Purdue coach Matt Painter thinks incoming freshman Rapheal Davis falls into Chris Kramer’s category.FORT WAYNE – Purdue’s Chris Summers lined up for a 40-yard field goal.
Two seconds remained in the 2007 Motor City Bowl. The game between the Boilermakers and Central Michigan was tied at 48.
The snap was good. The hold was good. And so was the field goal.
Summers’ kick, which gave Purdue a 51-48 victory, was the last play the last time the Boilermakers made it to a bowl game.
The Boilermakers return to postseason play today, facing Western Michigan in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. Its location is the same as Purdue’s most recent bowl, Ford Field in Detroit.
“It’s something that myself and the senior class have been working toward for some time,” Purdue senior linebacker Joe Holland said in a phone interview last week.
“When I first got here, there was a standard for Purdue to go to a bowl game every single year. It was kind of just: Which one are they going to end up in?
“Through injuries and other things we didn’t have control over, we weren’t able to do that the last couple of years. But things seemed to fall into place pretty well this year and we were able to get back.
“To be part of the senior class that brought Purdue back to a bowl game feels really good.”
Purdue (6-6) faces a Western Michigan (7-5) squad that has an explosive passing attack.
Wide receiver Jordan White leads the nation in receptions (127) and receiving yards (1,646).
He is second in the country with 16 touchdown receptions.
Wide receiver Chleb Ravenell has 769 yards and eight touchdowns.
Quarterback Alex Carder has thrown for 3,434 yards and 28 touchdowns. He’s completed 67.2 percent of his passes.
Overall, Western Michigan ranks eighth in the nation in passing offense.
“The offense is pretty amazing,” said Purdue junior nose guard/defensive tackle Kawann Short, who has a team-leading 6 1/2 sacks.
“They seem to have it down to a science.
“As a defense, you have to come out and be ready and do what you need to do as far as getting back there in the quarterback’s face and batting the ball down at the line and just making it hard for the offense to create field yards.”
Purdue will be without some key players.
Leading tackler Dwayne Beckford was arrested on suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated Dec. 16.
The junior linebacker will not play. Neither will wide receiver O.J. Ross (33 catches, 356 yards, three touchdowns), who was suspended on Dec. 6 for “failure to adhere to team policy and rules.”
The biggest lost could be running back Ralph Bolden (674 rushing yards, six touchdowns).
The junior suffered an ACL injury in the regular-season finale against Indiana.
Akeem Shavers (370 rushing yards, six TDs) and Akeem Hunt (249 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns) are among the players Purdue will need to fill the void against a defense ranked 107th against the run.
