It’s do-or-die time for the ISU Men’s Rugby Club. After a hard 26-0 loss to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point last Saturday, the club heads to West Lafayette, Ind., this weekend to play Purdue University, the No. 1 team in the Midwest.

Head coach and Daily columnist Jon Crosbie said he thinks Iowa State can come out with a win against the Boilermakers.

“If the team believes they can beat Purdue, then they can,” Crosbie said. “A No. 1 team obviously demands a bit of respect, but there is no reason our guys can’t go upset their guys if we play mistake-free, hard rugby.”

Crosbie said this task will not be easy, but, if the team plays to its capabilities, then it is not impossible. In a similar situation last year, the rugby club was playing then-No. 1 The Ohio State University, and led most of the game before Ohio State eventually came back to win.

“It just goes to show that if we play a mistake-free game that we are totally capable of beating a good team,” Crosbie said.

There is a lot at stake this weekend, which may influence the performance of the team.

Brian Twedt, senior in agronomy, said if Iowa State loses to Purdue, then the team is out of any type of playoffs.

Twedt said the teams are grouped into pools of three. Iowa State is matched with UW-Stevens Point and Purdue. Since Iowa State lost to UW-Stevens Point, it needs to beat Purdue in order to force a three-way tie since Purdue beat UW-Stevens Point.

“If we beat Purdue it will go to a points system to enter the playoffs based on how many points each team scored throughout the season,” Twedt said. “If we lose, we go to [Division II], and we are not guaranteed a spot in their playoffs unless our record is better than the D-2 teams in the pool.”

Twedt said pool play is a new system and is very confusing. What’s clear is that if the team loses to Purdue, there will be no chance of making either playoff.

Mark Bokhoven, club president, said the team needs to learn from the mistakes of last weekend.

“Against Stevens Point, we came out hard, but we had too many mental breakdowns and penalties,” Bokhoven said. “Basic fundamentals hurt us a lot.”

Injuries also hurt the team last weekend, Crosbie said.

Jim McBreen, senior in electrical engineering, suffered a concussion last weekend, forcing Bokhoven to play out of his normal position. With the return of Dan Brown, who had been out all season with a hip flexor injury, Bokhoven will be able to play in his normal position of loose forward.

“At his forward position, Bokhoven is around the ball quite a bit and very dangerous,” Crosbie said. “He has a good physical presence and plays very smart, which is a necessity.”

Bokhoven said Purdue is a big, physical team that plays well fundamentally. He said if the team plays with no penalties or mental breakdowns, he believes it could win.

“We just need to stay focused and have a good week of practice,” Bokhoven said. “We need to practice basic drills and techniques and play within our capabilities. Last week there were too many players trying to do more than they were capable of.”