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What We Learned Purdue can run the ball, Northwestern can be stopped
By Stewart Mandel, CNNSI.com EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern's attempt at another feel-good story of the year got put on hold quite soundly Saturday by Purdue, 41-28, in a game not nearly as close as the score. Here are three things we learned while on hand about the 22nd-ranked Boilermakers and No. 17 Wildcats, both now 5-2. 1. They can run, too Remember when Purdue coach Joe Tiller used to boast of his team's pass, then pass some more philosophy? "Basketball on grass," it was dubbed. Well, like The Donny & Marie Show, those days are gone, and forgotten. For the second straight week, Drew Brees and Purdue earned an important win thanks to a balanced offense as reliant on the run (222 yards) as the pass (239). "We thought coming in, we could run the ball a little big, not a great deal, however, because we have great respect for their defensive front," said Tiller. With a career-high 174 yards, 119 of them on 12 first-half carries, Purdue's Montrell Lowe became the latest in a line of opposing runners who have shredded the Northwestern defense this season. Previously, there was TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson (243 yards) and Wisconsin's Michael Bennett (292). But unlike those two nationally acclaimed backs, Lowe is not exactly the first name that comes to mind when you think of Purdue. "I think when [opposing defenses] go into games, their main thing is to stop Drew," Lowe said. "They want to drop the linebackers back to help out the secondary, and I think that works out well for us. They don't respect our running game collectively." Lowe's performance shouldn't come as a complete surprise. After winning the Boilers' starting tailback job as a freshman, Lowe ran for 843 yards in 1999. He lost his starting job temporarily the first three weeks of this season due to a shoulder injury, but kicked into gear with 82 yards and a touchdown against Notre Dame, and topped it with 126 on 22 carries in last weekend's victory over Michigan. His performance Saturday topped a previous career-high of 153 he set last year against Ohio State. "Montrell did a heck of a job," said Brees, "but the holes were huge. The offensive line stepped up again, they've had a heck of a season. And I think we're a very balanced offense right now." Brees must have seen one too many Michael Vick and Woody Dantzler TV highlights for his liking. After all, he's a quarterback who's thrown for more yards than the two of them combined, yet the other two get more Heisman buzz thanks to what they do with their legs. But Brees is no statue. He had 88 rushing yards against Minnesota, 80 against Michigan and 56 against the Wildcats, thanks largely to the well that opens up in the middle of the field after the receivers spread. A couple times, Purdue even took a play out of Northwestern's playbook and called the QB draw. "I do what I gotta do," said Brees, caught displaying a pretty wide smile after a couple dashes. "It was fun. I didn't mind at all." 2. The vaunted Northwestern offense can be stopped, after all From New York to Los Angeles they came, the national media types whose stories and votes so influence the outcome of a season, to see the high-octane Northwestern offense they'd heard so much about. And they got exactly what they wanted -- for a quarter. The no-huddle, spread attack Randy Walker installed in Evanston before this season is a thing of beauty when run correctly, with four receivers causing chaos, and QB Zak Kustok so free of pressure he can hand-deliver the ball to any one of them, or to 1,000-yard rusher Damien Anderson. And on their first two possessions against Purdue, it was a sight to behold, the smooth Kustok thoroughly stumping his defenders en route to two quick touchdowns. At the end of the first quarter, Kustok was 6-of-7 and had accounted for 117 of NU's 153 yards. But there was at least one sign this Wildcat onslaught would soon slow down. Anderson, fresh off consecutive 200-yard games, had carried eight times for only 11 yards. After a second quarter in which they had the ball for only two unproductive series, the momentum had started to shift. By the third quarter, it had become manslaughter, with Kustok the victim. For the first time since its 41-14 loss to TCU a month ago, a defense was consistently getting its paws on the NU quarterback. As Purdue opened up its lead, caused at least partially by two turnovers that Purdue converted into quick TD drives, the Wildcats didn't even have time to get Anderson the ball, handing it to him only twice for five yards in the third quarter. "Every team does things a little bit differently," said Kustok. "I don't think they did anything special or out of the ordinary that other teams didn't do. They made some plays, and we didn't. It was no person in particular, nothing in particular, but getting behind the chains [on turnovers] kind of took us out of our offense." Purdue had a slightly different opinion of what took place. Defensive coordinator Brock Spack stressed that the no-huddle had limited effect on his unit because the players use armbands with their plays on them, and don't necessarily need a huddle themselves. "When you're playing the spread offense, it's all about speed," he said. "They've got big guys [on the offensive line], but I thought we matched up pretty well from a speed standpoint." 3. And your Rose Bowl favorite is... The Big Ten standings have gone through so much turmoil already this season, you might as well wipe the slate clean and start from scratch. With Ohio State's loss to Minnesota on Saturday, no one is undefeated, and the Buckeyes, Gophers, Boilers, Wildcats and Wolverines are all tied for first. Fortunately for Purdue, it's beaten three of those teams, and hosts Ohio State in two weeks. So yes, if you had to pick a "favorite" at this point, it would be the Boilermakers, a team that hasn't been to Pasadena since the days of Bob Griese in 1966. After struggling early with road losses to Notre Dame and Penn State, the Boilers have responded with consecutive wins over ranked opponents, the latest also the first road occurrence under Tiller. "We've been told for a long time, 'When are you guys gonna win a big game?'" said receiver Vinny Sutherland. "It's our first bus ride home with a win, and it feels good. But we've got another big game on the road next week [against Wisconsin]." Northwestern would have stood alone atop the standings had it won Saturday. Now, it must fight to keep its confidence afloat headed into a bye week, then tough games at Minnesota and home against Michigan. In truth, fans will just be happy to get that one more win for a bowl. "This by no means ends the season for us," said Kustok. "We have to make sure it doesn't. We have to make sure we bounce back from this, learn from it. And we have two weeks to prepare for Minnesota." Stewart Mandel is college sports producer for CNNSI.com
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