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THE AUTHORITY ON PURDUE ATHLETICS VOLUME 22, EX 8 • OCT. 26, 2011 Becoming Believers P Purdue Players Buying In To Coaches' Message BY STACY CLARDIE SClardie@GoldandBlack.com urdue coaches had been telling their players to "believe." All season, they've been preaching it. But after a slow start, needing a come- back to beat Middle Tennessee and then los- ing at Rice, doubt crept into the Boilermak- ers' minds, senior Justin Siller said. It was only natural. But when a victory over No. 23 Illinois last week followed a solid performance at Penn State and a blowout of lowly Minne- sota, players started gaining confidence. And, finally, they started to buy in to what the coaches have been telling them all along. "At this point in the season, we believe," Siller said, "but we also know that we can com- pete and play with anybody on our schedule and come out on top if we play our game right and execute and minimize our mistakes." That newfound confidence certainly was cemented by the effort against the Illini, who entered the game with a potentially explosive offense that included dual-threat quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase, the nation's leading re- ceiver in A.J. Jenkins and a stable of danger- ous running backs. But all that unit managed to do was go without a point until the final eight minutes of the game against an enthused, fiery, swarming defense, sparked by consis- tent pressure from its front four for the first time this season. Purdue's defense had four sacks — it had only six in the first six games combined — and forced a turnover against the Illini. GBIprint.com GoldandBlack.com 2 In this issue: • Pages 6-9: A Look At Michigan • Pages 17-18: Gerald Gooden Feature • Pages 23-24: The Slate • Page 30: Recruiting Updates 9.5 10 21 27 Kawann Short and Joe Holland had much to celebrate against Illinois, contributing to the best defensive per- formance of the season against the No. 23 Illini. But there's plenty more to be accomplished by Purdue if it wants to become bowl eligible, starting with a trip to No. 17 Michigan Saturday. Tom Campbell Purdue's victories in the series vs. Michi- gan in the last three years, including a 38-36 victory in Ann Arbor in 2009. Inside The NUMBERS league among DTs in TFLs, behind only Penn State's Devon Still. Kawann Short's team-best tack- les-for-loss total, and his career sacks total. He's second in the Consecutive trips inside the red zone that the Boilers have scored, includ- ing 17 touchdowns. Purdue is 26- of-29 in the red zone this season, a 90-percent success rate, good for fifth in the Big Ten. The number of Purdue skill players, excluding quarterbacks, with double- digit touches this season on offense. Wins for Michigan in the Big House vs. Purdue, against only five losses. "I feel like everybody, if they get chanc- es, they're going to come up with them. I think us as a defense, we're coming up," cornerback Ricardo Allen said. "We did pretty good against Penn State and we did pretty good against Illinois. We just have to keep it going." But it's not only the defense that's feeling good. Led by a quickly maturing and effi- cient Caleb TerBush, the offense scored 21 quick points to take a firm lead at halftime against the Illini. And the Boilermakers realized what they're capable of. GOLD & BLACK ILLUSTRATED • VOLUME 22, EXPRESS 8 • 1