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Friday, December 13, 2002
No. 19 Purdue at Penn State
Associated Press
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Drew Brees has impressive numbers
against Penn State with nothing to show for it. That should change
Saturday.
No. 19 Purdue (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) is nearly a two-touchdown
favorite against Penn State despite not having beaten the Nittany
Lions in 49 years.
Still, the Boilermakers are wary of Penn State, which is off to
its worst start in 36 years at 1-4.
"We're going to play a team this week that's kind of like a
wounded cat," Purdue coach Joe Tiller said. "They're the Nittany
Lions and we're seeing a wounded lion. Those are the most dangerous
kind of animals in the wild."
They'll also be very emotional lions. Penn State is dedicating
the remainder of its season to freshman cornerback Adam Taliaferro,
who sustained a severe spinal cord injury in the final minutes of a
45-6 loss to Ohio State last Saturday.
"It'd be nice to rally around and win something for him,"
guard Jordan Caruso said.
But Brees is standing in the way.
The Texas native who once dreamed of playing for Penn State is
0-2 against the Nittany Lions, but has completed 70-of-106 passes
for 740 yards and three touchdowns against them.
"I chose Purdue because of its reputation, playing in the Big
Ten Conference, and of course, the offense and the coaching
staff," Brees said.
Penn State coach Joe Paterno compared Brees to Ty Detmer, who
won the Heisman Trophy at Brigham Young before going to the NFL.
"Drew is a very unique talent. He would be in a class with the
Detmer kid. He is the same kind of player," Paterno said. "He
would be that kind of a kid who is very courageous in the pocket.
He is very decisive, confident and accurate, obviously. He has a
great feel for the game."
Brees threw for 409 yards and two touchdowns in Purdue's 38-24
victory over Minnesota last week. He also set Big Ten career
records for completions and attempts in that game.
Brees has 1,325 attempts, 820 completions, 9,487 yards and 73
touchdown passes in 36 games. He topped the Big Ten marks of 797
completions set by Illinois' Jack Trudeau and 1,309 attempts by
Purdue's Mark Herrmann.
"I feel relaxed out there, I feel patient, yet I feel like
taking advantage of the opportunities teams are giving me," Brees
said.
Meanwhile, Penn State's quarterback, Rashard Casey, has failed
to establish himself in five starts.
Casey has struggled as the Nittany Lions have sputtered on
offense. Penn State has scored 17 points in its four losses.
"You have to be careful. Everyone wants to identify one reason
or two reasons for it. I think Rashard has had a lot of pressure,"
Paterno said. "Until we can be a little bit more precise with our
passing game and give him a little better pass protection up front,
sometimes it is the blitz and sometimes we get overpowered. It is
very difficult for him to get in rhythm."
Purdue has won 16 consecutive games against unranked opponents,
dating to a 27-17 loss at Southern Cal on Aug. 30, 1998. That
streak is the third-longest in the nation behind only Florida (72)
and Florida State (18).
The Boilermakers are 22-2 against unranked opponents under
Tiller.
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