Scoring may drop off for
Purdue, Minnesota
By Paul Trembacki
Sports
Editor
There has been no dearth of points in the last
few meetings between Minnesota and Purdue; however, that may change
when the two teams meet Saturday, Purdue coach Joe Tiller said.
"It's been a high-scoring affair up there in Minnesota,
but I hope we're good enough defensively that it won't be one of those
52-51 games," Tiller said. "If you've got a good defensive football
team, people shouldn't be able to score 51 points on you."
Purdue's experienced defense will have to handle
Minnesota's experienced offense, while the inexperienced defense of
the Golden Gophers (1-1) will face the young Boilermaker offense.
Although he's known for turning Purdue's offense
into a unit that often scores easily, Tiller said he's the type of person
that likes a baseball game that ends in a score of 3-2 or 2-1 and football
games that are 14-10 or 13-10.
"I enjoy the struggles involved in getting into
position to win a game," Tiller said.
Since 1993, Purdue and Minnesota have combined
for 637 points in eight games. Of those eight, Purdue has won six, including
the last five.
Last season the Boilers won 38-24; in 1999 they
won 33-28; in 1998 they won 56-21; in 1997 they won 59-43; and in 1996
they won 30-27. Purdue also won 49-37 in 1994.
Minnesota won 59-56 in 1993 and 39-38 in 1995.
Layoff payoff?
Minnesota faces a predicament similar to the one
the Boilers faced last week — when they play, it will be their
first game in three weeks.
Purdue had a 20-day layoff between its 19-14 win
over Cincinnati Sept. 2 and its 33-14 win over Akron Saturday. Minnesota
last played on Sept. 8.
"You don't quite know what to expect of a team
that has that much time to prepare for you because certainly they can
change some things," Tiller said.
When Purdue had the extra preparation time, the
Boilers installed a no-huddle, "attack" offense, Tiller said.
Bring the noise
Tiller said he anticipates a rowdy atmosphere in
the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, even though the attendance is projected
to be 45,000 fans for the 64,172-seat stadium.
"I don't think I'd be too crazy about playing in
front of a full house there," Tiller said.
Tiller said Purdue will use a silent count on offense,
meaning that instead of having the quarterback yell out for the snap,
the Boilers will simply have the center snap the ball and let the team
move from the line of scrimmage afterwards.
The Boilers have been practicing running plays
in loud circumstances, using speakers to play recorded crowd noise in
practice.
Turf tough
Another feature of the Metrodome is its AstroTurf
playing surface.
Purdue will not hold every practice this week inside
the Mollenkopf Athletic Center, which has a full-length AstroTurf field,
because of the higher risk of injury and increased likelihood of shin
splints associated with the turf.
However, the team will spend a majority of its
practice time getting accustomed to the terrain.
"I have played on turf before, so that will not
be a new experience," receiver Taylor Stubblefield said. "I like the
ability to stop quick on turf, but I am not sure if it makes me any
faster or not."
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