By: Randy Beard (CourierPress.com) —
Coach Joe Tiller’s farewell football season at Purdue isn’t shaping up as a memorable one.

After losing 20-6 at home last week to Penn State, the Boilermakers (2-3, 0-1 Big Ten) now face the task of going on the road and dealing with a rejuvenated Ohio State squad. And it doesn’t help that Curtis Painter is struggling, completing just 57.6 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and five interceptions. Tiller pulled Painter in the fourth quarter last week, and former Harrison High School standout Joey Elliott led Purdue to its only touchdown against the Nittany Lions.

Then there’s the fact the Boilermakers haven’t won at Ohio State since 1988.

Tiller, however, insists his players won’t be intimidated by the 12th-ranked Buckeyes and more than 100,000 fans at Ohio Stadium.

“We’ve played pretty well over there and lost in overtime, lost on a kick in the last series of the game, so we’ve been pretty competitive with them,” said Tiller. “I think our players just believe they can go over there and compete.”

In talking to players early in the week, Tiller said he hasn’t seen any signs that they are getting discouraged.

“They’re saying they’re looking forward to playing the game, and I believe them,” he said.

- For a guy who has been a consistent breakaway threat for Indiana this season, the Hoosiers sure are doing a good job of hiding Marcus Thigpen.

Though he’s averaging 7.5 yards per carry and 26.2 yards per catch, Thigpen has only run the ball 37 times in five games while adding eight receptions. That’s nine touches per game, and it was never more obvious than in last week’s 16-7 loss to Minnesota. The Gophers’ defense did a good job of keeping tabs on the senior running back whenever he was handed the football, holding him to 14 yards on five carries. Still, it was Thigpen who provided Indiana a momentary lift with a 77-yard touchdown catch that tied the score, 7-7.

A week earlier in a 42-29 loss to Michigan State, Thigpen scored on a 78-yard run and a 79-yard reception. In all, he had 207 yards of offense and three touchdowns against the Spartans.

So IU coach Bill Lynch was asked on Tuesday’s Big Ten teleconference if Thigpen needed to get the ball more often. He didn’t say no. He didn’t say yes, either.

“When you only have 48 plays, you don’t get to all the things that you prepared, and that was really our responsibility that we didn’t convert on third down,” said Lynch, whose team hosts Iowa on Saturday. “(But) Marcus, obviously, is a guy who has made big plays for us, and he’s a big part of it.

“We try to be balanced and we feel like we have several guys who can make plays. We had hoped to have the ball more in the fourth quarter so we could have gotten some things, but we didn’t. So we’ve got to address those things as we move forward to Iowa.”

For the season, Thigpen is averaging 97.8 yards per game. Not bad for part-time duty.

- Ohio State freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor continues to impress, giving the Buckeyes a reason to believe they can still be a factor in the national championship chase by season’s end.

And Ohio State coach Jim Tressel continues to be guarded in his comments, careful not to heap too much pressure on his young star.

“Sometimes coming off all of the recruiting hype, guys have a hard time living up to whatever everyone said they’d be like, and I think he’s handled that well,” said Tressel. “He studies the game extremely hard and he’s very tough on himself. He’s his own toughest critic. He has the ability to throw, run and lead — a lot of those things that you’d love in your quarterback. I think he’s going to get better by the day.”

Because he started the season as the backup, Pryor has only passed for 440 yards, but he’s added 312 yards rushing and has been responsible for nine touchdowns. He is completing 64.6 percent of his passes and has a 140.7 quarterback rating.

- Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz has seen his team lose its last three games by a combined nine points, and he’s hoping his players are ready to learn from their mistakes.

In losses the last two weeks to Northwestern (22-17) and Michigan State (16-13), the Hawkeyes have driven down the field on their first possession only to fumble the ball away inside the 20.

“If we can concentrate a little bit better, take care of the ball a little better, that increases our chances to win,” said Ferentz. “I think our players understand that.”

He said youth and inexperience can account for some of the turnover issues.

“But we’re six games into it now, so we need to get over that,” he said.

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