Badger of Honor
Fansided

Wisconsin Football: Purdue Boilermaker Preview

By Noah Seligman

MADISON, WI - OCTOBER 17: Alex Erickson
MADISON, WI - OCTOBER 17: Alex Erickson /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – SEPTEMBER 08: Purdue Boilermakers head coach Jeff Brohm yells at a player in the first quarter of a game against the Ohio Bobcats at Ross-Ade Stadium on September 8, 2017 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – SEPTEMBER 08: Purdue Boilermakers head coach Jeff Brohm yells at a player in the first quarter of a game against the Ohio Bobcats at Ross-Ade Stadium on September 8, 2017 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Purdue has seemingly always been more of a basketball school.  After all, it is located in Indiana.  In addition, the football team isn’t typically too inspiring.

That is, until Joe Tiller arrived in 1997.

Prior to his arrival, Purdue’s last bowl game was in 1981.  Tiller promptly took Purdue to eight straight bowl games winning the Alamo Bowl his first two seasons.   In fact, He led the Boilers to bowl games in 10 of his 12 seasons coaching Purdue.

In 2000, he guided the Boilermakers to the Rose Bowl with Drew Brees at quarterback.  Unfortunately, they lost to the Washington Huskies.

Tiller finished his 12 seasons with an 87-62 record.  He died at the end of September and his legacy will not soon be forgotten as noted in this CBS Sports article:

"Tiller was quoted — and credited — for bringing “basketball on grass” to the Big Ten. So much of what we see in spread offenses today was because of his systems and sport-wide influence."

The Boilers have not found an answer since Tiller left Purdue.  Neither Danny Hope (22-27) nor Darrell Hazell (9-33) were the answer.  West Lafayette hopes its new coach is.

Purdue hired a new coach this season, Jeff Brohm to rebuild the football program.  He is a former Louisville quarterback before bouncing around the NFL.  Brohm had a solid run at Western Kentucky (30-10) before joining the Boilermakers this off-season.

It will take a few years to fully assess whether Brohm is the right man for the job.  But so far you would imagine Purdue fans are pretty happy.