History Lesson: Miracle in the Metrodome, according to Tiller

It was a different time. And a different world.

As we looked back at the 20th anniversary of 9/11, Purdue fans will recall what happened 18 days later. Here were coach Joe Tiller's thoughts the day after the Boilermakers' amazing 35-28 overtime victory over Minnesota on Sept. 29, 2011.

It reminds us all how much media has changed, and how it is still hard to believe that Tiller has been gone for over four years.

As Purdue fans fondly recall, the Boilermakers were stuck on their own 3-yard line with 19 seconds left and down three points. Somehow, quarterback Brandon Hance and receiver Taylor Stubblefield were able to get the Boilermakers into field-goal range in time for kicker Travis Dorsch and Co. to connect on a 48-yarder as time expired. The play forced overtime, which Purdue prevailed in on the strength of a Hance-to-John Standeford scoring play.

In the transcript, there are some interesting names from the past you will enjoy.

Each Sunday, Gold & Black Illustrated will get Coach Joe Tiller's thoughts on his team's most recent game, after he's had an opportunity to review it on film.

A grainy version of the last drive...

GoldandBlack.com: Was that a miracle?

Tiller: "Let me put it this way: If one didn't believe in miracles before yesterday, now you have a reason. It was certainly an unbelievable finish to the game. You're pleased about the end of the game for a number of reasons, but we're particularly proud of the way our football team handled the end of the game. If you can respond in the end under those kinds of circumstances, there's reason to have a lot of hope for the future.

"I felt like I had rabbit's foot in my pocket a little bit afterwards. I don't know how much it had to do with me, but it was great execution. It kills you when you watch it one tape. It's perfect. In our meeting this morning, I was going around asking each coach how old he was. I told them based on my career, anyone over the age of 40 will never have an opportunity to see a play like (the game-tying field goal) again."

GoldandBlack.com: Talk about the kick.

Tiller: "Not to make light of it, but we really do practice it all the time. Sometimes you even ask yourself why you're practicing these things.

"I didn't realize how stunned the opponent was (until viewing the tape). I was glad it happened on the near hash mark and not the far hash mark and I'm glad we didn't have to run down the field any further. The thing I didn't realize during the game was Minnesota was in shock. I think only four guys rushed the kick. The rest just milled around and didn't make an effort to even get lined up.

"I didn't realize there wasn't an official in position to make the call, so I'm glad Travis hit the thing right down the middle. I wouldn't say that was the best kick of his life, but it certainly was in his career here at Purdue.

"The thing that surprised me was that our team had the presence of mind to get set, snap the ball and get the kick off when no one else in the stadium was into the play. We (coaches) didn't really talk to them before. We just started yelling, 'Fast field goal.' It was just amazing. I don't have any other words to explain it. I don't expect to ever see another one of those. I'm not going to coach for another 35 years."

GoldandBlack.com Upon watching the tape, was it easier to determine whether Antoine Henderson's catch in overtime was a touchdown?

Tiller: "Not really. You can't tell from the film. Our copy of the tape was taken from behind him. If they were filming from the opposite side, we'd have seen it, but the camera's so high that you can't even see his feet.

"I think there's reasonable doubt whether he was in or out. That's good enough for me."

GoldandBlack.com: Talk about quarterback Brandon Hance's performance late in the game.

Tiller: "He played really well in the last 10 minutes and in the overtime. The one thing that happened was he became much more aggressive in his tone of play. When he scrambled, he didn't try to slide, not that we didn't want him to. He was on a mission, just very focused. His passes had a lot of velocity on them when he threw and he was decisive when running the ball. He played like a veteran player in that situation.

"Once we went into overtime, he was very focused. We met on the sideline and wanted to play defense first, but they won the toss. We talked about the significance of the first play and how we wanted to attack. We wanted to take the game at them and he epitomized that. I was really pleased with his response to that situation. There was about a 15-minute period where I've not seen him so focused."

GoldandBlack.com: Why did the defense struggle?

Tiller: "Minnesota did a good job, but we looked like the team that hadn't played in three weeks and not Minnesota. We played well at the start of the game, and at the start of the second half we were good. But the rest of the time we were bad. We're a better team than how we played.

"They did some things that caused some problems, but most of it was our effort level. Of all the encouraging things (about the game), that's one thing that was discouraging.

"At the end, we were 180 degrees different from our opponent. They were on the ropes and reeling, while we were moving and dancing on both sides of the ball."

GoldandBlack.com: How did everyone handle flying for the first time since Sept. 11?

Tiller: "Everyone handled it well, but they held us at the airport on the buses for a long time. Once they let us off the buses, everything moved quickly, but we must have sat there for close to an hour once we got to the airport.

"I don't know why and it doesn't bother me, because if they'd wanted to keep us there two hours, that would have been fine with me. I think our whole country needs to get over this convenience business and get used to looking out for one another.

"I don't know how it was for our players, but for myself - and I don't know why because I've flown a zillion miles - it felt a little eerie pulling up on the bus, showing your ID and signing your name on the sheet. There was just a different feeling to it, but everything went smoothly."

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