“We don’t have any margin for error if we want to be involved in postseason play,” Purdue head coach Danny Hope said. “We have to win our next two games.”

Although MSU’s circumstances aren’t as dire — the Spartans need to win one of their final two games to become bowl-eligible — the game certainly will have a playoff-like atmosphere, especially on Senior Day at Ross-Ade Stadium.

“For both teams, this is a huge game and has great impact on either season,” Hope said. “It should be a lot of fun. I think the teams match up well in a lot of ways and it should be a heck of a football game.”

After losing five in a row, Purdue has roared back with wins in three of its last four games, including beating both Ohio State and U-M.

Quarterback Joey Elliott earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors for his performance against the Wolverines, completing 28 of 39 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns. He added a rushing score, as well, but threw two interceptions.

This season, Elliott has completed 59.3 percent of his passes (207-for-349) for 2,448 yards with 16 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

“The week before, we struggled on offense, so for us to go out there and put up those types of numbers this past Saturday was big for our team, big for our offense and really big for Joey Elliott,” Hope said. “He played exceptional.”

But turnovers have been an issue for the Boilermakers this season, as they have turned the ball over a Big Ten-high 28 times, six more than U-M’s 22.

And as the Boilermakers prepare for MSU, a team Hope called “possibly the best football team that we’ve played if you look at talent and execution,” turnovers can’t be on the docket for his team.

“They really are a good football team,” Hope said of the Spartans. “A very disciplined football team and they don’t make a lot of mistakes.”