For the second straight season, the Indiana Hoosiers finished the regular season at .500.
At first glance, that might not seem like much. To most college football programs, a two-year run like that would be considered mediocre at best. But for a program that has perennially underachieved throughout its history, it’s an unprecedented feat.
Indiana Hoosiers Make History in Old Oaken Bucket Win Over Purdue
This year’s 6-6 campaign culminated with a 26-24 win over Indiana’s bitter rival, the Purdue Boilermakers. Though the Hoosiers turned the ball over four times and trailed by five heading into the fourth quarter, they outscored Purdue 9-2 in the final stanza.
The IU defense, which has been one of the stories of college football due to its massive improvement from last year, held the Boilers to 267 yards of total offense. Purdue had been averaging 402.4 yards per game heading into Saturday’s clash.
Indiana ran the ball effectively against Purdue’s suspect rushing defense. They totaled 152 yards on the ground. Devine Redding led all Hoosiers with 99 rush yards and added a rushing touchdown.
Major Milestones Achieved
With the win, Indiana is now assured of going to a bowl game for the second consecutive year. That’s only happened twice before in school history, the last occurring in 1991 when IU made the Copper Bowl a year after appearing in the Peach Bowl. The Hoosiers best postseason run came between 1986-88, when they made three straight bowl appearances (1986: All-American Bowl, 1987: Peach Bowl, 1988: Liberty Bowl).
That wasn’t the only thing that hasn’t happened in a while to the Hoosier program. By defeating Purdue and Michigan State this year, IU currently has possession of both major rivalry trophies they play for, the Bucket as well as the Old Brass Spittoon. Only five other instances since the Spittoon was instituted in 1950 has that occurred, the last being in 2001.
Indiana also finished the season 4-5 in Big Ten play. Only once since 2000 has IU won at least four conference games, the last being the aforementioned 2001 campaign. The Hoosiers have won four Big Ten games in a season just 12 times since 1959.
But that’s not all. Today’s triumph over the Boilermakers marks the Hoosiers fourth win in a row over their in-state rival. Not since the Harry Truman administration has IU enjoyed a run of form like that over Purdue. That’s right, Indiana’s last four-game winning streak over Purdue began in 1944 and ended in 1947.
Only two other times has Indiana gone undefeated for as long of a period against the Boilermakers. The Hoosiers won four and tied two between 1916 and 1923. They also went 3-0-1 during a four-game stretch from 1905-1910.
Going Bowling
With their regular season now complete, the Cream and Crimson now await their bowl destination. That will become clearer on Sunday, December 4th when all 40 bowl matchups are announced. Possibilities include the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit, MI, the Foster Farms Bowl in Santa Clara, CA and the Heart of Dallas Bowl in Dallas, TX.
