GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 12 • 2
back and take it to the Hoosiers,
whose defense has consistently
been among the conference's worst
of late.
The defense has had to manage
difficult circumstances and field po-
sition after the offense's turnovers,
and it's shown glimpses of an ability
to hold up. But it also has allowed
opponents to break big plays —
there were three last week against
Northwestern, including two runs
of 40-plus — and ranks last in the
Big Ten during conference games in
opponent third-down percentage.
Those struggles won't be
erased with a good performance
Saturday. But they certainly can be
softened heading into an offseason
in which the unit will need to re
-
place five starters.
"This is our championship right
here," Appleby said. "We get this one,
we'll have a lot to be proud of and
be very, very happy about the end
of our season. … We've made such
great strides. There are no moral vic-
tories — no one cares (about that).
But we're getting there. We know
the strides we've made and we're
looking forward to putting it all to-
gether in this last game and to get
this thing rolling. We're on the right
track for sure.
"We're not even going to think
about if we don't get it. We're going
to do everything we can to get this.
I'm not even going to think about
the alternative."
j
Facing The Best
Purdue has faced six of the 21 top running
backs in the country this season (based on
rushing yards per game). Here's how the Boil-
ermakers have fared in comparison to the run-
ning back's season average.
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Trent Johnson, Agent
No. 2 Tevin Coleman, Indiana (158.8 YPG) vs.
Purdue TBD
No. 1 Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin (191.7) vs.
Purdue 205 yards
No. 8 David Cobb, Minnesota (130.0 YPG) vs.
Purdue 194 yards
No. 21 Jeremy Langford (112.9 YPG) vs. Purdue
104 yards
No. 13 Thomas Rawls, Central Michigan (122.6)
vs. Purdue 155 yards
No. 6 Jarvion Franklin, Western Michigan
(130.3), vs. Purdue 163 yards
+13.2
+64
+32.4
+32.7
-8.9
???
Note: Purdue also faced Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah, but he was injured in the first
quarter after gaining one yard on six carries.
