Before a game against a Big Ten team a few years ago, a Hawai'i player scanned the opposing lineup, noticed the size of the players, and said that was the reason the league was called the Big Ten and not the Medium Ten.

In scouting Purdue — UH's opponent tonight — defensive line coach Jeff Reinebold also noted the Boilermakers were "very, very big."

"And," Reinebold added, "very, very talented."

But while its average offensive lineman is 6 feet 5 and 307 pounds, Purdue is not a typical Big Ten team.

Most Big Ten teams emphasize power running. The Boilermakers, UH coach June Jones said, "like to spread it out."

"They're a throw-first team," Reinebold said. "You don't see that very often in the Big Ten."

The Warriors, of course, have mastered the art of the pass. Their four-wide offense leads the nation in yards (544.7 per game) and points (49.2 per game).

Here's how the teams will air out their differences tonight:

PURDUE OFFENSE

WR—1 Selwyn Lyman 6-4 210 So.

WR—9 Dorien Bryant 5-10 175 Jr.

LT—65 Mike Otto 6-5 304 Sr.

LG—67 Uche Nwaneri 6-3 300 Sr.

C—68 Robbie Powell 6-5 297 Sr.

RG—66 Jordan Grimes 6-3 325 Jr.

RT—74 Sean Sester 6-8 309 Jr.

TE—28 Dustin Keller 6-4 244 Sr.

WR—21 Greg Orton 6-4 191 So.

QB—12 Curtis Painter 6-4 228 Jr.

RB—24 Kory Sheets 6-0 199 Jr.

Outlook: In a case of creativity by association, Purdue coach Joe Tiller developed his passing schemes while coaching in two wide-open offensive leagues — the Western Athletic Conference and the Canadian Football League. As the foremost passing team in the Big Ten, Purdue is able to attract athletic receivers and eclipse-inducing blockers. Bryant, the Big Ten leader in catches (5.9 per game) and receiving yards (74.2 per game), sprinted 200 meters in 21.8 seconds to place first in the league's Indoor Championships. Lyman can run 40 yards in 4.4 seconds. Keller, a converted receiver, cleared 6 feet 10 in the high jump.

The Boilermakers have physical offensive linemen who have relinquished 16 sacks in 478 pass plays, a 1-to-30 ratio. "There were some games when (Painter) went an entire half without getting hit," Reinebold said.

What makes the offense click is Painter's arm strength, which is measured by his ability to throw quickly and accurately from one hashmark to the far sideline. "If a quarterback doesn't have the strength, then (the defense) can line up inside and play the (pass) routes," Reinebold said. "(Painter) is a big, strong guy who can put the ball in a very small window. When you can throw vertically and horizontally, it widens the field and makes it tough to defend."

The Boilermakers have two types of ground attacks — power plays for Sheets, who has run for 21 touchdowns in 23 career games, or run-option plays involving Sheets and speedy Jaycen Taylor.

PURDUE DEFENSE

DE—32 Cliff Avril 6-3 240 Jr.

DT—79 Jermaine Guynn 6-1 277 Jr.

DT—90 Ryan Baker 6-5 282 Jr.

DE—49 Anthony Spencer 6-3 261 Sr.

WLB—36 Dan Bick 6-1 218 Jr.

MLB—30 George Hall 6-2 243 Sr.

SLB—81 Al Royal 6-0 228 Sr.

CB—10 Royce Adams 6-0 180 Fr.

FS—16 Brandon Erwin 6-0 180 Fr.

SS—23 Justin Scott 6-0 200 Jr.

CB—34 Terrell Vinson 5-9 175 Jr.

Outlook: The Boilermakers have the sort of scheme — an athletic four-man front — that has given the Warriors fits in the past (see Alabama, 2002). "They're the best one-on-one rushers we've seen," UH offensive line coach Dennis McKnight said. "They've got good depth. They play seven guys who are better than anybody we've faced this year. It's going to be a great challenge."

The most efficient is Spencer, who can align on either side. Spencer leads the nation with 26.5 backfield tackles, an average of 2.21 per game. Of his 85 tackles, 63 were solo stops. He also has 10.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, five pass breakups and a blocked kick. "He has great speed," UH right tackle Dane Uperesa said. "He uses his hands well."

McKnight said of Spencer: "He can take you upfield, around the corner, stop on a dime, bull (rush) you. He's really good."

Spencer grew up in Fort Wayne, Ind., about a two-hour drive from Purdue's Lafayette campus. He credits his footwork to basketball, a sport he played exclusively until being asked to join a football team. "I fell in love with the sport," Spencer said. "I love being able to hit people. You can't do that in basketball."

Spencer also is a study in patience, and not only because of his development as a pass rusher. A year and a half ago, he reserved a copy of PlayStation 3. He received his console last week. "Now," he said, "everybody wants to be my friend."

