by Sports Xchange

Updated: November 19, 2008, 2:20 AM EST

add this RSS blog email Print

The battle for the Old Oaken Bucket, however, has renewed the team's energy, and IU would like nothing more than to keep the Bucket in Bloomington for another year. With Purdue head coach Joe Tiller coaching his final game in West Lafayette, the Boilers figure to be fired up, but Indiana believes it has the opportunity to close the season on a high note.

IU's seniors also want to make amends for what has been a very disappointing season by winning the Bucket for the second straight season for the first time since the 1993 and 1994 seasons.

Head coach Bill Lynch has been preaching to his team to keep battling, and the players have responded. The Hoosiers put up a fight with Penn State on the road for a half last week, and the team is healthier than it has been in a long time this week. Quarterback Ben Chappell should be back from the concussion that held him out of the PSU game, and Indiana managed to travel to Happy Valley and back without suffering any major health setback.

Although Indiana won't go bowling this season, another win in the Bucket game could do wonders for the team's confidence. It will send the Hoosiers into the offseason on a high, and it should help create a buzz for the spring. Injuries have destroyed IU's 2008 season, but if Indiana can pull off a victory at Ross-Ade Stadium, it will show the players how good they could be in 2009.

That being said, a blowout loss would be devastating for the program and would raise the volume on calls for Lynch's job.

Win or lose, Lynch isn't in any real trouble in terms of losing his job, but he will have an easier time selling the program to any recruits who are wavering if IU can score a win. In other words, in a battle between a pair of 3-8 teams that are fighting to avoid finishing last in the Big Ten, there is plenty to play for.