University of Wisconsin offensive coordinator Paul Chryst was talking to former receivers coach Henry Mason over the weekend after watching Purdue's 24-14 victory over Illinois.

Coming into the Big Ten Conference season, almost nobody would have pegged the Boilermakers to be at 2-2 in the conference at the midway point, while Illinois was at 0-5.

In fact, first-year Purdue coach Danny Hope mentioned last week, "When we were down at the Kickoff Luncheon (in Chicago) this summer, there was a lot of buzz about Illinois may be the most talented team in the league."

So, how is it the Boilermakers (3-5 overall), who have won two straight in the same season for the first time since 2007 -- including a 26-18 upset of then-No. 7 Ohio State Oct. 17 -- find themselves in possible bowl contention, while Illinois coach Ron Zook is fighting for his job?

"They're playing well," Chryst said of the Boilermakers. "I think they're playing with confidence now. Henry made that comment, 'Illinois and Purdue, not a lot different, other than one team feels real good about itself and the other team feels bad.'''

The Boilermakers will try to extend their good feelings Saturday against the Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium, hoping to topple another road block. They will try to snap a 10-game road losing streak, dating to last season's win at Minnesota Sept. 22.

"Things have changed," quarterback Joey Elliott said after the Illinois game. "We've always started off hot in the past and those last few games were hit or miss. This is huge for us. We have a gut check (this) week on Halloween. I think we'll be ready to go."

Purdue didn't play great last week but churned out 220 rushing yards against the Big Ten's worst run defense and had its first turnover-free game, after totaling 23 in the first seven.

The development of the running game makes Purdue's offense tough to defend. The passing game is still potent, ranking third in the conference at 254.6 yards per game. After going with an empty backfield much of the time and attempting 52 passes against Ohio State, Purdue went to a fullback and a more traditional offense against Illinois.

"It's kind of been a little bit of everything, to keep you on your toes," UW defensive backs coach Kerry Cooks said. "They're so hard to get a bead on, what they're going to do for this game."

Sophomore Ralph Bolden leads the running game with 720 yards and Elliott is second at 220. Elliott makes defenses pay for not staying in rush lanes.

After three years as the backup to Curtis Painter, Elliott has flourished as a fifth-year senior, completing 60.6 percent of his throws, with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Hope was the coach-in-waiting last season, during Joe Tiller's final year, and saw how Elliott prepared as a backup.

"He's a great example for a lot of other players that might be in your program, that may not be getting a whole lot of playing time," Hope said. "Practice hard and do what you've got to do ... because when you're time comes you want to excel."

Purdue also features junior defensive end Ryan Kerrigan, who leads the conference with 7.5 sacks.

"I think (Kerrigan) represents the rest of our team from the standpoint, he's not a finished product yet," Hope said. "He certainly has some areas he can improve in and can become an even more dominant player than what he is."

Hope acknowledged the two wins have been the perfect tonic. But he said the players have bought in all along, despite four straight close losses to Oregon, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame and Northwestern.

"I was really pleased with the attitude of our football team, especially when things weren't going well," Hope said. "They did a great job of sticking together and believing they were going to win and doing all the things that you want a football team to do from a practice standpoint to increase (its) chances of winning.

"The wins are huge. They put more wind in your sails and they feed your soul. They certainly make it all worthwhile, but this was a very resilient football team from the beginning. We have excellent senior leadership, as good as I've been around and everyone kept the faith, kept their noses to the grindstone and we continued to improve as a football team."

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