standings with a top-eight finish, provided

Purdue interim coach Gerad Parker sees a different bounce in his players steps.The staff has picked up the pace at practice, gotten creative and urged players to enjoy the rest of this season. On Saturday, against Northwestern, everyone will find out if it makes a difference for a team that has lost three straight since a rare midseason coaching change.Theyve been through some tough stuff, and we have as coaches, too, especially the guys that have been here throughout, Parker said, referring to the past several years. So what is the sense in feeling sorry for ourselves and not having fun with this staff and these players for the last three weeks?Since the firing of Darrell Hazell last month, Purdue has shown some spark by building halftime leads three times only to blow those leads in the second half. The Boilermakers (3-6, 1-5 Big Ten) are one loss away from knowing they will finish another season without a bowl bid.Northwestern (4-5, 3-3) , meanwhile, is trying to play itself into postseason position after losing two in a row. But coach Pat Fitzgerald isnt writing off the Boilermakers.Very impressed with how theyre playing since the change, which could have turned the team into a negative, Fitzgerald said. I think although their record isnt positive I think theyre playing very hard, winning all three games at halftime, playing with a lot of passion and emotion.But can an attitude adjustment help turn things around in West Lafayette?Parker, who is still seeking his first win, believes it will.Weve still got three games left, plenty to play for, going down the stretch and finish with something to be proud of, Parker said. There are a lot of teams fighting to be bowl eligible and have something to finish on.Here are some other things to watch Saturday:CARRS CATCHESNorthwestern receiver Austin Carr has wreaked havoc on opposing secondaries all season. Hes already become the schools first 1,000-yard receiver in five years. And after shredding Wisconsins defense for 12 catches and 132 yards last week, the Big Ten leader in receptions (70), yards receiving (1,010) and TD catches (10) has a better matchup.DEFENSIVE DILEMMAPurdues defense hasnt just been bad the past two weeks. Its been battered. The Boilermakers gave up a Ross-Ade Stadium record 62 points to Penn State two weeks ago and 43 more points at Minnesota last week. Those two games have put Purdue in the Big Tens basement of scoring defenses (37.8 points).HISTORIC RUNRB Justin Jackson is chasing history this weekend as he tries to become the first Northwestern player to rush for 1,000 yards three times. Jackson needs 90 yards to achieve the feat, and it certainly looks doable against a defense allowing 248.3 yards per game. Jackson has rushed for 147 yards and 116 yards in his first two games against Purdue.OH-FOR-THREEThe Boilermakers have lost the last three by a combined total of 63 points. Even worse, all three losses were by double digits. But this might be Parkers best chance so far. Purdues previous opponents -- Nebraska, Penn State and Minnesota -- have a combined record for 21-6. Northwestern is the first team with a sub-.500 record Parker will face.LOOK OUTPurdue faces a daunting challenge against Northwestern DE Ifeadi Odenigbo. He leads the Big Ten with eight sacks and earlier this season became the first Northwestern payer to record multiple sacks in consecutive games. If Purdue really wants to check out Odenigbo, it can plug in the tape from the Iowa game. Odenigbo set a single-game school record with four sacks that day.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org . Replica Shoes Wholesale . The 18th player to shoot 60 on the tour, Jamieson settled for par on the final hole when his 15-foot birdie chip grazed the edge of the hole and stayed out. After opening with rounds of 66 and 73 to make the cut by a stroke, he had 11 birdies in the bogey-free round. Shoes Wholesale China Market . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. http://www.wholesaleshoes.us.org/ . Badenhop was 2-3 with a 3.47 ERA in 63 relief appearances for Milwaukee this season. He is 18-20 in his career with three saves and a 3. Replica Shoes Wholesale China . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. Cheap Shoes China Free Shipping . Roman Josi had a goal and an assist to lead the Predators to a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday night. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- The four golfers?in contention for the?Race to Dubai?title were upstaged by Lee Westwood in the first round of the DP World Tour Championship on Thursday.Westwood shot a 6-under 66 in swirling winds to take a one-stroke lead at the European Tours season-ending event in Dubai.Some days you feel like theres a lot of birdies out there but today I think was a pretty stiff test, Westwood said.Danny Willett and Alex Noren were best-placed of the players bidding to finish the season as Europes No. 1 after shooting 71s on the Earth course of Jumeirah Golf Estates, while Henrik Stenson -- the leader in the Race to Dubai standings -- shot 72.Rory McIlroy started the week as the big outsider to win the Race to Dubai and his chances are even slimmer after shooting 75, ending a run of 28 straight rounds of par or lower at the World Tour Championship.Should Stenson win, he will be Europes No. 1 for the second time in four years. He could even finish atop the standings with a top-eight finish, provided Willett doesnt win or finish second and Noren doesnt win.The 43-year-old WWestwood, who was the winner of the inaugural edition of World Tour Championship in 2009, made just one bogey -- on No.dddddddddddd 12 -- on a day when winds made scoring difficult. He had three birdies on the front nine and four on the back nine.It was all good, really. I played lovely, said Westwood, playing without his regular caddie Billy Foster who is out with a knee injury. Hit a lot of fairways, a lot of good iron shots, putted nicely and, you know, didnt make too many mistakes out there.Frances Julien Quesne and Belgiums Nicolas Colsaerts were tied for second place after 67s, while No. 12 Spaniard Sergio Garcia was tied fourth after a 68, along with Italian Francesco Molinari and Dutchman Joost Luiten.Stenson made just one birdie and one bogey, being denied a closing birdie on the 18th after his putt from six feet lipped out.It wasnt my best day. I played very average, Stenson said. Id say the good putts I hit didnt go in, and the bad ones certainly didnt. ' ' '