Why a bucket?

It's hard to believe that one of the most famous trophies in college football came from a farm in southern Indiana.\nBut that farm, between Kent and Hanover, Ind., is where the Old Oaken Bucket called home before becoming the winner's prize in the IU-Purdue football game. The bucket's inaugural appearance came in the 1925 game, which ended in a 0-0 tie.\nPurdue's Fritz Ernst and IU's Wiley J. Huddle were given the job of finding the trophy. The pair found what they were looking for at the old Bruner Farm. \nThe Bruner family settled the area in the 1840s, meaning the bucket you'll see at Memorial Stadium Saturday is over a century old.\nWhen the pair found it, the bucket wasn't in the best condition. Repair\nwork was necessary in cleaning moss and mold off and bolstering areas showing signs of decay.\nWhy were they looking for a bucket as a trophy anyway, you ask?\nIn 1925, the IU and Purdue Alumni Clubs of Chicago met. The schools had been playing each other since 1891 and Dr. Clarence Jones felt the creation of a football trophy was in order.\nAt another meeting, Jones and Purdue's Russel Gray recommended an old oaken bucket because it was the most typical Hoosier form of trophy. They also said the bucket should come from a well in Indiana and a chain of bronze "I" and "P" letters be provided. The winning team's responsibility each year was to attach their respective block letter to the chain.\nSeventy-eight years later, the bucket holds more "P's" than "I's" as the Boilermakers lead the all-time series 64-35-6.\nHeisman runner-up Anthony Thompson went 2-2 against Purdue from 1986 to his runner-up year in 1989. Thompson said he'll never forget the battles with the Boilermakers.\n"It's Purdue; it's state bragging rights," Thompson said. "The stands are full. If you're doing well you want to finish with a bang. Purdue is a rival that goes deeper than records. You can throw the records out the window. It's a nasty rivalry. If it's a blowout, you don't stop."\nThompson remembers his last game at IU in 1989. The Hoosiers were 5-5 and needed to beat Purdue to go to a bowl game.\nWith time winding down, IU's Scott Bonell lined up for a chip shot field goal to win the game. Thompson said he and his teammates were sure that Bonell would make it and they would go on to a bowl game.\nBonell missed and Thompson's Heisman campaign was cut short as well.\n"That's one of my not-so-fond memories of Purdue," Thompson said.\nIU senior Joe Gonzalez only has one fond memory of beating the Boilermakers and capturing the Bucket. That came in Gonzalez's sophomore year when the former Hoosier Antwaan Randle-El lead IU past Purdue 13-7 in a monsoon in Bloomington.\nGonzalez said he'll be ready to put on the cream and crimson one more time to battle the Boilermakers for the Bucket.\n"This Purdue game is always a special game no matter what, if we had no wins this year or if we were 11-0 right now," Gonzalez said. "This is our trophy game. A rivalry is a game you can always get up for, no matter what. And plus it means a little extra for me because it's my last game."\nLast season against Purdue, IU never threatened as the Boilers rolled to a 34-10 victory, adding another "P" to the chain. That game was coach Gerry DiNardo's first Bucket matchup.\nDiNardo said that how you prepare yourself mentally and physically should change for a rivalry game.\nFormer IU coach Bill Mallory certainly changed his approach. Thompson said Mallory, who went 7-6 against Purdue as coach from 1984 to 1996, would wear a Purdue cap all week long and would talk during practice about how Purdue wanted to take possession of Memorial Stadium.\nIn the end, it was all for that Old Oaken Bucket that came from the Bruner farm in southern Indiana. If IU plays its spoiler role well, the Bucket might be coming back to Bloomington.\n"This could be IU's bowl game," Thompson said. "I'm sure some of those kids are thinking that now that IU could spoil their season."\n-- Contact staff writer John Rodgers at