PURDUE SPECIALISTS

LS—62 Andy Huffman 6-3 270 So.

H—12 Curtis Painter 6-4 228 Jr.

PK—13 Chris Summers 6-1 170 Fr.

P—11 Jared Armstrong 6-3 231 Sr.

KR—9 Dorien Bryant 5-10 175 Jr.

KR—24 Kory Sheets 6-0 199 Jr.

PR—10 Royce Adams 6-0 180 Fr.

Outlook: Armstrong is the best Big Ten punter not to appear in the statistics. He is averaging 42.6 yards on 41 punts, but needs three more attempts to meet the minimum 3.6 per game to qualify for a national ranking. Fourteen of his punts were downed inside the 20 and 10 have resulted in fair catches.

HAWAI'I OFFENSE

LWO—84 Jason Rivers 6-2 192 Jr.

LSB—7 Davone Bess 5-10 195 So.

LT—70 Tala Esera 6-4 308 Sr.

LG—65 Hercules Satele 6-2 288 Jr.

C—64 Samson Satele 6-3 298 Sr.

RG—55 John Estes 6-2 290 Fr.

RT—72 Dane Uperesa 6-4 310 Sr.

RSB—1 Ryan Grice-Mullins 5-11 179 So.

RSB—82 Ross Dickerson 5-10 198 Sr.

RWO—3 Ian Sample 5-10 196 Sr.

QB—15 Colt Brennan 6-3 190 Jr.

RB—4 Nate Ilaoa 5-9 245 Sr.

Outlook: After dismissing the defense, the Warriors spent an extra hour of yesterday's practice working on running routes and blocking defensive stunts and loops. The Warriors are concerned about the Boilermakers' athletic pass rush, which will require three offensive linemen to solo block. Purdue's defensive push might be disruptive to the Warriors' most effective pass play, the shovel. Brennan and Ilaoa are a combined 28 of 28 on shovel passes this season; on shovels, Ilaoa's yards-after-catch average is 19.18.

Brennan leads the nation in passing efficiency, completing 72.3 percent of his passes, with a touchdown-interception ratio of 48 to 8. But the Warriors have dropped 49 passes in 11 games this season. Without the drops, Brennan is completing 84 percent of his passes. Brennan also has completed 48 percent of his deep passes (traveling at least 20 yards in the air from the line of scrimmage). Nine of those passes have been dropped. Without those drops, Brennan is accurate on 68 percent of his deep passes; 35 percent is considered to be good for deep passes.

HAWAI'I DEFENSE

LE—98 Melila Purcell III 6-5 276 Sr.

NT—67 Michael Lafaele 6-0 302 Jr.

RE—91 Ikaika Alama-Francis 6-6 285 Sr.

LOLB—8 Tyson Kafentzis 6-1 230 So.

LILB—41 Solomon Elimimian 6-0 224 So.

RILB—44 Adam Leonard 6-0 236 So.

ROLB—26 Micah Lau 5-9 220 Jr.

LCB—23 Gerard Lewis 5-9 168 Jr.

FS—42 Leonard Peters 6-1 217 Sr.

SS—31 Jake Patek 6-0 190 Jr.

RCB—38 Myron Newberry 5-8 164 Jr.

Outlook: Injuries to the reserves forced the starting defensive linemen to play extensively in last week's game against San Jose State. Purcell and Alama-Francis each played a season-high 44 snaps; Lafaele played 31 downs. But Purdue's physical blockers will force the Warriors to rotate more down linemen. While David Veikune, Fale Laeli, Keala Watson and Karl Noa can spell the defensive ends, there is some concern about the depth in the middle. Kahai LaCount, who has a torn medial collateral ligament, won't play, and Lawrence Wilson is not 100 percent because of an ankle sprain. Watson played nose tackle last year, and Veikune can be used there in obvious pass-rushing situations.

Leonard resumed practicing yesterday after taking a sick leave Thursday because of flu-like symptoms. Still, he is recovering from a fractured left hand and sprained right thumb.

Peters and Patek should be busy covering tight end Keller.

HAWAI'I SPECIALISTS

LS—57 Jake Ingram 6-4 268 So.

H—11 Inoke Funaki 5-11 195 Fr.

PK—86 Daniel Kelly 6-3 202 So.

P—25 Kurt Milne 6-0 205 Sr.

KR—82 Ross Dickerson 5-10 198 Sr.

KR—89 Malcolm Lane 6-1 181 Fr.

PR—7 Davone Bess 5-10 195 So.

Outlook: As promised, Bess will get to return punts in the final two regular-season games. Myron Newberry, Michael Washington and Aaron Bain also are available. Milne has punted only 15 times this season.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.