-oriented preparation being implemented
little by little. On Tuesday, the Boilers spent 10 minutes running plays
against formations they think the Irish will use next weekend. The team
will simulate Notre Dame game circumstances for 15 minutes today, 20
minutes Thursday and so on.
The team will have Friday and Saturday off, but
they'll have a full-contact practice with some scrimmage work Sunday.
The team will have Monday off and then got back into game preparation
mode before they face the Irish.
"Notre Dame's a great team," senior tight end Tim
Stratton said. "(The off week) gives us a chance to work out some problems
that we faced against Cincinnati. We hope to correct them for Notre
Dame because we're going to need to play our best game."
The bye week gives the Boilers a luxury on special
teams. Tiller said the Boilers will work on one aspect of special teams
— either punting, kicking off, blocking field goals, etc. —
each day in practice, something they aren't able to do during a game
week.
However, Tiller wishes the bye week was a little
later in the season; ideally the bye would come after the sixth game
of the season, the halfway point. But he knows he can't have everything
go right.
"I guess whenever (a bye week)'s scheduled it's
a good time to have one," Tiller said.
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