Purdue tries to make its season at Michigan

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It's been twelve years since Purdue has headed north to the Big House to take on the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor.

For context, that matchup in 2011 that went the Wolverines way 36-14, was part of Brady Hoke's first year at Michigan. This was in the heart of the Danny Hope era and Caleb Terbush was Purdue's leading passer.

A lot has transpired in both programs since that moment. Most recently, the two teams meeting in last year Big Ten Championship game where Michigan beat Purdue 43-22.

Purdue's current season isn't sharing Michigan's trajectory. While Michigan is undefeated, having blown out every opponent, Purdue goes into Ann Arbor limping, with a 2-6 record and three straight losses. The game at Michigan marks Purdue's third road game in four, and is a must win for Purdue if they want to get to the magical number of 6 for bowl eligibility.

It won't be an easy task, going into one of the best team's in the nation's home stadium in front of one of college football's best atmospheres.

That atmosphere and opportunity is something defensive coordinator Kevin Kane hopes sticks with his players.

With Big Ten expanding even further after this season, already rare trips to college institutions will become more rare. Afterall, these college players don't have Connor Stalions budget for visiting football games - but for those curious, our friends over at Maize and Blue Review have daily updates on the findings and investigation into Michigan's sign-stealing scandal.

While Michigan does its best to soil its own name, the program still stands both historically and this season as one of the giants of the sport. Purdue players will not only get the chance to experience that atmosphere under the lights, but will get a chance to play the part of upset Spoilermakers once again. This, Kane said after practice on Wednesday, is what college football is all about.

"You play college football to play against the best," he said from Purdue's practice field. "And part of that is going to all these great venues, you know. And we'll play at Ohio State, will play at Wisconsin, teams come here to play. You know, we're gonna go to Oregon at some point, we're gonna go to USC now."

"It's part of it, man. Like these kids, you know, not very many of them make it to the NFL, right? But they have that opportunity to go experience different parts of the country and see what other things are like and I think it's one of the coolest things about college football and i'ts only gonna get better, you know?"

"I think the fan bases will still be the fan bases. Fans are still gonna be ravenous and just to go out and experience these types of things, man. Take it all in. Soak it in because you never know when it's going to end. And that trip might be your last, you never know."

Kane's appreciation for college football is an infectious energy. Even with the winter cold coming to West Lafayette, the sun was shining on Wednesday and the wind from the day before had calmed down. The snow from the day didn't stick, and Purdue will try to keep a similar mindset to their losses.

While Kane has appreciation for Michigan as a program, star defensive end Nic Scourton doesn't look at jerseys. He's part of a defensive push the last few games that has Walters and staff hopeful looking forward.

"I take every game, game by game, just trying to compete and prove that I can play against the best guys. In like team sense, I don't feel like we're lesser than any team on our schedule," Scourton said on Wednesday.

Scourton's ascension has been pushed by his internal competition with sack leader Kydran Jenkins. The two have been bright spots throughout Purdue's season and have the most sacks of any duo in the conference. The defensive players might be looking at the game as just another game, but the staff seems to have cooked up something special for Michigan.

"We got a new package in this week. I'm excited to show you guys this Saturday," Scourton said with excitement after Wednesday's practice.

Purdue has a long history of pulling off the upset. Even as coaches change and losses mount, Purdue has risen to its top challenges. Purdue has beaten 7 ranked teams in the last 5 seasons. They're 7-8 overall against top 25 opponents despite being favored to lose in each game in the last five seasons.

Purdue knocked off two top-3 teams in 2021 and Michigan comes in at #3 in the nation.

So far this season hasn't gone to plan for Ryan Walters in his first season at Purdue. But the thing about college football, that can all change in a night. That's what we watch for.

As Kevin Kane said as he finished his interview with media on Wednesday, "What's better than college football?"

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