INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Purdue Boilermakers don’t want to repeat last season. Second-year head coach Ryan Walters added 37 transfers to make sure it doesn’t.

“I know 4-and-8 sucks, and I don’t want to ever go through that again,” Walters said on Tuesday at Big Ten Media Days. “I just feel like guys are operating the way you’re supposed to operate when you’re trying to compete for a championship.”

Both Walters and senior quarterback Hudson Card are feeling more comfortable as they both enter their second seasons in West Lafayette.

“Some of the best teams that I’ve been a part of, you have that brotherhood in the locker room and you play for one another,” Card said. “I really do believe that goes a far way. This is one of the tightest locker rooms that I’ve been a part of, so usually that’s a good recipe.”

It will be an uphill climb to get Purdue back to Lucas Oil Stadium for the Big Ten Championship. The Boilers ranked dead last by the media Monday in the newly expanded 18-team conference. Walters says that’s just more motivation for his team.

“You go 4-and-8, you’re going to have a chip on your shoulder. You’re going to feel like you have something to prove,” Walters said. “Specifically with the guys that we added from the portal, they have a chip on their shoulder as well. They feel like they have something to prove. You get those types of guys together that love ball and feel like they need to earn respect, coupled with 18 out of 18, that just adds fuel to the fire.”

“We just try to keep a chip on our shoulder, and try to put our head down and work,” senior linebacker Kydran Jenkins said. “After we break it down, we’re like ‘We. Work.’ That’s the mentality we’re going to use going into the season.”

Purdue has the 11th toughest schedule in nation this year — something Walters sees as a positive.

“With difficulty or with difficult scenarios comes opportunities to do something special and to leave a legacy. I think we have an opportunity to do just that,” Walters said.

The Boilers kick off the season against Indiana State August 31st. For Purdue’s full schedule, click here.