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VOLUME 25, ISSUE 6 23 J ohn Shoop does not like anyone trying to define Purdue's offense. Doesn't really want it to be defined, actually, not in any inside-the-box kind of way. Shoop is always working to get an edge, to find an advantage with a scheme or with game-planning, looking for ways to get de- fensive players in a "conflict of assignment." He appears to have added the ultimate change-up for this fall. The Boilermakers worked almost exclu- sively in the spring on a no-huddle, var- ied-tempo offense with an ability to snap the ball in the first seconds of the play clock, take a few more seconds to scan the defense be- fore snapping it or even rush to the line to fake a quick snap. They showed more of a spread look, at least in formation, too, playing four- and five-receiver sets at times. The latter would be a drastic change from Shoop's first two seasons as offensive coordi- nator. Last season, Purdue had only about 10 snaps in a true four-receiver look. This sea- son, Shoop says Purdue could have that many snaps of that grouping in the first game. Though Shoop doesn't think this signals a massive shift in the offense, there's no doubt it could give the Boilermakers an advantage they need to get cranking. Purdue fared no better than 10th in the Big Ten in 2014 in scoring offense, total offense, rushing offense, passing offense, first downs and third-down conversions. But pushing the tempo could press the issue with defenses and counter any talent deficiencies. "This offense is tailored to our guys," se- nior receiver Danny Anthrop said. "A lot of teams have their set system and they go with that and whoever plays in it, they just have to adapt to it. It's almost like this system is adapting to us and our style of play. We have a lot of fast guys, we have some big guys on the outside and everybody is in pretty good shape. So why not speed the tempo up? In the spring it was kind of crazy how many plays we were running in such a short time. It's ex- citing because you can really get a defense on its heels and then just run them out of the place." No matter what the offense looks like, Shoop has targeted certain things the Boil- ermakers must do well — the inside zone is the bread-and-butter running play, for one. But he doesn't want opponents to be able to quickly identify anything. So Shoop still offers what he calls "window dressing," to change up groupings, to make it look like one 2015 Offensive Preview Express Delivery BY STACY CLARDIE SClardie@GoldandBlack.com Pushing tempo could transform offense