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f o o t b a l l : H e a r t o f d a l l a s b o w l p r e v i e w Golden Opportunity Purdue ready to seize last chance BY STACY CLARDIE SClardie@GoldandBlack.com T Breaking down the bowl Who: Purdue (6-6) vs. Oklahoma State (7-5) What: Heart of Dallas Bowl When: Noon ET, Jan. 1 Where: Cotton Bowl, Dallas Coaches: Patrick Higgins (interim); Mike Gundy (66-35) hey keep talking about the opportunity. The "once-in-a-lifetime" one to play in the historic Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day, interim head coach Patrick Higgins said. One to be matched against an offense that averages 50 passes per game, Greg Burns and members of his secondary said. One to showcase how its offense can compete with the other that's among the nation's highest scoring, Antavian Edison said. One to prove oddsmakers wrong, said, well, every one associated with Purdue's program. The Boilermakers aren't necessarily where they thought they'd be to end the season by landing in the Heart of Dallas Bowl against Big 12 member Oklahoma State. Purdue started the season armed with a firm belief in its championship aspirations. Four months later, it had fired its head coach and was the last selection among Big Ten bowl teams. Not that those elements have been part of the discussion since the Boilermakers learned of their postTom Campbell Purdue established an identity on offense in the season's final three games season destination and opponent. All of the chatter has been behind Akeem Shavers and the running game, ripping off 603 yards. But it'll face a stiffer test in the Heart of Dallas Bowl against Oklahoma State, which about what could happen now, limits opponents to 140 yards rushing. about cherishing the experience, By the time they'd lost five consecutive games and about thriving in this opportunity, faced with the task of winning the final three games to however unexpected. reach bowl eligibility for the second consecutive year, Because that's what's left. A championship, of sorts, still is within their grasp. few figured the Boilermakers would. Even if the competition was against some of the And they're working to seize it. "I've been to a bowl game the last seven years and I Big Ten's worst — Iowa, Illinois and Indiana. And, yet, Purdue rallied. know when you have a motivated team that wants to go With Robert Marve at quarterback, behind an imto the bowl game and is happy to be in the bowl game and wants to prove something, they do a lot better than proving offensive line and an emphasis on the run if you have a team that thinks, 'Man, we should be game, the Boilermakers busted out an average of 34.3 in a better bowl game,' " Higgins said. "(That team) points and 482 yards. With a defense that slowly was getting healthier, come in like it's just another bowl game and find all the negatives about it. The team that is happy to be there, the Boilermakers broke free as an attacking, opportuthat wants to go prove something, that's the team that nistic bunch, gaining seven takeaways. There is no room for dips in either area of you're scared about." production. To be clear, the latter is Higgins' team. Or Oklahoma State (7-5) should easily cover its The underdog role is one it prefers. Purdue stumbled amidst those towering early sea- more than two-and-a-half touchdown spread. The Cowboys feature an offense that's ranked son expectations, losing handily at home to Michigan and Wisconsin and then getting shockingly blown out fourth in scoring (44.7 ppg) and fifth in total offense (548.9) in the country. They have a 1,000-yard rusher, on the road at Minnesota. 20 • Gold & Black IllustrateD • volume 23, issue 3 Tom Campbell Interim head coach Patrick Higgins has preached "opportunity" to his players leading up to the New Year's Day game at the Cotton Bowl. a 1,000-yard receiver and three quarterbacks who have thrown for at least 1,000 yards. They utilize an uptempo approach that reels off an average of 83 plays per game. Hence, the "O" word. "Those are fun games. My guys, they get jacked up," said Burns, the secondary coach. "It's not like we're shying away from it by any means. We're really excited about playing teams because we get more opGBIprint.com GoldandBlack.com