Purdue keeps Oaken Bucket

WEST LAFAYETTE -- Believe it or not, the Hoosiers were able to slow down Drew Brees Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium. The Boilermakers' senior quarterback only threw one touchdown, and IU managed to get an interception on the Heisman hopeful.\nAs it turned out, Brees was the least of IU's problems as sophomore running back Montrell Lowe ran the Boilermakers (8-3, 6-2 Big Ten) into the Rose Bowl in their 41-13 win. \nBehind an experienced offensive line, Lowe ran for a career-high 208 yards and four touchdowns on 38 carries. Brees was limited to 216 yards through the air.\nThe Hoosier defense, which had its secondary exploited throughout the year, did not expect Lowe to become the center of the Purdue offense. \n"I was surprised they ran that much," senior defensive tackle Paul Mandina said. "They normally pass the ball 50 or 60 times in a game."\nThe Hoosiers (3-8, 2-6) weren't the only ones caught off guard by how much the Boilermakers ran the ball. Purdue was also.\n"We ran the football more effectively than I thought we would be able to," Purdue coach Joe Tiller said. "I thought we would be able to throw more."\nFor the Hoosiers, the plan was to run. Junior quarterback Antwaan Randle El rushed for 112 yards on 20 carries to lead the IU attack. Randle El struggled to find open receivers downfield and was ineffective through the air. \n"Defensively, you have to take control of the line of scrimmage and control (Randle El)," Tiller said. "Our thoughts were to contain him, not to stop him."\nThe Boilermakers intercepted Randle El three times. Freshman strong safety Stuart Schweigert had two of those picks, both of which were deep in Purdue territory.\n"We turned the ball over three time inside the 30," IU coach Cam Cameron said. "We've got to focus on getting better and learn what needs to be improved."\nWith the win, Purdue clinched a share of the Big Ten championship with Northwestern and Michigan. Also, by way of tiebreaker, Purdue secured a birth in the Rose Bowl for the first time in 34 years.\nFor Brees, even though he wasn't the man of the hour, the thrill of playing in the Rose Bowl was the reason why he passed on the NFL last year.\n"It is definitely a dream come true to be the starting quarterback in the Rose Bowl," Brees said. "We stuck together and told each other we were going to win the Big Ten and go to the Rose Bowl someday. Our dreams came true."\nThe Hoosiers end their year with one less win than last season. Cameron, ending his fourth year of a seven-year contract, denied rumors of his departure to be the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions. Likewise, Randle El dismissed the idea of leaving IU early for the NFL draft. Instead, both said they are frustrated with the losing and want to get ready for next season.\n"It's difficult from the standpoint that you see another senior class leave and they don't get another opportunity," Cameron said. "From my standpoint, it's a learning process." \nAs Purdue goes to the Rose Bowl, the Hoosiers will be relegated to watching bowl games from Bloomington. Even though IU didn't meet the expectations it had, Randle El is still hopeful the Hoosiers will get things going in the right direction in 2001.\n"It's going to take a lot," Randle El said. "The guys I got now are up to it. We'll see"