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Big Ten champion Michigan State was the highest-ranked at No. 6, but Wisconsin (No. 15), Iowa (No. 21) and Notre Dame (No. 23) also made the list. The Boilermakers don't play any of those teams consecutively, a welcome respite from the 2013 schedule in which they had a murder's row of ranked teams that included Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Northern Illinois and Ohio State. at Western Kentucky. According to coachingfootballscoop.com, Nord will join the staff in a yetunnamed capacity. Nord, who was released along with Danny Hope, still has a court case pending after filing a lawsuit against Purdue and the flooring company for causing the injury — saying improper flooring in the weight room caused him to fall and sustain the injury. COACHING MOVES Minnesota quarterback Philip Nelson is transferring, leaving sophomore Mitch Leidner as the likely starter for 2014. Leidner shared duties with Nelson, a sophomore, last season after Nelson started seven games as a true freshman in 2012. Leidner started four games as a redshirt freshman and tied for the team lead with seven rushing touchdowns. He also threw for three touchdowns. Nelson said in a statement that he left the Gophers to find a system that "centers more around the pass game." In a run-heavy offense with a depleted receiving corps in two seasons, Nelson completed only 50 percent of his passes and had 17 touchdowns to 14 interceptions. j Ohio State added a pair of defensive assistant coaches last week, tabbing Chris Ash as codefensive coordinator and Larry Johnson as D-line coach. Ash was Bret Bielema's defensive coordinator at Wisconsin and Arkansas, and Johnson left Penn State and takes over for Mike Vrabel, who was hired by the NFL's Texans. Ash will be charged to help the Buckeyes' pass defense. Former Purdue defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar was fired from the Bears coaching staff at the end of the season. He coached the team's linebackers. After a season away from coaching because of a serious back injury, former offensive coordinator Gary Nord has landed MOVING ON TWIN CITY D OD GE PRESENTS: BOILERMAKERS IN THE NFL Phillips, Avril To Meet In Super Bowl BY KYLE CHARTERS KCharters@GoldandBlack.com T wo members of Purdue's "Den of Defensive Ends" will meet in the Super Bowl, each looking for a first championship ring in his first appearance. Shaun Phillips and the Denver Broncos and Cliff Avril of the Seattle Seahawks will face each other in Super Bowl XLVIII on Feb. 2 in MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. It's the 15th consecutive season that at least one former Boilermaker is represented in the big game. And in 11 of the previous 14 years, a former Purdue player has been on the winning team. Here's the list of 11 winners, according to PurdueSports.com. Jeff Zgonina (St. Louis Rams, Super Bowl 34); Rod Woodson (Baltimore Ravens, Super Bowl 35), Matt Light and David Nugent (New England Patriots, Super Bowl 36); Mike Alstott (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Super Bowl 37); Rosevelt Colvin, Brandon Gorin and Gene Mruczkowski (New England, Super Bowl 38); Colvin, Gorin, Light and Mruczkowski (New England, Super Bowl 39); Chukky Okobi (Pittsburgh Steelers, Super Bowl 40); Gilbert Gardner and John Standeford (Indianapolis Colts, Super Bowl 41); Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl 44; Mike Neal (Green Bay Packers, Super Bowl 45); Bernard Pollard (Baltimore Ravens, Super Bowl 47.) Twenty former Purdue playSeattle Seahawks Cliff Avril had a big day for the Seahawks, getting a sack-fumble in the fourth quarter to help stymie a 49ers' comeback attempt. TWIN CITY DODGE CHRYSLER JEEP RAM 650 Sagamore Parkway South Lafayette, IN 47905 See the 2014 Jeep Wrangler! 800-562-4581 TwinCitySuperstore.com GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 24, EXPRESS 17 • 23