BLOOMINGTON — Purdue could have used one of the white towels IU football has started handing out before games.
The No. 10 Hoosiers (11-1, 8-1 Big Ten) made a statement to the College Football Playoff committee with a 66-0 win over the Boilermakers (1-11, 0-9).
It was IU’s most lopsided win ever in the series — the previous record was the team’s 52-7 win in 1988 — and first shutout in the series since 1945 (26-0). It was the first shutout of any kind in the series since Purdue won 40-0 on Nov. 21, 1970.
Indiana ended a three-game losing streak in the Old Oaken Bucket game and won both its trophy games for only the sixth time in program history.
Starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who came out of the game for the final 10 minutes, had 349 passing yards with a career-high six passing touchdowns while the defense forced five turnovers and held Purdue to less than 100 yards of total offense. It was the first time the Hoosiersheld an FBS opponent to less than 100 yards since a 2019 game against Rutgers (75 yards allowed).
IU football’s defense smelled blood in the water
Purdue’s only drive that crossed midfield stalled toward the end of the second quarter when Hudson Card threw an incompletion on third down. Card had no choice — he was under fire from all directions and still managed to take a seismic hit. Indiana defensive end Mikail Kamara hit him in the back while linebacker Jailin Walker came over the top.
It was representative of how the entire game went for Purdue’s offense.
Wherever the Boilermakers went with the ball, there were multiple IU defenders there ready to make a play. Their longest gain was a 16-yard completion that was nearly picked off.
Card was replaced by Ryan Browne coming out of halftime, and he fumbled his first snap at his own 19-yard line. Purdue’s offense didn’t have a first down on the first five series he was in the game and he didn’t complete a single pass during that stretch.
Purdue had more negative plays (four) in the third quarter than ones that gained positive yardage. The Boilermakers finished the quarter with minus-6 yards.
IU football’s offense breaks out of slump in record-setting fashion
Purdue corner Nyland Green picked the wrong moment to take his eyes of Elijah Sarratt.
With IU backed up at its own end zone, Sarratt slipped through the Boilermakers’ secondary and there wasn’t a safety back deep. Rourke immediately identified the miscue and tossed a pretty deep ball to his favorite target. Sarratt won a foot race down the sidelines for the 84-yard score to break the game open. It was the fifth longest pass play in IU history and the 99-yard drive tied a program record.
It was a welcome sight for Indiana fans worried about a Hoosiers passing attack that was in the midst of a slump.
Some pass protection issues popped up early, but they didn’t last and Rourke got all the time in the pocket he needed to pick Purdue apart. He had one of his better halves of the season with 219 passing yards (14 of 17) and two touchdowns then outdid himself in the second half with four more touchdown passes, all to different targets.
Indiana’s coaching staff helped the offense get into an early rhythm by busting out some new wrinkles in the run game.
On IU’s second possession, wide receivers Myles Price (22 yard gains) and Ke’Shawn Williams (13 yard gain) had long runs on an identical end-around off the right side of the line. Justice Ellison put the Hoosiers up 7-0 with a 2-yard touchdown out of the wildcat formation.
It was only the second time all season he had taken a direct snap.
