Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

Purdue might miss a bowl game for the second consecutive season. All those turnovers and near misses in September and early October could come back to bite the Boilers in an unflattering body part.

But no matter how the next two games turn out, Purdue can hang its hat on ending three streaks that dogged the program as it tried to become a Big Ten power under former coach Joe Tiller.

• The Boilers snapped a 19-game losing streak to ranked opponents by upsetting then-No. 7 Ohio State on Oct. 17.
• They ended an 11-game road losing streak by rallying to beat Michigan last Saturday in Ann Arbor.
• They ended a 17-game losing streak at Michigan Stadium, downing the Wolverines in the Big House for the first time since 1966.

The streaks are outlined in Purdue's game notes this week in a section appropriately called "Ghostbusters."

"It puts us on a national level," said senior quarterback Joey Elliott, who became the first Purdue signal caller since Bob Griese to win at the Big House. "At the beginning of the season, you were asking me, 'Who are going to be your playmakers? Who's going to step up? Who's going to do this?' Purdue football was a bunch of question marks. In 2009, we've done a great job of being able to establish what we're trying to do and go out and get it done.

"Those wins are huge for us. It's something we can sit back and talk about when you're on the back porch 10 years from now."

First-year coach Danny Hope and the players openly discussed the long losing streak in Ann Arbor last week and used it as motivation.

"We'd tell coach Hope he was probably wearing diapers the last time Purdue won at Michigan," Elliott said. "Everybody jokes about it, but it also keeps you focused and eager and motivated. Every coach tries to find things each week to motivate their kids, and one of our motivational standpoints was, 'We haven't won at the Big House in forever.'"

Elliott and several other seniors came up with a motto for the season, ONE, which translates to "Opportunity Now for Everyone." Wide receiver Adam Wolf came up with the design, and it's displayed on T-shirts, hats and posters.

The slogan has held true as several seniors have seized the moment, especially Elliott, who leads the Big Ten in both passing (244.8 ypg) and total offense (270.5 ypg). The seniors are the first class at Purdue to beat Ohio State and Michigan in the same season since 2000.

"There have been some streaks we wanted to put an end to," Hope said. "There have been a lot of milestone wins that this particular team can take a lot of pride in."