Purdue football reacts to last-place preseason ranking

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Purdue Boilermakers don’t want to repeat last season. Second-year head coach Ryan Walters added 37 transfers to make sure it doesn’t.

“I know 4-and-8 sucks, and I don’t want to ever go through that again,” Walters said on Tuesday at Big Ten Media Days. “I just feel like guys are operating the way you’re supposed to operate when you’re trying to compete for a championship.”

Both Walters and senior quarterback Hudson Card are feeling more comfortable as they both enter their second seasons in West Lafayette.

“Some of the best teams that I’ve been a part of, you have that brotherhood in the locker room and you play for one another,” Card said. “I really do believe that goes a far way. This is one of the tightest locker rooms that I’ve been a part of, so usually that’s a good recipe.”

It will be an uphill climb to get Purdue back to Lucas Oil Stadium for the Big Ten Championship. The Boilers ranked dead last by the media Monday in the newly expanded 18-team conference. Walters says that’s just more motivation for his team.

“You go 4-and-8, you’re going to have a chip on your shoulder. You’re going to feel like you have something to prove,” Walters said. “Specifically with the guys that we added from the portal, they have a chip on their shoulder as well. They feel like they have something to prove. You get those types of guys together that love ball an...