IU Coach Kevin Wilson has seen flashes of a great team all season.
Last week, the IU defense held the No. 6 team in the country scoreless for nearly two full quarters and forced three turnovers in one half of play.
That defense allowed only 13 points against Penn State on Nov. 8, and scored all of IU’s points in the game.
Against Missouri in week four, junior quarterback Nate Sudfeld threw for 252 yards and one touchdown to lead IU to a 31-27 win over the nation’s No. 18-ranked team.
Junior running back Tevin Coleman is on his way to becoming one of the best running backs in IU history. Coleman is averaging 173 yards rushing per game this season and became IU’s all-time single-season rushing leader last weekend.
But with all the flashes of success, Wilson has yet to see his team put everything together.
While inconsistency has come to define the 2014 season for IU, the Hoosiers have one final chance to play that complete game against Purdue at noon Saturday in a battle for the Old Oaken Bucket.
“You've got a great opportunity, you've got a great rivalry, you've got the last season game,” Wilson said. “It’s really about this being our best week.”
The Hoosiers (3-8, 0-7) currently sit last in the Big Ten East Division.
They’re on a six-game losing streak, but are coming off a stretch of conference games that included two top-10 teams and those six teams now have a combined record of 43-23.
Purdue (3-8, 1-6) has had similar woes this season, dropping its last five games. The Boilers’ lone conference win came against a 5-6 Illinois team.
The last time Purdue and IU met both with winning records was the 2007 season, a year in which the Hoosiers and Boilermakers each went on to play in Bowl games at the end of the season.
Since then, the two teams have consistently finished at the bottom of the Big Ten standings.
In 2013, Purdue went winless in conference play and finished 1-11. IU did the same in 2011 during Wilson’s first season as head coach.
The in-state foes have gone a combined 49-97 in the last six seasons - not including this season - and IU has just eight conference wins in that time.
Saturday, Wilson has a chance to become the first IU coach to win the Bucket game in back-to-back seasons since the 1993-94 seasons.
But, as much as beating a rival, it’s about improving on last week’s performance against Ohio State, Wilson said.
It’s not just about the opponent—it’s a chance for his team to build on all the little things it’s done right throughout the season.
“I like to see the team come out with the same energy and the effort they had and the attitude they played with (against Ohio State),” Wilson said. “That's going to be one of the challenges … to show that there wasn't a moral victory last week, but we played hard.”
Saturday will be the last game of the season for IU, now in its seventh-straight season without a Bowl birth.
It’s also the last career game for 14 seniors.
With this being Wilson's fourth season at IU, it's the first group of players he's gotten to see all the way through their careers. He and the coaches want more than anything to see them go out on a high note in their final game at Memorial Stadium.
“Our whole focus this week is to enjoy the week, have the best week we can, because this is the last time this '14 crowd will totally be together,” Wilson said.
“This is our last week. Let's make it the most fun and the best we can.”
