Offense experiences maturation, hopes for more

By Doug Healey
Assistant Sports Editor

Compared to its performance in the season opener at Cincinnati Sept. 2, Purdue's young offense matured in its 33-14 win over Akron Saturday.

Offensive coordinator Jim Chaney said it started when quarterback Brandon Hance led Purdue on a nine play, 72-yard scoring drive that gave Purdue the lead over the Zips at the end of the first half Saturday.

"There were times when I felt pretty comfortable and I felt like our offense was clicking, which is something I really didn’t feel at Cincinnati," said Hance, who led Purdue's offense to 471 yards. "I felt more comfortable reading the defense. I felt more prepared going into this game."

Hance, who connected on 21-of-37 passes for 252 yards, felt more prepared partly because the team had three weeks of practice between games. The coaches condensed the game plan for Akron, allowing Hance to become more comfortable.

"(Hance) got better as the game went on, and that's always encouraging," said Purdue coach Joe Tiller. "That's what he needs to do. I'm glad to see him come back and stick it in (the end zone) and make a couple of throws."

But Hance still has plenty of room for improvement, said Tiller.

"I am not at all concerned about Brandon's physical skills," said Tiller. "I don't worry about that part of his game. But he has an awful lot to learn mentally about running this offense and playing this game."

Hance, who threw for two touchdowns and interceptions, said his teammates helped him have a better game than the season opener.

"The offensive line did a much better job, and it started picking up the blitzes," he said. "And the wideouts were not only catching the ball, but making a play after the catch."

The extra practice time also helped the offensive line.

"I thought the protection was good, for the most part," said Tiller. "Mentally, I didn’t think there were nearly as many broken assignments as there were the first game."

Junior center Gene Mrcuzkowski agreed.

"I think we realize we're getting more comfortable with each other," he said. "We're not where we were last year as a unit, but we're talking a lot more and I think that off time helped us a tremendous amount."

Although the Boilers have made strides offensively, the offense still has a lot of improving to do, said Tiller.

"We've got a lot of work ahead of us. We're a long way away from being where we need to be as a team offensively."

First glimpse of action

Late in the fourth quarter against the Zips, Purdue freshman quarterback Kyle Orton took his first collegiate snap. He completed one pass in four attempts. But his one completion was a 40-yard pass to freshman wide receiver Kevin Noel. He also hooked up with freshman tight end Mike Rhinehart, but the play was negated by a penalty.

Third down woes

Last season, the Boilermakers were better on third down conversions than any other Big Ten team (57 percent). But Purdue was only 7 of 17 on third downs (41 percent) against Akron. In the first two games this season, the Boilers are 11 of 32 on third downs (34 percent). The Purdue defense, however, has stopped opponents on 76 percent of third down tries, which is better than last year's mark of 63 percent.

Places in history

With five catches for 59 yards against Akron, Purdue senior tight end Tim Stratton passed Randall Lane and is now 12th on the Boilers' all-time receiving list. Stratton now has 1,657 receiving yards for his career and is 106 yards behind Isaac Jones, who's in 11th place on the all-time list.

Junior running back Montrell Lowe moved into ninth place on Purdue's all-time rushing list, with 69 yards against Akron. He has 1,977 yards for his career and is just 72 yards away from eighth place.

Offense experiences maturation, hopes for more

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