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SI Scouting Reports 1. Nebraska 2. Florida State 3. Alabama 4. Michigan 5. Wisconsin 6. Kansas State 7. Georgia 8. Clemson 9. Texas 10. Miami 11. Florida 12. Virginia Tech 13. Washington 14. Tennessee 15. TCU 16. Purdue 17. Mississippi 18. USC 19. Penn State 20. Southern Miss 21. Illinois 22. Ohio State 23. Oklahoma 24. Colorado State 25. Colorado ----------------- The Master List: 1-115 Lower Division Rankings

16. Purdue

For Brees to win the Heisman, he'll need more help from his D than he got last year

By Josh Elliott

The Book An opposing team's coach sizes up the Boilermakers "Their offense does a great job of spreading you out, but they have trouble in the red zone. It sounds funny, but you want to keep their offense on the field. In other words, avoid the quick strike.... Brees presents problems; he never throws a bad ball. You've got to pressure him, but you can't sacrifice too much coverage to do it.... Their running game is spotty.... The defense plays as hard as any in the Big Ten, but the secondary is a bit weak."

The question, as ludicrous as it sounds, is posed to Akin Ayodele with a straight face: Might the junior linebacker be as valuable a player to the Boilermakers as quarterback Drew Brees? "Come on ... me?" says Ayodele. "I can only hope to have the success I did last year. But having Drew means everything. Because of him the whole team has that confidence you need to win in the Big Ten."

Ayodele, a surprise hit in '99, will be even more smashing now that he's back at linebacker.  Dave Umberger/AP

This is all true enough, but for Purdue to have a serious shot at going to its first Rose Bowl since 1966, the Boilermakers must avoid the shootouts they so often lost in '99, when they gave up more than 28 points a game to Big Ten foes. Enter Ayodele, who finished last year with 11 sacks and 19 tackles for a loss despite having to learn a new position: defensive end. During the spring, coach Joe Tiller moved Ayodele back to outside linebacker, his natural position. "On D, everything starts with Akin," says Tiller.

On offense everything, of course, starts with Brees, who followed a stellar 1998 (3,983 yards, 39 touchdown passes) with an impressive '99 (3,909 yards and 25 scores). Big numbers, however, won't come easy this fall. Purdue's receiving corps is the weakest it's been since Brees arrived in West Lafayette, and then there's the schedule. The Boilermakers face a nasty five-game stretch that includes Penn State and Wisconsin on the road and Michigan and Ohio State at home. During a similar stretch last season, Purdue saw a 4-0 start give way to a hellish 2-3 October. The Boilermakers weren't the same after that, blowing a 25-point lead to Georgia in the Outback Bowl, the biggest meltdown in Division I-A bowl history. "That game pains me more than any other in my career," says Tiller.

Ayodele shares his coach's pain. "This year, though," he says, "we'll be finishing people."

Issue date: August 14, 2000

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