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THE AUTHORITY ON PURDUE ATHLETICS VOLUME 22, EX 9 • NOV. 2, 2011 Looking For Execution N Purdue Needs Flawless Play On The Road BY STACY CLARDIE SClardie@GoldandBlack.com o margin for error, mistake-free, better execution. However Coach Danny Hope and his Purdue players want to phrase it, they know the way they've played on the road of late hasn't been good enough. The Boilermakers are 0-3 on the road this season and have lost six consecutive away games. Now, they're set to enter one of the Big Ten's toughest, rowdiest venues: Wisconsin's Camp Randall Stadium. The Badgers are coming off back-to- back losses on Hail Mary passes in the final seconds, and they haven't played at home since Oct. 15. Think No. 19 Wisconsin is going to be amped just a bit? Already, it is more than a three-touch- down favorite over Purdue, which hasn't won in Madison since Oct. 18, 2003. The Boilermakers have lost the last two there, 37-0 in 2009 and 31-20 in 2005. In order to have a chance to pull the huge upset — Purdue is 2-3 against ranked teams in the Hope Era — the Boilermakers must be more disciplined and more effi- cient. In their three road losses this season, Purdue has four turnovers and averaged seven penalties for 56 yards. It had eight penalties for 86 yards in a 36-14 loss to Michigan last week. "The level of competition has been tough," Hope said of his team's road losses. "When you play at Penn State and you play GBIprint.com GoldandBlack.com Caleb TerBush hasn't won a road game as a starting quarterback yet. He'll need help to get one this week at Wisconsin. Purdue must play mistake-free football to snap a six-game losing streak against the No. 19 Badgers. at Michigan, those are always tough. So you start off with some points against you in those situations. … We competed hard at both of those places and played hard. But both of those games we made too many mistakes. Sometimes on the road at a place like that, against great competition like that, you're going to manufacture more mistakes and have more glitches from an execution standpoint. "We have to execute better to give ourselves a real chance to win on the road Tom Campbell against teams the caliber of Wisconsin, Michigan, Penn State." Purdue hasn't won the road since beat- ing Northwestern on Oct. 9, 2010. It was an underdog in that game, too. Not that being picked to lose by the experts matters to Hope and his players — they said. "We give ourselves a chance to win. That's the most important part," Hope said. "I like that (underdog) role at times. I'm a competitive person, and being the underdog 2 In this issue: • Pages 6-9: A Look At Wisconsin • Pages 17-18: The Defensive Ends • Pages 23-24: The Slate • Page 30: Recruiting Updates The number of teams in college football that rank in the top 10 in both scoring offense and scoring defense, as Wisconsin is joined by Boise State. The Badgers are No. 6 in scoring offense and No. 9 in scoring defense. Inside The NUMBERS 20 21 The sacks the Boilers have allowed this season, two more than the 18 they gave up in 12 games last year. the Big Ten record. The number of touchdowns scored by Wisconsin running back Montee Ball this season, only five short of 45.1 48 Wisconsin's 29 points vs. Ohio State Saturday was its lowest total of the season. The Badgers' scoring aver- age this season, which ranks sixth nationally. The length in yardage of Gary Bush's touchdown against UM, Purdue's longest passing score of the season. doesn't deter my beliefs in winning. We've won a lot of big games over the years where we were underdogs prior to the game. Once the game starts, all bets are off. You've still got to play the game. "They're going to play as hard as they can to win and so are we. We both have a lot on the line. We lost our last game, too." In that last game, Purdue's defense got dismantled by Denard Robinson and Co. as Michigan produced six plays of at least 25 yards. Linebacker Joe Holland called the unit's performance a "shot to the ego a little bit." GOLD & BLACK ILLUSTRATED • VOLUME 22, EXPRESS 9 • 1