IU to play rival Purdue for Bucket

In a 17-minute span Nov. 14, the Old Oaken Bucket game between Purdue and IU was reduced to a play-for-pride contest.

That frame provided the difference between the time the scoreboard read “0:00” at the Penn State-IU game and, 17 minutes later, the Purdue-Michigan State game – both ending any bowl chances for the rival schools.

But the 4-7 record for both teams is not the only thing they have in common as they prepare for the game at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in Bloomington. Playing for pride is simply the most obvious.

When the season ends, IU and Purdue might look back on their 2009 campaigns and see several missed opportunities. The Hoosiers had leads in three Big Ten road games against then-ranked teams but squandered their advantage in each game.

Similarly, Purdue gave itself plenty of opportunities but failed to capitalize.

In September, the Boilermakers had a 24-17 lead on now-No. 11 Oregon but lost 38-36. Purdue also lost close games against Notre Dame and Michigan State.

IU senior linebacker Justin Carrington chuckled when asked about the similarities between the schools.

“They’ve had a couple tough losses,” he said. “And we’ve definitely had our fair share of tough losses this year.”

Neither team will enjoy watching film from games against Northwestern–Purdue relinquished an 18-point lead while IU gave up a 25-point lead as the Wildcats won both games.

The schedule similarities continue, as both schools had one especially awful outing: Purdue lost 37-0 against Wisconsin three weeks ago, while IU fell 47-7 against Virginia midway through the season.

But Carrington said the past is behind both teams.

“We’ve got so many seniors for us,” Carrington said. “And it’s Indiana versus Purdue – you don’t really need to say much more.”

On Saturday, each team will have 21 seniors playing in their final game.

IU coach Bill Lynch said the senior-laden squads create a heightened intensity for the rivalry contest.

“I always see a rivalry game as a game for seniors,” Lynch said. “There are a lot of seniors playing their last college football game on Saturday. The last game is the one you remember.”

Even statistically, Purdue and IU have similarities. The opposing quarterbacks, Purdue’s Joey Elliott and IU junior Ben Chappell, rank first and second in the Big Ten, respectively, in passing yards per game.

With that, the Boilermakers and Hoosiers each have a key wide receiver. Purdue’s Keith Smith is the only Big Ten receiver with more than 1,000 yards and IU sophomore Tandon Doss is 89 yards away from joining Smith in that category.

Defensively, each team has a glaring weakness. Purdue allows a conference-worst 171.4 rushing yards per game, while IU’s pass defense ranks last, allowing 245.3 yards.

But when it comes to the Old Oaken Bucket game, sometimes statistics don’t matter. Chappell said playing for pride is the best the team can do.

“This is our biggest prize,” Chappell said. “We’re going after it.”