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and we were really honest with each other. "We said, 'We're not go- ing to allow guys not play- ing for the cause.' That's also helped our process, and obviously it's been three games where we've played a little bit better." When asked about the three-game stretch — it's the first time since 2009 Purdue has scored 30-plus in that many consecutive Big Ten games — Coach Darrell Hazell points to the offensive line's play as the catalyst. Every week, that group is getting sharper, he said. He even saw signs of improvement during the bye week when players were working on the sled, focusing on pad level. That continues to get better weekly, he said. It's showing up espe - cially in the run game as the group — left tackle David Hedelin, left guard Jason King, center Kugler, right guard Jordan Roos and the rotating duo of J.J. Prince and Cameron Cer- min at right tackle — has seemingly settled in on Purdue's most-called run play. On the zone read, it's crucial for the interior players to se- cure a double-team block before moving to the next level. They've done that with more consistency of late. "I obviously know we can do more — we can do a lot better, there's always room for improvement — but when I watch the film, I do see the strides we've taken as a unit, and I'm happy about that," said King, a sopho- more. "But in any of our minds on the O-line, it doesn't slow the drive that we do have in wanting to improve. We'll have however many yards and we'll watch the film and we'll see how many more yards we could have. "What it seems like right now is every- body will be on the same page and then maybe one thing goes wrong over here or one thing goes wrong over there, and I think (the bye was) big for that. Start fixing those 'one things' and we're really going to have that breakthrough. It's going to be big." The holes certainly have been. Hunt can attest to that. After never really surging last season as Purdue's starting running back, Hunt got de- moted in that role to start this season as Ha- zell chose Hunt's classmate Raheem Mostert. Mostert had a 100-yard game in the opener but failed to do it again and two fumbles got him relegated to the second unit. That's when Hunt really rose to the challenge, bust- Tom Campbell Coach Darrell Hazell pointed to the improved play of the team's line, led by center Robert Kugler (57), as a reason the offense's production has spiked recently. GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 9 • 18