More: Pressure on DBs; Wednesday notebook | Opponent view: Nebraska | Q&A with JaMarcus Shephard

Markus Bailey sees a difference between what Purdue is now and what it aspires to be.

So when the Boilermakers lost on Saturday at Rutgers — Purdue was the near 10-point favorite yet fell 14-12 — it left them searching for answers. One possibility, which was brought almost immediately to light during a post-game speech by Da’Wan Hunte, was that players had started looking too far ahead. Before the game, Purdue, then 3-3, was likely to be favored in three straight and was thinking about the possibility of a bowl. Considering Purdue hasn't had a realistic shot at the postseason since 2012, the Boilermakers were ill equipped to deal with such possibilities.