The Chicago Tribune: Purdue taking N. Illinois seriously

"They've played well against some of the best teams in the country the last couple of years," Hope [Purdue coach] said. "Last year, they were a better football team than us because they went to a bowl game and we didn't. Certainly we weren't going to overlook them."

The Evansville Courier Press: Crider promises he'll play

"I'm actually 100 percent healthy and looking forward to playing this weekend," said Crider, who holds the career (6,356 yards) and single-season (2,478 yards) rushing records at Reitz High School while scoring 83 touchdowns. "I'm just looking forward to going back to my home state in front of my family and everything and redeem myself from this injury."

The Beacon News: Home calls back to Harnish

That doesn't mean Harnish heads to 62,500-seat Ross-Ade Stadium intent on showing the Boilermakers what they're missing.

"That kind of thinking can be dangerous," said Harnish, who has pleased second-year coach Jerry Kill with his improvement in NIU's first two games. "I could go out and try to do too much and end up hurting my team. It's definitely going to be fun with so many friends and family there, but I'm taking the same approach I would as if it was Wisconsin or Western Michigan."

The Exponent (Purdue): Boilers know Huskies present serious challenge

Last season the Huskies lost to Minnesota by four, Western Michigan by three, Tennessee by four, Central Michigan by three in overtime and Louisiana Tech by seven. They also had a three-point win against Bowling Green.

“They’re able to keep the game close and give themselves a chance to win,” Elliott [Purdue QB] said. “That’s what you want to do as a football team. Last year they played Tennessee down to the wire. They’ve had a lot of close games. I haven’t even watched a full game yet. I just looked at their media guide, but every game was within six points.”