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August 21, 2007
Purdue and Wisconsin Preview
By Apparao Prattipati
Purdue
The Boilers had a strange year in 2006. While they finished with eight wins, they only beat one team that made a bowl game (Minnesota), and still lost six times. Still, they return much of the offensive talent and look to play spoiler against the Big Ten upper class.
Basketball on grass should return in 2007 as Purdue returns all of its top talent, including quarterback Curtis Painter and receivers Dorien Bryant, Selwyn Llymon, and John Standeford. The offensive line returns about half of the starters and should be good. Look for Tiller and Zauenbrecker to unleash the offense and for Painter to make fewer mistakes after a full year as a starter. He’s also supported by two good running backs in Sheets and Taylor.
Their playmaker on defense, Anthony Spencer, is a huge loss. While they return 10 starters on a defense, they aren’t a very big or athletic defense. Despite their lack of star power, they shouldn’t make too many mistakes, and will force offenses to beat them honestly.
Purdue has a silly non-conference schedule, but possibly the toughest conference schedule as they play Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, and Iowa. Getting nine wins from this schedule should warrant coach of the year honors for Joe Tiller. Seven wins seem more likely for the Boilermakers this year.
Wisconsin
The Badgers of Wisconsin are easily the most physical team in the Big Ten. In his first year, Brett Bielama went 12–1 with a young team and expectations are high entering his second year.
The Wisky offense doesn’t ask much of its quarterback. Hold onto the ball and provide a bit of a threat to take some pressure off the running game and you’re golden. That’s why they should make out well with Tyler Donovan, who brings experience and has similar qualities to John Stocco. The true star of this offense is battering ram running back P.J. Hill who seems to enjoy running over defenders. The one question looming about Hill is his durability. He had some trouble staying healthy throughout his freshman year, something that’s not unusual for true freshman running backs. The receivers will also be a strength for this team as both starters at wide receiver are big play threats and the tight end Travis Beckum might be the best in the country. Overall, the true strength of this team is along the offensive front. They lose Joe Thomas, but retain the other starters, and they will man-handle opposing defenses.
Is this the best defense in America? Maybe not, but it probably is the most disciplined in what it does. The defensive line may not attack the passer as much as you’d like but they are the strongest in the conference. They will physically dominate opposing offensive lines and clear the way for their active linebackers to wreak havoc all over the field. Those same linebackers are led by a pair of underrated stars in Jonathon Casillas and DeAndre Levy. The group doesn’t get the hype like Penn State and Ohio State, but by the end of the year they might rate as the best in the conference. The secondary is a bit of a weak point (so long as you don’t mess around with Jack Ikegwuonu), but should be protected by the linebackers.
The Badgers visit Penn State, but host Michigan and Ohio State. They are probably the best team in the Big Ten when it comes to the complete package, but they don’t have the playmakers that the other three have. They probably have a great chance to go undefeated, but they could just as easily finish with three losses.
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