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PURDUE PREVIEW LOOKING FOR RESULTS Boilermakers think their time is now BY WES MORGAN gram's middling residency in the Big Ten Conference, is optimistic that his team will be able to break through for the first time in his tenure. There's no reason not to. The Boilermak- P ers, who finished 7-6 last season, return 19 starters (the most of any team in the Big Ten), a trio of healthy quarterbacks and a new approach on defense. In 2009 and 2010 combined, five different quarterbacks started 25 games under Hope, mostly because of injuries. This year, Hope ✦ GAME FACTS SIRIUS Satellite Radio (channel 129). Coaches: Notre Dame — Brian Kelly (17-10, third season), Date: Sept. 8, 2012 Site: Notre Dame Stadium (80,795) Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. ET Television: NBC Radio: This broadcast can be heard live on Purdue — Danny Hope (17-21, fourth season). Series Facts: This is the 84th meeting between the two schools. Notre Dame holds a 55-26-2 advantage. The Irish have won the last four contests against the Boilermakers, Quarterback Robert Marve, who was granted a rare sixth season of eligibility due to medical hardship, threw for a career-high 295 yards and tied a career best with three TD passes in Purdue's season-open- ing 48-6 win over Eastern Kentucky, but will begin the game against the Irish on the bench. PHOTO COURTESY PURDUE urdue fourth-year head coach Danny Hope, growing impatient with the pro- SEPT. 5, 2012 has fifth-year senior Caleb TerBush, sixth- year senior Robert Marve and junior Rob Henry at his disposal. Because of a violation of team rules late in fall camp, TerBush was suspended for the season opener and Marve led the Boilermakers to a 48-6 victory over Eastern Kentucky on Sept. 1 in West Lafay- ette, Ind. Marve, who was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA after a career lit- tered with injuries, threw for a career-high 295 yards and tied a career best with three touchdown passes, yet Hope is going with TerBush against No. 22 Notre Dame, which is coming off a 50-10 drubbing of Navy in Dublin, Ireland. In his first season of serious action, Ter- Bush started all 13 games in 2011 and com- pleted 61.7 percent of his passes (171 of 277) for 1,905 yards with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions. Marve (6-1, 212), after transferring from Miami, started the first four games of the 2010 campaign before be- ing derailed by a knee injury. He appeared in 10 games last year as a reserve, completing 60 percent of his passes for 633 yards with four scores. including a 38-10 romp in West Lafayette, Ind., last year. Prime Personnel: Offense — Senior running back Akeem Shavers ran for 519 yards and six touchdowns on 111 carries, and added five receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown, as a backup in 2011. The 5-11, 203-pounder is expected to shoulder the load this fall, and had 11 attempts for 74 yards (6.7 per carry) and a score in the Boilers' season-opening win over Eastern Kentucky. Defense — Senior defensive tackle Kawann Short was an All-Big Ten selection last year and the team's defensive MVP after recording a career-high 54 tackles, 17 stops behind the line of scrimmage and 6.5 sacks. He also recovered a fumble, forced another, blocked two kicks and broke up two passes. His only stop against "This is an offense this year that needs to take a step forward because it has healthy quarterbacks and people back on the of- fensive side that should lead to better pro- duction," said Mike Carmin, a Purdue beat writer for the West Lafayette Journal and Courier. A lot depends on a group of seven offen- sive linemen that will form a rotation. It's nothing new that the Boilermakers' big boys aren't all that big — their average weight is 294.6 pounds — but they're versatile and fairly experienced. Whether or not they can provide adequate protection remains to be seen. The line gave up 29 sacks in 2011. "They've got a junior college transfer, Devin Smith, that gives them some size [6- 7, 320], and he's probably going to start at right guard. He's their biggest guy," Car- min said. "The biggest question I've seen through camp is protecting the quarterback. It seems to be … I don't know if you want to call it a concern, but it's something I've picked up on. "That they give their quarterback time to execute the offense will probably be an area to watch moving forward with the season." Eastern Kentucky was a sack for a four-yard loss, but he also blocked a field goal and an extra point — the fifth and six blocked kicks of his career. For The Record: Purdue outscored opponents 231-185 in the first half last season, but was on the short end of a 164-119 deficit in the final two quarters and overtime … Senior running back Ralph Bolden was limited in fall camp and his return is uncertain after tearing his ACL at the end of last season. It was the third time the Folkston, Ga., na- tive suffered an ACL tear in his career, the first coming as a senior at Charlton County High and the second during the 2010 offseason. Last year's injury cost him a chance to play in the first bowl game of his career.