Purdue coach Danny Hope said there was a lot to be gained from how the team finished the season last year. The Boilermakers defeated Indiana to qualify for a bowl and then topped Western Michigan in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.

"Any time you end the season with a win, that's huge," Hope said. "Our team felt good about ourselves, ending the season with a bowl win."

Hope said the Boilermakers enjoyed their experience in Detroit and are now "bowl-hungrier."

"We want to go to another bowl and maybe a bigger stage," Hope said. "We're hungry for that. It fed our souls some."

Qualifying for a bowl also aided the team's preparation for the upcoming season.

"Those bowl practices impacted our football team in a lot of ways," Hope said.