CHICAGO -- Call it what you will. Sending a message. Turning up the screws. Putting the pressure on. Whichever, Purdue junior quarterback Brandon Kirsch heard coach Joe Tiller loud and clear.

Selwyn Lymon, the wide receiver from Fort Wayne who generally is considered to be Purdue's top incoming football recruit, may be an academic casualty.

CHICAGO -- Selwyn Lymon, the wide receiver from Fort Wayne who generally is considered to be Purdue's top incoming football recruit, may be an academic casualty.

CHICAGO -- When those who cover Big Ten Conference football gather in the Windy City every year for the league's preseason media days, they're asked to pick which teams they expect will finish first, second and third in the upcoming season.

CHICAGO -- Not surprisingly, the issue of Purdue not having to play Michigan or Ohio State this season, was a popular topic of discussion during the opening session of the 2005 Big Ten Conference Football Media Days.

Purdue fans interested in saving a few dollars can read the Boilermaker preview that appeared in the Athlon Sports college football magazine at SI.com. Not surprisingly, the preview leads off with the adjustments to the spread offense implemented during spring ball.

It's that time of year for lists.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bears signed quarterback Kyle Orton, a three-year starter at Purdue, to a four-year contract Sunday.

The so-called experts are well aware that the 2005 Purdue football team has 11 returning starters on defense. But, you can't pick up a summer college football magazine or log on to one of the plethora of Web sites devoted to the sport without reading about Purdue's made-to-order schedule.

Purdue's 2005 football season opener versus Akron is tentatively scheduled for a noon start Sept. 10 in Ross-Ade Stadium.

As the Purdue football team puts the finishing touches on its summer conditioning phase, before reporting for the start of training camp the second week of August, there's good news and bad news involving a couple of Boilermakers. Junior wide receiver Kyle Ingraham is almost fully recovered from a couple of injuries and Tuesday put to rest rumors that he might not be academically eligible for the 2005 season.

The Sun Bowl and the Music City Bowl will be dropped from the lineup. The Champs Sports Bowl and the Insight Bowl are about to join the roster.

NEW ORLEANS -- Hank Stram, a former Purdue player and assistant coach who took the Kansas City Chiefs to two Super Bowls, died Monday, his son said. He was 82.

Recent news that the Purdue athletic department spent more than $38,000 the past two years on nutritional supplements not approved by the NCAA seems to be a situation of confusing guidelines. Texas and Texas A&M were cited in similar cases last month, without penalty. In addition to Purdue, Indiana also was recently cited. Neither the Boilermakers nor the Hoosiers will be penalized.

The situation was dripping with irony.

A Purdue football fan is an unusual breed. Even when times are good, like they have been these past eight years under Joe Tiller, there are those who instead of enjoying the moment are anticipating the day when the Boilermakers revert to the Akers-Colletto era of 3-8 records.

Many preseason prognosticators are predicting big things for the 2005 Purdue football team. Those high expectations are being reflected at the box office.

They lift weights, grunting and groaning. They run, huffing and puffing and sweating. And then they finish by running the hill between the Mollenkopf Athletic Center and Ross-Ade Stadium.

A check of six summer college football magazines confirms two things that have been an early topic of conversation regarding Purdue and the upcoming Big Ten Conference season. 1. Expectations are high for the Boilermakers. 2. The Big Ten race figures to be wide open.

Round two produced basically the same results as round one. Purdue football recruit J.B. Paxson met with coach Joe Tiller last month to ask for his release from the national letter of intent he signed with the Boilermakers. At that time, Tiller told Paxson that he would not release him.