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Garrett Hudson made Ja’Whaun Bentley more comfortable in his decision.

Then, the first defensive snap in the finale vs. Indiana, when Hudson picked off a pass — he was starting in place of the Bentley, who had decided his ankle injury would keep him out — to set up a short field and Purdue’s first touchdown, further solidified that feeling.

“We’ve been around each other so long, I was not surprised at all,” Bentley said of the play of Hudson, his backup at middle linebacker. “I know he’s be able to make plays. He’s one of the best people on this team, as far as when it comes to special teams, stuff like that, so seeing him making plays, I didn’t really break a sweat.

“Of course, it hurt me not to be out there but when you know who’s out there for you, you’ll be fine.”

Bentley, though, plans to be back on the field Dec. 27, when the Boilermakers play Arizona in the Foster Farms Bowl in Santa Clara. He’s already feeling better now, thanks to some of the time off between the IU game and the start of bowl preparation on Thursday.

But back on Nov. 25, he just wasn’t feeling it.

The senior, Purdue’s leading tackler who was honorable mention All-Big Ten, had tried to test his ankle at times during the previous week of practices, particularly on Thursday, but couldn’t get comfortable. And so he had to sit out on senior day, when Purdue needed a victory against Indiana to get to six wins and a bowl game.

“(I) kind of knew early on that it wasn’t up to par,” he said. “So rather than put myself and the team at risk, I just had to accept it for what it was and count on my guys. And at the end of the day, we did what we had to do.

“Of course, you want to be out there with your guys, but I knew they were going to get the job done. I don’t have any regrets, nothing like that, but I’m just happy to have one more game.”

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