Of course, Penn State - with its tradition and reputation - is not supposed to be slugging it out over third, fourth or fifth place with the Purdues of the Big Ten. But that's where the Lions find themselves as they get set to host the Boilermakers today at noon (ESPN).
Purdue (7-2, 3-2 conference) is in third place, tied with Wisconsin and Illinois, while Penn State (6-3, 3-3) is alone in sixth. Still, the Lions are seven-point favorites over a team they have beaten in eight of their last 10 meetings.
Other than the Michigan and Ohio State games, however, unranked Purdue has not faced much competition, which explains the glossy record.
"You have to give Purdue the respect they deserve, regardless of who they've beaten; they're 7-2," Penn State guard Rich Ohrnberger said. "The two teams they lost to are the same teams we lost to, and they're good teams."
Indeed, the Boilermakers have become one of the better teams in the country at leveling the playing field against superior talent. Since coach Joe Tiller took over in 1997, Purdue has had nine winning seasons.
Much of the credit has to go to Tiller's pass-happy spread offense, in which Drew Brees once set all kinds of records. Quarterback Curtis Painter has been putting up Brees-like numbers this year. The 6-foot-4, 223-pound senior has thrown for 2,420 yards, completing 62.9 percent of his passes. He also has 24 touchdowns against just six interceptions.
"He's impressive," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. "He's a good football player, and they have some good receivers, particularly the kid from South Jersey who can run like the wind."
The South Jersey kid is Dorien Bryant, a product of Kingsway Regional High. The 5-10, 175-pound senior leads the Big Ten with 64 catches for 755 yards. He was named a Biletnikoff Award (best college receiver) semifinalist earlier this week.
