The idea this week is to illustrate what it looked like to hit rock bottom in a season but not relenting and being able to generate something out of nothing.

It was a gloomy afternoon in Minneapolis on Saturday, Oct. 27, as we took the field to play the Gophers. It was Week 9 of the 2012 season, and we were 3-4. We were coming off a crushing loss to a ranked Ohio State team in overtime, 29-22. We were eager to redeem ourselves with a chance to capture our first Big Ten win and get to .500. Heading into the matchup, I felt very confident that we could get come out of this game with a win. In preparation throughout the week, I thought we matched up well. Come to find out we were in for a rude awakening.

Coming out for warmups, we were licking our chops to get another chance to finish a game after the tough loss. I believe this was the first season in their new stadium, so the crowd was electric and we fed off of their energy. It was an us-against-the-world type of feeling because they had a sellout crowd. Playing away in a crazy environment like that gives you some sort of liveliness. I guess because you are battling your opponent on the field and a crazy crowd all around you, so you have to elevate your game.

We came out on fire on our first drive! Akeem Shavers broke a long run to set us up inside our goal line, and a Terbush pass to Brandon Cottom got the touchdown. Sadly, those were the only points we put up the first half. Offensively, we really struggled to orchestrate a drive in the first half after our first score. Some big plays here and there but failed to capitalize on key situations.

Minnesota was firing on all cylinders on offense, scoring on four straight drives and putting up 28 first-half points with a freshman quarterback. They were known for their aggressive style of play running the ball with big strong backs and a physical offensive line. Instead, they were dropping bombs downfield. They returned an interception for a touchdown and, after that, you could see our whole team begin to deflate. I was completely shocked. The first half went so bad, it felt like a blur.

Robert Marve started the second half for us, giving us a little bit of a spark offensively. We put up 21 second-half points, but it just was not enough. We had dug ourselves too deep of a hole with too many turnovers, penalties and an inability to convert on key third-down situations. Minnesota only put up 10 points in the second half but still maintained a solid lead after their first-half rout. The final was 44-28.

The amount of long faces in the locker room was saddening. A lot of tears were shed and not too many words were shared with the majority of us in disbelief from what just happened. Two weeks in a row of major disappointment had really taken a toll on us mentally as a team. I think what hurt the most was that we thought we would overcome the upsets we experienced earlier in the season and as a team we declared that we would do everything in our power to not let it get any worse. It did. It was the

fourth loss of a five-game losing streak.

I wouldn't say that game crushed our season, but it was by far the most painful point we experienced as a team. Minnesota was a team we knew we should have beaten, but we simply were not focused and unwisely underestimated how good they really were. We needed a Big Ten win badly, and it would have given us some momentum heading into the next week against a good Penn State team at home. Also, our eyes were set on playing in a nice bowl game. We were aware that if we kept losing, our goals of taking our seniors to a bowl game would soon be diminished. Sort of a similar situation with our current team in the sense that a win against BG was much-needed - except it is still early in the season and Big Ten play is just starting, so they can turn things around to make it a successful season.

For us in 2012, there was a turning point. We went up to Iowa in Kinnick Stadium where we hadn't won a game for 20 years and Paul Griggs hit the game-winning field goal to give us the victory, snapping our five-game losing skid. After that win, we went on a three-game win streak and a satisfactory spanking on IU while clinching a bowl bid. Truthfully, during that streak, we had so much fun playing football that it made us forget about the first half of the season. Despite everything else we had finished strong in the Big Ten!

There will be low points in the season where you feel like things can't get any worse. Sometimes, they do. Sometimes, they don't.

For us in 2012, they got pretty bad at times. But you still have to remain optimistic and take advantage of every chance you get. It is a LONG season and you will get opportunities to things in Week 7 or Week 8 down the stretch that will give you a chance to still have a successful season. In turn, those things will make you forget about the struggles you had early on in the season. The key is not to dig yourself in too deep of a hole early on by beating non-conference opponents, which is what we did in 2012.

Despite the coaching changes, tough losses and trials we faced, we went on a three-game win streak at the end to get ourselves into a bowl game. Reflecting on it, that made everything that we went through worthwhile when you thought you had absolutely no chance at times. We got the Bucket, and I have a huge, diamond-filled bowl ring to show off.

Right now, we are 1-3 heading into conference play against No. 2 Michigan State. Certainly not the ideal situation we saw ourselves being in, but the key is to learn from past mistakes and just keep fighting, even though we have a tough stretch ahead. It is not over yet, and you can never count yourself out, which I know the team hasn't done.

You will be surprised at the opportunities you have to still have a successful season. In 2012, we had no idea that we would end up playing in a bowl game, but we knew we had to just keep chipping away if we wanted to make something out of nothing. After our lowest point following that Minnesota loss, we realized that we had a chance to make a memory and get to a bowl game and that's what we did.

Focus on what's in front of you and don't look in the rearview mirror.

We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed ...

Boiler Up. Hammer Down. Hail Purdue.

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