Short of actually playing for Purdue, there can't be much worse than having to go to West Lafayette to compete.
If you then sandwich the game between contests against Michigan State and Penn State, like Michigan is doing this weekend, you have a somewhat fearful football coach.
"I'm extremely worried about Purdue because of that very reason," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said about having to play the Boilermakers after an emotional win over the Spartans last Saturday.
Purdue enters the game with a 2-6 overall record and only one victory in the Big Ten. Purdue's only conference victory came against Minnesota, a team Michigan beat 44-10 two weeks ago.
The Boilermakers did, however, jump out to a 14-0 lead over Ohio State on Oct. 19, before eventually losing, 42-14. Still, Carr was impressed by what he saw on the tape of that game.
"If you watch the tape of the Ohio State-Purdue game, like I did, you wouldn't think they have the record they do," Carr said.
Now, due to the sudden resignation of Purdue coach Jim Colletto, Michigan has no idea what to expect Saturday.
But no matter what Carr tells his team about the Boilermakers, he knows it is going to be tough to re-focus them after last Saturday's, 45-29, win over the Spartans.
It was a game many thought Michigan State was more than capable of winning. A Michigan loss would have eliminated them from the Big Ten race.
"Certainly I'm glad we won, but you wouldn't want to play that game more than once a year," Carr said. "It's draining for the players and the coaches."
Last season, on a sloppy field in freezing rain and snow, Michigan fought to a 5-0 victory over Purdue.
Tight end Mark Campbell said Carr has already reminded the Wolverines of how close last year's game was, referring to Purdue as the "Spoilermakers."
And a Purdue victory would spoil a lot for the Wolverines. Thanks to Penn State's victory over Northwestern last Saturday, Michigan's bowl destiny is in its own hands.
If the Wolverines win their remaining three games, they will go to the Rose Bowl.
The players know there is no room for another slip up, but it would still be tempting to stare past the Boilermakers and focus on upcoming games against Penn State and Ohio State.
"We're looking at Purdue as one of three teams we have to beat to go to the Rose Bowl," tight end Jerame Tuman said.
Carr, ever the coach, thinks Michigan needs to do more than simply come out on top of the game Saturday. He also believes the Wolverines are in the right mind-set for the game.
"I think we have a lot of respect for Purdue, and I think that's where it has to begin," Carr said. "Nothing positive can happen for us if we don't go down to Purdue and win, and we have to improve, not just win."
Go Lions?: Michigan may play Penn State in two weeks, but the Wolverines were definitely pulling for the Nittany Lions to beat Northwestern last weekend.
"We were as excited as anyone to see Penn State beat Northwestern," Tuman said.
Tuman watched the end of the game with Campbell and quarterback Scott Dreisbach.
"I watched that at home with a big smile on face," Campbell said. "Yeah, we were having a good time."
Carr also caught the end of the game, but said he didn't send a thank you telegram to Penn State coach Joe Paterno.
A little too personal: One thing Carr wasn't happy about following Saturday's win was the number of penalties Michigan took.
He was especially unhappy with the personal foul assessed to defensive end Glen Steele, who abruptly put a halt to Michigan State running back Sedrick Irvin while Irvin was running into the Michigan bench.
After watching the replay "10 or 15 times," Carr said he would have flagged Steele as well, but he didn't think it was a flagrant foul. He also wasn't sure Steele had much room to get out of Irvin's way if he had wanted to.
"There's no place to go on that sideline," Carr said. "It's a scary thing as a coach, because we don't have any athletic ability any more."
Stan's the man: Both Tuman and Campbell credited one person with the increased role of the tight ends on this year's team - new quarterback coach Stan Parrish.
Parrish came to Michigan from Rutgers where the tight ends were also an integral part of the offense.
"We knew with coach Parrish coming in a lot of things were going to change at the tight end position," Campbell said.
Double take: Campbell and Tuman have both been vocal in their support for Dreisbach this season.
But Campbell couldn't resist taking one tiny shot at the quarterback for one play Saturday.
With 1:28 left in the first quarter, Dreisbach had a pass batted back to him. He caught the ball, and then attempted to hit receiver Tai Streets down-field. Dreisbach was penalized on the play for throwing two forward passes on one play.
"I don't know, he didn't look very athletic on that, did he?" Campbell joked.
Chris Howard and the Wolverines will try to avoid a letdown against the Boilermakers, who will have to deal with the stepdown of coach Jim Colletto.
MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily