Drew Brees knows Michigan put a dent in Wisconsin tailback Ron Dayne’s Heisman Trophy candidacy Saturday. With many Heisman voters watching on television, the swarming Wolverines defense limited Dayne to 88 yards, none after halftime, in a 21-16 victory over the Badgers.
But Brees said Tuesday he’s more concerned with pulling off an upset over the fourth-ranked Wolverines in Ann Arbor than with posting eye-popping numbers. Of course eye-popping numbers might result in an upset for No. 11 Purdue, which is off to its best start since 1967.
“Going into this game, I’m not saying, `I have to go out and win the Heisman today,’ ” said Brees, a junior from Austin, Texas. “I’m thinking, `I have to go out and win this game today.’ It’s a whole different attitude. I don’t think about individual awards like that.
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“If you’re successful as a team, usually those individual honors come,” said Brees, who was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after hitting 32 of 50 passes for 405 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-23 victory Saturday over Northwestern.
With Dayne having stumbled and no other candidate running away from the field, Brees is poised to take the lead in the Heisman race. He already has generated national attention by leading Purdue to a 4-0 record. In the next four weeks the Boilermakers face No. 4 Michigan, No. 12 Ohio State, No. 14 Michigan State and No. 2 Penn State.
Even if Purdue doesn’t sweep those four games–and wouldn’t that be something?–Brees can establish credibility with big personal performances against top-notch competition. By comparison, Florida State wide receiver Peter Warrick has only three marquee games remaining–against No. 18 Miami, No. 24 Virginia and No. 3 Florida. And Georgia Tech quarterback Joe Hamilton faces only two more ranked opponents.
The grueling schedule has made it unnecessary for Brees to mount a media campaign, not that the laid-back Texan would have wanted to in any case.
“You know what? You can’t sit there and say, `Vote for me for Heisman,’ ” Brees said. “I’m just trying to go out there and have fun and play football and everything else will take care of itself. I know it will. If you’re successful you’re going to have a good chance to win the Heisman.”
The Boilermakers’ best showings in Heisman balloting were from 1966 through 1969 when Bob Griese finished second, Leroy Keyes third and second and Mike Phipps second.
Badger update: Brooks Bollinger has a long way to go before anyone compares him with Brees. But the redshirt freshman from Grand Forks, N.D., brought the Camp Randall Stadium crowd to its feet in an emergency relief appearance during a 21-16 loss to Michigan Saturday.
Bollinger was pressed into duty when starter Scott Kavanagh left with an elbow injury early in the fourth quarter. Bollinger completed 6 of 9 passes for 61 yards and ran for 52 yards, scoring on a 13-yard run with 1:29 to play.
Coach Barry Alvarez said he was “very impressed” with Bollinger’s performance. Kavanagh is likely to start Saturday against No. 10 Ohio State in Columbus, but Alvarez said Bollinger will play.
“He brought a different dimension to the game with his running,” Alvarez said. “I thought he made some exceptional throws.”
Sidelines: Ohio State coach John Cooper still was fuming Tuesday over the Buckeyes’ performance in a 34-20 victory over Cincinnati. The Bearcats rolled up more than 500 yards in total offense and controlled the ball for 36 minutes. Asked what was wrong with his defense, Cooper replied, “Gosh, how much time do you have? We’re not tackling properly, we’re not playing good technique. I could go on and on. We’re giving up too many big plays.”
Indiana charged into the season with bowl hopes, but the Hoosiers probably need to sweep Illinois and Northwestern in the next two weeks to keep their postseason chances alive. The 1-3 Hoosiers have allowed 42 or more points each of the last three weeks. “It becomes a true test of just how much character we have,” coach Cam Cameron said.