FOR DECADES, the Big Ten Conference's football image was straight out of longtime Ohio State coach Woody Hayes' "3 yards and a cloud of dust" mantra. Prototypical Big Ten players were the toughest of the tough. Hard cases like Illinois' Dick Butkus and Ray Nitschke walked off the field after every game looking as if they had just emerged from a 60-minute gang war: scuffed helmets, gnarled fingers, muddied jerseys and, frequently, blood stains somewhere on their persons or uniforms. Every abrasion, every chipped tooth, every gouged piece of equipment were badges of honor.

Then Joe Tiller brought his wide-open, pass-happy offense from Wyoming to Purdue in 1997, creating the first crack in the Big Ten's cherished reputation as the nation's most physically punishing football league for student-athletes.

Under Tiller, the Boilermakers not only lined up in three-receiver sets, but often with four and five wideouts. It was as aduacious as, say, the notion of Penn State switching to blue helmets and white shoes.

Tiller, 65, who will step down at the end of the season, was recalling a pregame conversation he had with Penn State coach Joe Paterno early in Tiller's tenure in West Lafayette, Ind.

"We got to visiting for a while and then he looks up at me and says, 'Tiller, you're not going to throw that ball all over the field today, are you?' " Tiller said earlier this week, clearly relishing the memory. "I said, 'Coach, we are what we are. We're going to go out there and play sissy ball.' "

"Sissy ball" has not only benefited Tiller, who has taken the Boilermakers to 10 bowl games in ll seasons en route to a school-record 85 victories (and counting), but much of the Big Ten. Almost every team in the conference runs some version of the spread now, including No. 6 Penn State (5-0, 1-0 in league play), which visits Purdue (2-2, 0-0) tomorrow in the last Joe-vs.-Joe matchup. Of the Big Ten's 11 member institutions, only Wisconsin and Michigan State remain dogged adherents to traditional smashmouth football.

"Apparently," Tiller said of Penn State's explosive Spread HD offense, "[Paterno] wants to do the same thing now."

Well ... not really. Although Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter has upheld Tiller's and Purdue's reputation for passing frequently (he fired away 55 times in last week's 38-21 loss at Notre Dame), the Boilermakers remain veritable 98-pound weaklings when they're trying to slow down the other team. It is the one element of "sissy ball" that has never caught on in the conference, maybe because Tiller has never had as much success recruiting premier defensive players as he has had in selling his program to pitch-and-catch types.

Penn State's Spread HD is a balanced thing of beauty, with the Nittany Lions averaging 247.6 yards per game passing, which ranks second in the Big Ten to, natch, Purdue (278.2), and 267.6 yards rushing, which leads the league. That kind of diversification can't be anything but a problem for a porous Purdue defense that ranks last in the Big Ten in pass defense (244.8 yards per game) and rushing defense (194.5 yards per game).

Locked in a 14-14 deadlock at halftime, Notre Dame decided to go straight at the Boilermakers after intermission. The Fighting Irish ran the ball 25 times in the third quarter, gaining 152 yards on the ground and scoring three touchdowns to blow the game open.

Purdue's problems stopping the run have been exacerbated by the fact that it often lines up in a nickel defense, more so because of a lack of experienced linebackers than anything else. But, given what Notre Dame was able to accomplish last week, Paterno said he wouldn't be surprised if Tiller put eight men in the box to try to blunt Penn State's running game.

"[Notre Dame] punched us in the mouth," said Purdue defensive tackle Mike Neal, acknowledging that change might be in the offing. "We just have to play better up front. It starts with the front."

3 things to look for

* Backup guard Mike Lucian, who switched to the injury- and suspension-ravaged defensive line for 3 weeks, has moved back to offense now that defensive end Maurice Evans and defensive tackle Abe Koroma are back from suspensions.

* Kory Sheets, Purdue's versatile senior running back, might not play because of a shoulder that was injured in the fourth quarter of the Notre Dame game - and if he does play, he might be at something less than full effectiveness.

* Middle linebacker Josh Hull, pushed around a little bit in last week's 38-24 victory over Illinois, could lose some playing time, if not his starting position, to sophomore Chris Colasanti or even true freshman Michael Mauti if he doesn't raise the level of his game.

This week's game

No. 6 Penn State at Purdue

When: Tomorrow, noon

Where: Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Ind.

TV: ESPN. Radio: WNTP (990-AM)

Records: Penn State 5-0, 1-0 Big Ten; Purdue 2-2, 0-0

History: Penn State leads the series, 9-3-1, including last year's 26-19 victory in Beaver Stadium. In the Nittany Lions' most recent visit to Ross-Ade Stadium during the 2006 season, they won, 12-0, the only time in coach Joe Tiller's 11-plus seasons the Boilermakers have been shut out.

Coaches: Joe Paterno (43rd season at Penn State, 377-125-3); Joe Tiller (12th season at Purdue, 85-56; 18th year overall, 124-86-1)

Penn State update: For a guy who was viewed as primarily a "running quarterback" coming into the season, Daryll Clark has established himself as a passer. He leads the Big Ten in passing efficiency with a 168.3 rating, throwing for nine touchdowns and only one pick ... The Lions continue to lead the conference with 15 sacks, but they managed only one in last week's 38-24 victory over Illinois (by Derek Walker) and they're looking to tee off on Purdue's dropback passer, Curtis Painter. Asked to list the defense's main goal this week, defensive tackle Jared Odrick said, "I'd probably say get more pressure on the quarterback" ... Senior tackle Gerald Cadogan is among the candidates for the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame's Scholar-Athlete Fellowship and prestigious Draddy Trophy, given to the nation's premier college football student-athlete ... How impressive was the "whiteout" win over Illinois? Two recruits who attended the game, wide receiver Devon Smith, from Waldorf, Md., and linebacker Glenn Carson, from Manahawkin, N.J., committed on the spot. They are the 17th and 18th members of the class of 2009.

Purdue update: Painter has completed 97 of 169 passes for 1,113 yards and five touchdowns, with four interceptions. A starter since the ninth game of his freshman year, Painter now has passed for 9,876 yards in his Purdue career, within 70 yards of second-place Mark Herrmann, who played from 1977-80. Probably out of reach is Drew Brees, with 11,792 yards from 1997-2000 ... Senior linebacker Anthony Heygood, a Cardinal O'Hara High graduate, leads the Boilers with 40 tackles

Prediction

Penn State 38, Purdue 10.