BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The last time an Old Oaken Bucket game played in Bloomington had the kind of national significance Saturday’s 7 p.m. ET game will have was in 1967 when a Rose Bowl bid was on the line in the annual Indiana-Purdue tussle.
However, there have been games played at Memorial Stadium since then that may not have had the same national significance, but had important ramifications in the moment.
In 2016, Indiana had to beat Purdue in its home finale to become bowl eligible. The Hoosiers edged the Boilermakers 26-24 in what turned out to be Kevin Wilson’s swan song as Indiana coach.
In 2007, Indiana had reached the bowl eligibility threshold of six wins by the time of the Old Oaken Bucket game, but with fewer bowls at the time, and a surplus of bowl eligible teams, six wins didn’t guarantee a bid. Indiana needed a seventh win and just barely got it as an Austin Starr field goal with 30 seconds left propelled the Hoosiers past No. 23 Purdue 27-24.
In 1991, a 24-22 win over Purdue helped clinch a Copper Bowl bid. Conversely, a 15-14 loss to Purdue in 1989 denied Indiana a winning season and might have dealt a mortal blow to Anthony Thompson’s Heisman Trophy chances.
What’s the common theme in all of these games? They were all close.
The mission on Saturday will be for Indiana to avoid a loss, but also to prevent a close game against the Boilermakers. Indiana’s tenuous position just inside the College Football Playoff bubble would make a close win a possible Pyrrhic victory as the CFP is concerned.
