Eastern starting quarterback Cole Stinson rolled to his right and threw a long pass to wide receiver Alicus Nozinor down the right sideline.

Nozinor came down with the catch inside the 10-yard line, and was forced out of bounds at the 1-yard line.

The 50-yard completion in the third quarter of last Thursday night’s win against Tennessee Tech did not result in a touchdown for Nozinor.

But it did showcase one thing to Purdue head coach Joe Tiller as his team prepares to play Eastern this Saturday in West Lafayette, Ind.

Tiller said he thought the only deep ball threat in Eastern’s offensive game plan was All-American wide receiver Micah Rucker after watching game film of Eastern’s 45-24 win against Tech.

Which isn’t surprising considering Rucker’s opening-game performance of nine catches for 169 yards.

Rucker had three catches for more than 30 yards and also forced two defensive pass interference penalties, both which came on long passes.

“I was surprised, but certainly interested in how effective he was as a deep receiver,” Tiller said. “He’s a tall guy. He can win any jump ball.”

The 6-foot-6, 221-pound Rucker was Stinson’s favorite target last Thursday. But the play of Nozinor, who missed the 2006 season because of academic eligibility, also stood out.

Nozinor had four catches for 81 yards, including the 50-yard reception.

“If he thought that, I wish I wouldn’t have thrown that ball to (Nozinor),” Stinson said about Tiller’s comment, “Or he wouldn’t have known he was there at all.”

Eastern’s offense will have a difficult task this weekend when it faces a Purdue team, which gave up 326 yards of total offense in its 52-24 win against Toledo last Saturday.

The Boilermakers only allowed 154 passing yards and had two interceptions against three different Toledo quarterbacks.

Stinson, meanwhile, threw for a career-high 308 yards in a near-flawless performance, completing 19-of-26 passes against the Golden Eagles.

“This QB we’ll play this week is much more accurate than the quarterbacks for Toledo last week,” Tiller said. “I think he throws the deep ball really well. In fact, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a guy throw a deep ball as well as him.”

And Eastern offensive coordinator Jorge Munoz said Stinson’s night could have been even better.

Munoz said Eastern receivers dropped two passes, and on two incompletions, Stinson could have completed a pass by throwing to one of his secondary reads.

“Sometimes it’s hard though. When you have Micah out there running down the field sometimes, I can’t blame him for forcing it down the field either,” Munoz said. “That’s the whole thing. Just stay consistent with what he’s been taught. And if it’s not there and check it down and go from there.”

Eastern head coach Bob Spoo said initially after last Thursday night’s win he was not pleased with the running game. The team rushed for 122 yards, led by starter Travorus Bess’ 67 on 11 carries. But most of those yards came late in the game.

Yet, Spoo and Munoz said this week the reason for not more balance in the offense was Tennessee Tech’s defense.

The Golden Eagles were intent on stopping Eastern’s running game, sometimes putting eight defenders near the line of scrimmage and leaving the wide receivers with one-on-one coverage against the defensive backs.

Munoz said Eastern’s offensive mindset depends on the opponent’s defense.

Stinson does not receive the whole play call until he breaks the huddle, and depending on what look the opposing defense gives, the other half of the play is then called.

“Our philosophy is we’ll be one-dimensional if you’re going to make us be that way,” Munoz said. “We’ll pass the ball 50 times a game; we’ll run the ball 50 times a game. Whatever you’re giving us, that’s what we’ll take.”