WEST LAFAYETTE – Ryan Kerrigan already was called “Superman” by Purdue coach Danny Hope.

And that was before Kerrigan recorded nine tackles, three sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in the 26-18 victory over No. 7 Ohio State last week.

For his efforts, Kerrigan won defensive player of the week awards from the Walter Camp Football Foundation and the Big Ten and kicker Carson Wiggs was named the Big Ten special teams player of the week.

With Kerrigan on a hot streak, it poses an interesting question for offenses: Change the game plan to double team Kerrigan, an end, or stick with double teams on 6-foot-4, 300-pound defensive tackle Mike Neal?

“It’s a challenge because if you try to double-team both of them, you run out of people,” Hope said. “The rest of those guys are turned loose. So (opponents are) going to have to make some tough decisions. We have other good players as well. We’re doing a good job bringing some pressure from our linebackers. We’re timing that up a lot better, and guys are hitting it a lot faster. We’re more efficient from a pressure standpoint.”

Kerrigan, a junior from Muncie, has seven sacks to lead the Big Ten, and his average of one a game is 14th in the nation. He’s also tied for 17th in the nation in tackles for loss (11.5).

Neal, who can lift 500 pounds on a bench press, said he faces double teams at least half of the snaps he plays.

Now with Kerrigan emerging with his ability to beat linemen not only with speed but also strength, Illinois’ offensive coaches likely are scrambling for a plan to protect their quarterback.

Already, that’s proven to be a challenge.

Illinois has struggled up front this season, giving up 19 sacks, most in the Big Ten.

Last week, Illinois started a freshman at right tackle against Indiana. The rest of the projected starters against Purdue are a sophomore, a junior and two seniors.

“I don’t know if anyone can handle them, really,” Purdue linebacker Chris Carlino said of Neal and Kerrigan. “They’re a lot to handle.”

Perhaps the Boilermakers will help the front by employing the same strategy as last week against the Buckeyes: Using some movement from the defensive linemen in combination with frequent blitzes from linebackers and defensive backs.

Hope said he thinks Illinois’ line is capable of playing better, but he’d take the matchup with his defensive front against any offensive line at this point.

“We think we can pressure anybody’s quarterback or anybody’s offensive line with what we have on the defensive side of the football,” Hope said. “From a talent standpoint, we have some talented players. They’re not all Mike Neals and Ryan Kerrigans. If we were like that, we’d be the Patriots. But we have some good players over there and we do a good job of getting after people’s fronts and getting after people’s quarterbacks.

“We’ll try to take advantage of any opportunity we have this weekend as well.”

sclardie@jg.net