Hoosiers Make History Again, Pound Purdue 56-3 to Finish Regular Season Unbeaten For First Time Ever

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Ross-Ade Stadium was filled with red-clad Indiana fans on Friday night, and they all came to see one thing — history.

And boy, did they get an eye full.

The Hoosiers crushed their arch-rivals 56-3, embarrassing the Purdue Boilermakers for the second straight year to retain the Old Oaken Bucket. IU won 66-0 a year ago in Bloomington, and have outscored the Boilermakers 112-3 in the past two years.

It was a historic night for the Hoosiers. They finished the regular season 12-0. The 12 wins is the most in school history, surpassing last year's mark of 11. It was the first undefeated season in school history as well, dating all the way back to 1887.

The win also clinched a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game next Saturday in Indianapolis. It's the first time the Hoosiers have earned their way there as well.

It's been a great season … but it's not over yet. 

“It’s been fun. Let’s have more fun,” said Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, who had authored one of the most amazing turnarounds in college football history. Indiana went 3-24 in Big Ten games under Tom Allen from 2021 to 2023. Cignetti has gone 17-1 and has the Hoosiers on the cusp of their first Big Ten championship since 1967. “We wanted to walk out of this game with an exclamation point, and not a question mark, and we did.

“We're the first team in Indiana history to go 12-0 in the regular season,” Cignetti said. “That’s absolute. Whatever happens from here, this team will always be the first team. There’s a lot of celebrating going on in that locker room right now. They’re having a good old time.

"They understand, it’s a great night for Indiana, but they also understand they get to enjoy it for 24 hours.''

Winning the Old Oaken Bucket is a big deal in Indiana, and the year-long bragging rights that come with it means a lot, too. The two most lopsided Indiana wins in the 100 years of the Bucket battles have come in the past two years. Cignetti is 2-0 now in Bucket games, and became the first Hoosiers coach since Bo McMillin in 1934-35 to win his first two matchups against Purdue.

The Hoosiers very much own this rivalry right now. Purdue finished winless in the Big Ten (0-9) for the second year in a row. That's never happened before at Purdue in the 80-plus years of Big Ten football, going winless in league play two years in a row.

The Hoosiers got off to a bit of a slow start, leading just 7-3 at the end of the first quarter. But then they focused on running the ball, and Purdue had no answer. The Hoosiers rolled up 355 yards on the ground and four different players had runs of 20 yards or more. Roman Hemby scored on an 81-yard run and backup quarterback Alberto Mendoza had a 58-yard run after the bench was emptied late in the third quarter of the rout.

Heisman Trophy candidate Fernando Mendoza had a pedestrian night, throwing for just 117 yards on 8-of-15 passing. He was inaccurate early, but once the running game kicked in, it didn't matter. The outcome was never in doubt.

Next up for Indiana is the Big Ten title game at 8 p.m. ET next Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Ohio State is the likely opponent, but they have to beat Michigan on Saturday to get in.

If Michigan wins, then the outcome of the Oregon-Washington game will matter. If the Ducks win, they'll get a rematch with Indiana — their only loss all year — but if they lose in Seattle, then Michigan would go. Indiana and Michigan did not play this year, but the Hoosiers won last November in Cignetti's first season.

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