WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Arizona State head coach Dirk Koetter expects a high-scoring affair in the Sun Bowl when his Sun Devils take on the Boilermakers.

"I know under coach Tiller the Boilermakers throw the ball all over the place," the fourth-year coach of 8-3 Arizona State said during a press conference Sunday night. "And we have a philosophy we believe in and plan to throw in some wrinkles."

Joe Tiller, who will coach his eighth bowl game at the helm of the Boilermakers in as many years, said the Dec. 31 contest could go either way.

"It has the potential of being a game that lights up the scoreboard," he said. "Both teams are fun for the fans to watch. I look for a big audience in Sun Bowl Stadium and on TV."

The 71st Sun Bowl can be seen live on CBS at noon MST.

Tiller, who stalked the sidelines in Sun Bowl Stadium on the campus of UTEP as head coach at Wyoming and in the Sun Bowl game in 2001 and 2002, said the defenses won't come to watch.

"These are both strong, physical teams, so the defenses have the potential of turning the tables," he said.

The Iowa Hawkeyes and Northwestern Wildcats are the most recent common opponent of the Sun Bowl combatants. Arizona State beat both Big Ten teams in 2004, while Purdue lost to both by a combined five points.

Koetter recalled watching video of the 2003 Purdue-Iowa game as Arizona State prepared to take on Iowa. Later this month, he expects to see a team that can move the football through the air and on the ground.

"What impressed me most was that they threw the ball, but then went with two backs and ran right at them and did as well as anybody we saw," said Koetter, for whom the trip to west Texas is a homecoming of sorts. He was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UTEP from 1986 to 1988.

Both Tiller and Koetter predicted strong showings from alumni and fans who will trek to El Paso, but also lots of homegrown interest resulting from the resurgence of UTEP football. The 8-3 Miners will play Colorado in the EV1.net Houston Bowl on Dec. 29.

Arizona State finished 5-3 in the Pac-10 Conference, good for a third-place tie with Oregon State. The Sun Devils are ranked No. 21 by The Associated Press and No. 24 by ESPN/USA Today. Purdue, 7-4 overall and 4-4 in the Big Ten, is unranked.

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