Quoted: Week 13 at Purdue

By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana football (5-6, 1-6) will battle rival Purdue (2-9, 1-6) on Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, looking to claim the Old Oaken Bucket for a third consecutive season.

IU's coaches and select players were made available to the media Monday to discuss Purdue as the two teams prep for a noon kickoff.

As usual, IUHoosiers.com was there to speak with the players and coaches leading into the new week. Here's four quotes and storylines to follow heading into the game.

Head coach Kevin Wilson: "This should be the best week we've had because it's the next one. And that's it—not because it's the rival or any records or implication, this should be our best week because it's the next."

Wilson isn't ignoring the implications of a postseason appearance or a win in Indiana's rivalry game—he just doesn't want it getting in the way.

The Hoosiers have long talked about the importance of taking things week by week. That isn't going to change now.

Wilson wants to keep things as normal as possible, even with school out for Thanksgiving break and the larger implications of Saturday's game.

Wilson: "Moving on to Purdue, again very fortunate to have again what I consider a great rival and a lot of respect for their team. Through my years from high school as a player through college and where I've coached, been lucky to be able to be at a place with good rivals. Not everyone has that blessing. It's nice that we have fan bases from both sides and there's a lot of talk and smack...We have a great rival. And we embrace that."

The Old Oaken Bucket rivalry trophy has been the trademark of the Indiana-Purdue tradition since its inception in 1925.

The first Bucket game ended in a 0-0 tie, resulting in the "I-P" link attached to the Bucket. Since then, there have been 58 "P" links, 29 "I" links and two additional "I-P" tie links attached to the chain to serve as the all-time tally.

The Bucket currently resides in the Indiana locker room in its own trophy case. It sits atop a revolving platform for all the Hoosiers players and coaches to see whenever they walk into the room.

IU defensive coordinator Brian Knorr: "All our seniors, they kind of sense time's ticking. They kind of got the guys together, settled our troops and we played as well as we've played all year in the last 50 minutes."

There was a certain added intensity on the sidelines after Indiana suddenly found itself trailing 21-3 at Maryland last weekend—and the coaching staff liked it.

The Hoosiers defense played some of its best football of the season after being beaten early by the Terrapins. Knorr and Wilson both said it might have had something to do with a sense of urgency in some of the senior players, who know they're in some of the final and most important games of their careers.

Knorr will hope his defense does similar things this weekend against Purdue without needing to go down 21-3 before it happens.

Offensive coordinator Kevin Johns on senior quarterback Nate Sudfeld: "He had a tremendous look in his eye, and he went out and played at a high level…I think he played well because he had a great look in his eye. He was determined to play well."

Strangely, Sudfeld has only made one career throw against Purdue in his three previous seasons. He will get a chance to increase those numbers on Saturday.

Sudfeld is coming off one of the most efficient games of his career, having completed 23-of-35 passes for 385 yards and four touchdowns at Maryland. His performance against the Terrapins earned him the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Week award.

Players Mentioned

Griffin Oakes

Jason Spriggs

Nate Sudfeld

Indiana University Athletics