INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter is on the verge of reaching one of college football's most respected milestones.

He needs 124 yards in Saturday's game against No. 6 Penn State to reach 10,000 yards passing in his career. That would make him the fourth quarterback in Big Ten history to accomplish the feat, following Purdue's Drew Brees (11,792), Northwestern's Brett Basanez (10,580) and Iowa's Chuck Long (10,461).

It might be difficult for Painter to reach the mark. Penn State is allowing just 172 yards passing per game this season.

Painter also could pass Mark Herrmann for second place in school history for career yards passing. He needs 70 yards to tie Herrmann, who threw for 9,946 yards from 1977-1980.

Painter reached 10,000 career total yards during last Saturday's loss to Notre Dame. He set the school record for yards passing in a season with 3,985 as a sophomore.

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PAINTER OFF TARGET: Painter passed for 359 yards and two touchdowns against Notre Dame, but he also threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown and missed on 26 of his 55 pass attempts.

Purdue coach Joe Tiller, notoriously tough on quarterbacks, wasn't happy with some of Painter's decision-making.

"I think in that ball game, he did get on one receiver and stay on him, you know, visually with his eyes," Tiller said. "I didn't see him moving the safety with his eyes like he normally does. And he probably got locked on a couple of guys more than he should have."

So, even with nearly 10,000 career yards passing, Painter gets drilled about fundamentals.

"You know, that's a point of emphasis for us this week, to get him back from a mechanical point of view to doing things and make sure that you are seeing the field and you're not going out there and playing with tunnel vision," Tiller said.

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PATERNO vs. TILLER: The conference's longest-tenured coaches will match wits in Saturday's game for one last time.

Joe Paterno, 81 will meet Tiller, 65, in a matchup of the only two Big Ten coaches who lead their respective schools in coaching victories.

Paterno has a 377-125-3 record at Penn State. Tiller has an 85-56-3 record at Purdue.

Tiller will retire after this season and be replaced by Danny Hope. Tiller said he didn't have many thoughts about coaching against Paterno.

"Not really," he said. "We're both too old. I know I am — I don't know about him — to think about things like that.

Paterno had a few reflections about Tiller.

"I like Joe," Paterno said. "I'm not going to miss coaching against him. He's a heck of a coach. He's gotten as much out of his squad as anybody's gotten in the Big Ten in the last 15 years."

Paterno has called Tiller an innovator for bringing the spread offense to the Big Ten. Penn State runs its own version of the offense Tiller introduced to the league in 1997.

He likes Tiller even more as a person than as a coach and likes the fact that their wives are friends.

"He gives you a big smile and the whole bit, but he's a tough guy," he said. "He's a tough guy. So, I'm just going to miss him. I won't get to see as much of him as we're used to seeing him."

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SHEETS SEEKS CONSISTENCY: Purdue running back Kory Sheets is trying to carry his early-season success into Big Ten play.

Sheets hasn't been able to do that during his career at Purdue. The senior has 26 career rushing touchdowns in 18 non-conference games, but just 13 rushing scores in 24 league contests.

Still, he's done well enough to have broken or be nearing several school records. Sheets already has broken the school record for career touchdowns. His total of 44 has surpassed the 42 running back Mike Alstott scored from 1992-1995.

He broke the record in spectacular fashion, with a 46-yard touchdown run for the game-winning score against Central Michigan.

Sheets can break Alstott's record for career rushing touchdowns Saturday. They are tied with 39.

Sheets is fourth in school history in yards rushing (2,863), eighth in rushing attempts (505) and seventh in yards per carry (5.25). He ranks 17th nationally with 109.8 yards rushing per game.