Purdue hopes rise again

Raise your hand if you gave up on Purdue.

C'mon, get 'em up.

Higher.

Seriously, these guys lost to Penn State. And, the Boilermakers fans, who were actually allowed to boo at Happy Valley, did so with gusto.

At that point the Boilermakers were 3-2. So much for Drew Brees' season. The Heisman Hype. The Rose Bowl.

Everyone thought this offense would rack up more mileage than a steelbelted Goodyear. They were looking flatter than a Firestone.

Well, four weeks and four wins later - three of which were against the main competition for the Big Ten title - the No. 11 Boilermakers are king of the road. Beat Michigan State and beat Indiana and the Boilermakers (7-2, 5-1) will make it to their first Rose Bowl in 34 years.

"We didn't think we would necessarily be in this position," said coach Joe Tiller. "You always hope you are, but while you're trying to build a program, you don't expect it this quickly."

Ah, Joe that's not what you said in 1996 when you were hired. Remember?

"We're not going to wait for four years to figure this out. If I would wait four more years, I would hardly have any hair left," said the folically challenged Tiller in '96. "We're here to win a championship. We've won in the past and we will win again in the future."

Geez, a coach who lives up to his promises. Who'd have thunk it.

Tiller, a former Washington State assistant, has taken a Purdue program that was dormant for three decades and turned it into a Big Ten juggernaut in his tenure. He did it by grabbing a recruit right from the University of Texas' backdoor - Brees. (Brees tore his anterior cruciate ligament as a junior so UT and others backed off.)

The quarterback, after the poor showing at Penn State and against Notre Dame, is on the short list for the Heisman. This year he has 22 touchdowns, is averaging 322 passing yards a game and has completed 60 percent of his passes. In his career, he has completed 61 percent of his passes and had two 500-plus-yard passing games.

"I think Brees is the best quarterback in college football right now," said Minnesota coach Glen Mason.

"There's no better quarterback in the country," agreed Wisconsin's Barry Alvarez.

With Tiller and Brees, Purdue has been to three straight bowls. Purdue has been to three straight bowls only once in its history.

Now, they are staring at four straight. With the fourth possibly being the Rose Bowl.

"I don't know if it is our destiny or not," running back Steve Ennis told the Indianapolis Star. "We all work hard in the off- season, but everyone in the nation does. The only thing that matters now is who wants it (the most). I think our guys want it pretty bad. I know I do."

Do the Hokie Pokey

Now to catch up on the Hokie Pokey going on in Blacksburg, Va. Is Michael Vick going to put his right sprained ankle in or out of this week's game with Miami?

Would you settle for a solid ... maybe?

"I feel a whole lot better today, but I'm still scared to put all of my weight on the ankle," Vick told reporters after an hour workout Friday.

"Dave (Meyer) will be our starter," Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "The question becomes whether Michael can play at all. We're not going to play Michael unless he feels really good and the doctors feel really good. We're not going to do anything that's not in his best interest."

What's in the best interest of the Hokies is to win. This game is for the Big East championship and might be for the right to play in the Orange Bowl. With fifth-year senior Meyer instead of Vick, No. 2 Virginia Tech doesn't have much of a chance of beating the No. 3 Hurricanes and staying in the BCS picture.

With Vick it might be different. Especially considering the Hurricanes seem susceptible to Heisman Trophy candidate quarterbacks with bum wheels. Florida State's Chris Weinke gutted out 496 passing yards on his bad ankle.

Of course, the Seminoles lost 27-24.

One not to watch

And now for the worst game of the week: Winless Duke and Wake Forest will battle in Winston-Salem today. The Blue Devils have lost their five ACC games by an average of 41-13. The Demon Deacons have lost their five ACC games by an average of 41-12.

Notes

The Seattle Times' Anderson/Hester computer ranking has Washington ranked third this week. The Huskies aren't higher than sixth in any of the other seven computer ratings. . . . USC, Rutgers and Fordham are three of the 13 Division I-A schools not to have a conference win yet. . . . The last Big Ten team to go from first to worst was 40 years ago. The Pac-10 has had teams accomplish the feat in 1998 with Washington State and almost in 1999 when UCLA finished ninth. This year reigning Rose Bowl champ Stanford is in a four-way tie for fifth. . . . Virginia Tech has outrushed eight opponents 2,241-717. . . . Baylor (2-6, 0-5) will face the No. 1 team for the second time in three weeks today. The Bears lost 59-0 to then-No. 1 Nebraska three weeks ago. Oklahoma is in Waco today. Baylor is 111th in scoring out of 114 Division I-A teams. Oklahoma is second.

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