Tressel Says No One Is Strictly 'Spread'

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Purdue coach Joe Tiller helped popularize the spread offense. He called his version, "Basketball On Grass" - because it wasn't unlike a fastbreak attack.

Now Tiller has retired and has been replaced by Danny Hope.

Coach Jim Tressel analyzes the Boilermakers' offense under the new regime: "Purdue used to be 95 percent spread. Now they're in two backs and running that good tailback (Ralph Bolden) more often than they were at one point in time. ... One of the things that Danny said when he came in was that he was going to do more than just (the spread). He was going to do that, because that's Purdue history. If you ask who's done well with that over the years, Purdue. But they were going to do more than that."

And Tressel also spoke of the future of the spread attack: "I watched the Iowa-Michigan game when I got home from our game (against Wisconsin last week) and Michigan, which is supposedly just a spread team, was in the I (formation) pounding it down the field on one of their scoring drives. I think we all do a little bit of everything. So is the spread sustainable? Yeah, it's going to be here. We're all going to be involved in the spread. Is the spread going to be the only thing? I don't think so."

TRAVELOGUE: The Buckeyes left from campus early Friday afternoon by bus to Rickenbacker International Airport, south of Columbus. They then flew to West Lafayette, Ind., to their hotel. Unlike a week ago, when they stayed in Indianapolis for the game at Indiana in Bloomington, the Buckeyes are actually staying in the same city where they're playing. They will depart immediately after Saturday's game at Purdue.

Team spokeswoman Shelly Poe smiled and said, "We hope to be home by 6 p.m."

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Tressel, asked the most entertaining suggestion that he's recently gotten from a fan: "Resign."

NOT SO HIGH IN THE MIDDLE: Purdue has outscored opponents 59-16 in the first quarter, a startling differential for a team that has won just one of its first six games. The Boilermakers have a 47-32 upper hand in the fourth quarter.

Obviously, it's the two middle quarters where they have fallen on hard times. They've been outscored 83-37 in the second quarter and 52-28 in the third - a margin of almost two touchdowns per game.

"It must be something I must be saying wrong," Hope said of his halftime speeches. "I say we want to start fast and finish strong. I should say, 'Stick something in the middle to help us out."'

He sees a recurring theme, with a lot of bad things happening in the middle quarters of games.

"We've had a series of events that have really killed our football team, and it's cost us the win, and it's happened in the second or third quarter," he said. "I don't think it has anything to do with time - it's timing, maybe, I don't think it's the sand falling in the hourglass and we make mistakes or it's predetermined."

HIGH HOPES: QB Terrelle Pryor came to Ohio State as the No. 1 recruit in the nation.

He says he doesn't feel singled out by fans' unbelievably high expectations of him.

"Really, I guess people were coming out like I was a Heisman hopeful or whatever," he said. "Sometimes it's good to see the team win (rather) than getting yourself accomplishments. That stuff will come. Believe me, that stuff will come later on. We've still got a lot of season to go. Maybe our offense ... could just change your minds on how we could be explosive. Because we'd love to do that just to make a lot more people feel better."

NO KIDDING: CB Chimdi Chekwa swears that the defense doesn't rub it in that it outscored the offense last week.

"It's not so much the defense saying anything about the offense. Usually its the offense (saying things) about themselves," he said. "I talk to my roommate, (OL) Bryant (Browning), and I'll be, 'What you doing tonight?' And he'll be like, 'I'm doing something. (It's almost like) I didn't play today. ..."'

CAPTAIN: The fourth captain for Purdue game is Jim Cordle.

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