One team gets a bucket. The other will finish at the bottom of the Big Ten barrel.
Disappointing seasons collide in the latest edition of the battle for the Old Oaken Bucket.
Here’s everything you need to know for Indiana’s final game of the season, and 125th all-time meeting with Purdue.
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INDIANA (3-8) at PURDUE (3-8)
- Kickoff: Noon Eastern, Saturday
- Location: West Lafayette, Ind., Ross-Ade Stadium (61,442; natural grass)
- Television: BTN — Chris Vosters (pbp), Brock Vereen (analyst), Megan McKeown (sideline)
- Stream: Fox Sports
- Radio: IU Football radio network
- Odds: Purdue is a 4.5-point favorite
- Weather at kickoff: 36 degrees, mostly cloudy, wind 3 mph, 0% chance of precipitation.
- Series: Purdue leads 76-42-6
- The Coaches:
- Tom Allen is in his seventh year as the head coach at IU. He holds a 33-48 record.
- Ryan Walters is in his first season as head coach at Purdue. This is his first head coaching position.
Whatever it takes. pic.twitter.com/zM5uosO9NN
— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) November 25, 2023
The Origins of the Old Oaken Bucket
The symbol of football supremacy between Indiana and Purdue, the Old Oaken Bucket, has become one of the nation’s most recognized and famed trophies in its 98 years of spirited rivalry. Both institutions had been meeting on the football field since 1891 when the Indiana and Purdue Alumni Clubs of Chicago held a joint meeting in 1925 to “discuss the possibility of undertaking a worthy joint enterprise on behalf of the two schools.”
Dr. Clarence Jones proposed the creation of a traditional football trophy to go to the winner of the annual clash. Dr. Jones and Russel Gray of Purdue were appointed to recommend a suitable trophy by J. Frank Lindsey, (Indiana, class of 1913), who was elected chairman of the joint committee. At a later meeting they recommended an old oaken bucket as the most typical Hoosier form of trophy, that the bucket should be taken from some well in Indiana, and that a chain to be made of bronze block “I” and “P” letters should be provided for the bucket.
The school winning the traditional football game each year should have possession of the ‘Old Oaken Bucket’ until the next game and should attach the block letter representing the winning school to the bail with the score engraved on the latter link.” Fritz Ernst of Purdue and Wiley J. Huddle of Indiana were given the task of finding the bucket. They located it on the old Bruner Farm between Kent and Hanover in southern Indiana. The region had been settled by the Bruner family in the 1840s, which makes today’s bucket around 180 years of age. Excellent repair work put the bucket, moss and mold-covered with some staves showing signs of decay, into good shape for its initial appearance, which ended in a 0-0 tie in 1925.
While Saturday’s game will be the 125th meeting between the Boilermakers and Hoosiers, this year’s matchup will be just the 98th edition of the Old Oaken Bucket Game. Purdue holds a 62-32-3 advantage when the Bucket is up for grabs.
IU Football Week 13 Coverage:
- Coach Speak: Purdue coach Ryan Walters on IU football, Tom Allen on the Boilermakers
- A look back at ten memorable IU football wins over Purdue
- IU football vs. Purdue — Carey, Guerrieri, Sorsby, Casey and Katic Q&A
- Watch: Tom Allen final Purdue media Q&A
- Tom Allen on NIL: Change or get run over
- Analyzing Rod Carey’s agreement with IU after six games as offensive coordinator
- Watch: IU football coach Tom Allen Monday Q&A — Purdue week
TALE OF THE TAPE
THE COMPLETE BIG TEN WEEK 13 SLATE
Away | Home | Result | Location | Links | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Iowa13
|
Nebraska10
|
Final
|
Lincoln, Neb. (Conf.) | Box Score | |
Final
|
East Lansing, MI (Conf.) | Box Score |
Away | Home | Time | Location | Links | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
3:30
|
Piscataway, NJ (Conf.) | TV: Big Ten Network Stats Radio: WFAN 660-AM/101.9-FM, FOX Sports New Jersey 93.5-FM/1450-AM, SiriusXM 160 or 201, SXM app, Audacy app, Scarlet Knights app Audio Video | |||
12:00 P.M.
