Pre-Bowl Interview with Coach Hope

   

THE MODERATOR:  If we could just get an opening statement from you, Coach Hope, on advancing to the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. 
 COACH HOPE:  I want to thank them for inviting us.  We're a good football team, and we've won some big games this season.  We're excited to play together as a team.  Give us an opportunity to have a winning season.  We're at 6-6 right now.  A great opportunity for our team and our program, and we're grateful for it.  

 THE MODERATOR:  Also joining us in the room here are seniors Joe Holland, Albert Evans, and Dennis Kelly.  We can go ahead and get started on the phone lines. 

 Q.  Coach, just wanted to get your impressions on Western Michigan. 
 COACH HOPE:  I don't know a whole lot about them right now.  Just found out about half an hour ago where we were going and who we were playing.  Obviously, we played some MAC schools here in the past, and they've done very well.  I don't know a whole lot about Western Michigan at this point in time. 
 I'm assuming in the next little bit our video coordinators will communicate and exchange the film, and we'll get right at it pretty quick.  

 Q.  For the players, what does it mean to get to a Bowl for the first time since 2007.  The question was what is it like to get to a bowl game for the first time since 2007?  Joe Holland, start us off. 
 JOE HOLLAND:  It means a lot for us being seniors, extends our Purdue career for a whole extra month, which is a big deal for us.  I don't think any of us are ready for it to be over, and it's something we've been working toward for a long time.  Purdue has a standard of winning.  That's why we all came here.  We were kind of hoping to re-establish that standard and continue getting Purdue back to bowl games. 
 ALBERT EVANS:  It means a lot to us to get back there.  It feels good for us to be back.  It's a big deal for us to get in a Bowl game.  

 Q.  Joe, talk about your experience at the 2007 Motor City Bowl. 
 JOE HOLLAND:  I was a member of the scout team.  We did a heck of the job.  We dressed everybody, and I was fortunate enough to be on the field for that great game.  To have the opportunity to practice and then watch a game on the field.  It was a very, very fun experience.  To be able to get that opportunity again, although it was a couple years later, to do this my senior year, it really means a lot because it really was an unbelievable thing. 
 Great opportunity to continue to practice and continue to get better as a team.  We're thrilled to have this opportunity.  

 Q.  Other than winning the game, what else do you remember about that experience?  How do you relay some of that to the guys that have never been through it? 
 JOE HOLLAND:  I think particularly with this team, it's just a close-knit team, and everyone gets along so well.  When we have the opportunity to take a trip together and the Bowl, when I went last time, they had a ton of activities set up for us and a ton of things to do as a team.  I'm really just looking forward to spend time with my teammates, spending -- doing some pregame activities.