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GoldanDBlack express • volume 25, express 3 • 22 BY KYLE CHARTERS KCharters@GoldandBlack.com P urdue's defense needs to find a way to stop the run. In their first two games this season, the Boilermakers have al- lowed 187 yards per game on the ground, ranking 97th (out of 124) in the country. Defensive coordinator Greg Hudson says Purdue needs to play more assignment sound. "The first thing was we had some guys up front out of some gaps and then we weren't spilling the ball like we should," Hudson said Wednesday, following Pur- due's 38-17 loss to Central Michi- gan on Saturday. "It makes it a little bit easier to tackle the guy when there isn't as big as a gap. We fixed that. We have to get our geometry right. Communication is some- thing we're constantly working on. We've got to get better. We've got to get better in a hurry." The Boilermakers gave up 161 yards rushing to the Chippe- was, with 155 coming from power back Thomas Rawls. And although Purdue didn't give up a long rush, CMU kept chipping away between the tackles. Hudson thinks if the Boiler- makers get their gaps correct, then the tackling — Darrell Hazell says they missed 17 vs. Central Michi- gan — will improve. "I think when your leverage is right and everything fits right, you don't have to tackle in as big a space," the second-year D-coor- dinator said. "That helps, especially when it's a nine-man front, the safeties make a lot of tackles. We've got to pene- trate more up front and get off blocks and win one-on- one battles." Multiple issues Purdue's passing game is struggling, having pro- duced only 204 yards on 49 attempts against Central Michigan. That included a quar- terback switch, when Aus- tin Appleby took over for Danny Etling in the fourth quarter. Although the duo completed less than 50 per- cent of their total attempts, offensive coordinator John Shoop says Purdue's issues are the responsibility of all. "Football isn't an individual sport, it's never one thing," Shoop said. "And we've got to do a better job of getting open and when we do get open we've got to do a bet- ter job of hitting them. It's always a combination of things, but it starts with those two." Etling, in particular, has experi- enced accuracy issues, specifically on passes to the sidelines. There, he's missed badly, frequently throwing out of bounds. For the season, he's hit on only 51 percent of his attempts. "We had some guys open in Week 1 that we missed and some- times you're trying to be too fine with the ball," Shoop said. "His me- chanics are strong; he's just got to hit them. He's going to work through it and will. Everybody on this team has that confidence." Appleby's Debut Appleby entered the game with 10 minutes left against the Chippewas, completing seven of his 17 passes for 78 yards. His best pass was his first, a 23-yarder to Danny Anthrop for a touchdown. "He did some good things," Shoop said. "Obviously, his first pass, Danny ran a great route for him. That's the key. You can't just pinpoint one thing; guys have to get open and when they get open on time and in the right spot, you've got to hit them. It's a combi - f o ot ba l l Offensive Coordinator John Shoop Defensive Coordinator Greg Hudson Stopping The Run Tom Campbell Senior linebacker Sean Robinson played nearly snap against Central Michigan in Week 2, and he's a pivotal piece of the Boilermakers' defense.