|
West Lafayette, Ind. (Conf.) | TV: BTN Stats Radio: WAZY (96.5 FM) | |||
12:00 P.M.
|
Ann Arbor, Mich. (Conf.) | TV: Fox Stats Video | |||
3:30 P.M.
|
Huntington Bank Stadium (Conf.) | TV: FS1 Stats Radio: Badger Sports Network Video | |||
3:30 P.M.
|
Champaign, Ill. (Conf.) | TV: Big Ten Network Stats Radio: WGN Radio 720 Video |
PURDUE RESULTS
9/2/2023 | Fresno State | West Lafayette, Ind. | L 35-39 |
9/9/2023 | at Virginia Tech | Blacksburg, Va. | W 24-17 |
9/16/2023 | Syracuse | West Lafayette, Ind. | L 20-35 |
9/22/2023 | Wisconsin | West Lafayette, IN | L 17-38 |
9/30/2023 | Illinois | West Lafayette, Ind. | W 44-19 |
10/7/2023 | at Iowa | Iowa City, Iowa | L 14-20 |
10/14/2023 | Ohio State | West Lafayette, Ind. | L 7-41 |
10/28/2023 | at Nebraska | Lincoln, Neb. | L 14-31 |
11/4/2023 | at Michigan | Ann Arbor, Mich. | L 13-41 |
11/11/2023 | Minnesota | West Lafayette, Ind. | W 49-30 |
11/18/2023 | at Northwestern | Evanston, IL | L 15-23 |
PURDUE LEADERS
PASSING
Hudson Card
Season – 194-331, 2,112 Yds, 12 TDs, 8 INTs
Last Game – Did not play
RUSHING
Devin Mockobee
Season – 154 Att, 769 Yds, 6 TDs
Last Game – 12 Att, 54 Yds, 1 TD
RECEIVING
Deion Burks
Season – 40 Rec, 542 Yds, 7 TDs
Last Game – 4 Rec, 13 Yds
TACKLES
Dillon Thieneman
Season – 98 Total, 66 Solo, 4 INTs, 1 TFL, 2 FF
Last Game – 6 Solo, 10 Total, 1 INT
PURDUE NOTES
• Purdue has won the past two meetings, a 30-16 win in Bloomington last season and 44-7 home victory in 2021.
• Purdue has rushed for more than 300 yards in each of the past two games, the only team in the Big Ten with multiple 300-yard rushing games this season.
• The Boilermakers average a Big Ten-best 185.4 rushing yards in conference contests.
• Dillon Thieneman, a consensus Midseason Freshman All-American and Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award semifinalist, is the nation’s leading freshman in tackles (98), solo tackles (66), interceptions (4) and forced fumbles (2) As Purdue’s leading tackler, Thieneman ranks fourth nationally with 6.0 solo tackles per game. Thieneman needs just two solo tackles to set a new Purdue freshman record, passing College Football Hall of Famer Rod Woodson (67 in 1983).
• Outside linebackers Kydran Jenkins and Nic Scourton have more sacks and TFLs than any other duo in the Big Ten. Scourton leads the conference with 8.0 sacks, while Jenkins ranks second with 7.5. As a team, Purdue’s 33 sacks are the most in a season since 2010 and rank fifth for a single season in school history.
• Scourton and starting QB Hudson Card were both out last week and will be key names to watch on the pregame injury report.
• Devin Mockobee (583 yards) and Tyrone Tracy Jr. (576 yards) are the only duo in the Big Ten to rush for at least 500 yards apiece in conference games. Tracy leads the Big Ten in rushing yards per game (82.3) and yards per carry (6.8) in Big Ten contests.
PREDICTIONS
If Purdue starting QB Hudson Card were to miss a second straight game that could be a game-changer. But that’s not expected, nor is an IU win. The Hoosiers have shown that they can compete with teams better than Purdue. But they’ve also shown they can lose to bad teams like Purdue.
TDH PREDICTION: PURDUE 27 INDIANA 21
ESPN SP+ (Computer) Purdue 26 Indiana 23
ESPN FPI (Computer): Indiana has a 39 percent chance to win
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