It's the final game of the season at Spartan Stadium, and MSU is looking for its first back-to-back win since week two.

The Spartans (4-6 overall, 2-4 Big Ten) would like nothing more than a win to send their 14 seniors out in style, while a loss would officially end MSU's bid for a bowl game. But the Purdue Boilermakers (4-6, 2-4) are in the same position.

"We have to be careful when we play this team," junior linebacker Mike Labinjo said. "We both have the same record and we're both going for the same goal."

But come Sunday, that goal, a bowl game, will be impossible for one team. And Labinjo knows the Boilermakers won't give up without a fight.

"Their record might not show it, but they've lost a lot of close games," he said. "They could easily be 7-2 or 9-1."

That sounds far fetched, but all of Purdue's losses have come by a total of 26 points. And of the six losses, none were by more than seven points.

"They have not been able to pull it off in the end in a bunch of these games, but this is a very good football team," said Morris Watts, MSU's interim head coach and offensive coordinator. "They're the No. 2 offensive and the No. 2 defensive team in the league."

The Boilermakers have averaged 438.5 yards of total offense (10th nationally) and only allowed 326.4 yards to each of their opponents (25th nationally).

But comparing those numbers to MSU's would be foolish, as the Spartans looked like a team with new life last week against Indiana (3-7, 1-5).

So the biggest question is which team will show up to battle Purdue. Will it be the team that posted 492 yards of total offense against the Hoosiers, or will it be the team that lost four straight since winning the Big Ten opener?

"We still have a lot of fire and rage inside us," freshman tailback David Richard said. "We're going to carry it over to this weekend."

But it was more than just the heightened level of intensity that had the Spartans playing like everyone expected they would all season. Senior wide receiver B.J. Lovett attributed much of the offensive success to Watts.

"Coach Watts got more aggressive with the play calling," he said. "He just went for the money ball and opened it up.

"I say let all the tricks out. We have nothing to lose."

And with the offense finally moving the ball and putting points on the board, the defense got a little rest and was able to play with more freedom.

But Spartan Stadium hasn't been much of a home-field advantage this season, as MSU is 3-4 at home. And after losing the last two games at home by an average of 19.5 points, Richard said the Spartans don't know what to expect from the fans.

"Hopefully, they'll be fired up for us," he said. "We want to do this for the fans. We've been letting them down throughout the year."