Seniors looking for first 'Bucket' win

The war of words is at a season-high this week as the football team prepares for Saturday's "Old Oaken Bucket" game at Purdue. On the IU side, some players are using the trash talking as motivation, while others are ignoring it.\nSenior defensive tackle Paul Mandina is the type of player who likes to engage in war on the football field.\nHe battles offensive lineman every play. He never finishes a game with a clean uniform. When the game is over, he always takes a loss personally. \nIt can be said that Mandina has warrior-like mentality, but one type of battle Mandina shies away from is a war of words with opponents. So, as IU prepares for its annual game against its biggest rival, don't expect Mandina to engage in any pregame trash talking.\n"There will probably be a lot of stuff in the paper with guys exchanging words trying to belittle the other side," he said. "But you got to focus on the team."\nSenior fullback De'Wayne Hogan is also a physical player. Hogan said he doesn't do much trash talking, but that doesn't mean he won't enjoy listening to the Boilermakers\' pregame thoughts.\n"I love to hear trash talk," Hogan said. "I love to see the other team try to get us. It makes me want to go out there and run even harder and try to rip someone's helmet off."\nNeither Mandina nor Hogan have earned a chance to brag about their role in an IU victory against Purdue. Mandina, a fifth-year senior, was on the sidelines as a scout team member when IU last defeated Purdue in 1996.\nMandina remembers the emotions displayed in the locker room after the Hoosiers 33-16 victory. He was a redshirt freshman from Rochester, N.Y., and besides what he had saw in the movie "Hoosiers," Mandina didn't know much about IU. After witnessing his first "Bucket" game, he realized the IU-Purdue rivalry was special. \n"For any player to say the 'Bucket' doesn't have a significant meaning, then I can't imagine they are being 100 percent honest with themselves," Mandina said.\nHogan is from Indianapolis, a city torn between the two schools. Hogan said many of his friends are Purdue fans and he doesn't want to return home without the 'Bucket' for the fourth consecutive year. Hogan's friends will have even more to brag about if the Boilermakers win. A victory will earn Purdue its first Rose Bowl berth since 1967. \n"This is a totally different game," Hogan said. "I (have) a lot of friends that go to Purdue, so I'm hearing about how good Purdue is, and that hurts me inside because I can't say anything about Indiana being the best Indiana team. We're going to make it worthwhile this year."\nAlthough the Hoosiers are just 3-7 and were eliminated from postseason play two weeks ago, upsetting Purdue and winning back the "Bucket" would make the offseason seem a little easier.\n"This is obviously an important game," coach Cam Cameron said. "You talk to anyone that has played in it or coached in it, you're going to feel good about this game if you win it, no matter what the situation is, and this year would be the same case"