Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

The Purdue Boilermakers and Indiana Hoosiers clashed for the Old Oaken Bucket in rainy and windy West Lafayette and played a classic that will be remembered by fans for a long time. Both teams entered Saturday’s regular-season finale beleaguered by injuries. Purdue was without a couple of quarterbacks, defensive tackle Lorenzo Neal and playmaker Rondale Moore. IU was without Michael Penix, Donavan Hale, their first and second-string left tackles and running back Stevie Scott.

Purdue began with the ball and quickly moved into scoring territory. Aidan O’Connell made forced it into the end zone and the Indiana defense made him pay as Jamar Johnson intercepted his pass and returned it to the nine-yard line. The Hoosiers laid out their offensive game plan plainly, running it ten times on a 12-play drive that culminated in an eight-yard touchdown pass from Peyton Ramsey to Whop Philyor to go ahead 7-0. Purdue’s offense took the field for their second drive and were faced with a fourth and short that was stopped by a Jerome Johnson sack. The Hoosiers took advantage of the good field position, marching 47 yards for a score. Peyton Ramsey snuck in on fourth and goal from the one-yard line. Behind 14-0, Purdue’s offense got on track. Zander Horvath broke off a pair of long runs and the Boilermakers got inside the ten-yard line. IU’s defense stiffened and held the home team to a short field goal that made it 14-3. Indiana had to punt on their next possession and Purdue took over at the 25-yard line. O’Connell connected with Brycen Hopkins on a slant route and a defensive busted coverage allowed him to gallop 72 yards to make it 14-10. IU’s offense responded nicely, going 75 yards and Sampson James churned out a three-yard touchdown to re-establish an 11-point lead. Purdue was unable to do anything on offense and IU had good field position, taking over at the 44-yard line. Whop Philyor got the ball inside the 20 but the Hoosiers were moved back and Logan Justus missed a 40-yard field goal. Purdue’s David Bell made an outstanding catch to move Purdue into field goal position but JD Dellinger missed a 39-yard kick as time expired in the first half.

Indiana got the ball first in the second half but were forced to punt and Purdue took over at the 20. Horvath had the ball punched out and Tiawan Mullen came out of the pile with it, giving IU the ball at the Purdue 35. The IU offense again failed to take advantage of good field position, missing another field goal. Purdue moved the ball well but they were stuffed on fourth and inches and Peyton Ramsey connected with Whop Philyor for a 37-yard score to go ahead 28-10. Purdue refused to go away and Indiana failed to put them away. The Boilermakers very quickly moved down the field and Horvath pounded it in for a one-yard score to cut the margin back to 11. IU began the fourth quarter with a long catch by Nick Westbrook to get into scoring position but they again failed to capitalize as Logan Justus missed his third kick of the afternoon. Purdue went eighty yards and Zander Horvath scored again from one yard out. The Boilers missed the two-point conversion and it was 28-23. Indiana moved into scoring territory with a nice run by Peyton Ramsey but the drive stalled and IU was forced to attempt a 36-yard field goal. Redshirt freshman Charles Campbell was given the opportunity and he hit the kick but IU was called for a delay of game penalty. Campbell then attempted the 41-yard kick and nailed it again to give Indiana an eight-point advantage at 31-23. Purdue came right back at the Hoosiers as David Bell made a terrific play to haul in a touchdown. Purdue went for two and tied the game on a wide-open pass to Brycen Hopkins. IU took over at the 43-yard line with 2:41 to play but failed to get a single yard and had to punt the ball back to Purdue. Haydon Whitehead pinned Purdue at the two-yard line with 2:11 to play. Purdue was faced with a third and ten but Brycen Hopkins converted. Micah McFadden was called for a roughing the passer penalty. Purdue got a first down and moved into IU territory with less than 30 seconds remaining. The Boilermakers failed to convert a fourth and seven and the bitter rivals headed to overtime. Purdue won the toss and chose to play defense first. IU converted a third and long to get just outside of the ten-yard line and then Ramsey found Nick Westbrook in the front corner of the end zone on third and 13. IU went ahead 38-31. Purdue nearly faced fourth and 14 but a miracle bounce off the knee of Brycen Hopkins ended in the hands of Jackson Anthrop for a first down. On fourth and goal from the six-yard line, O’Connell hit Brycen Hopkins for a touchdown to tie the game. Purdue’s second possession was not as chaotic as they did not pick up a first down and JD Dellinger connected on a 34-yard field goal to go ahead 41-38. IU’s offense took the field knowing they could win the game with a touchdown. Ronnie Walker got a first down on a screen pass but they faced a third and ten. Peyton Hendershot caught a slant pass and charged to the one-yard line. IU rushed to the line and Peyton Ramsey dove into the end zone from one-yard out to secure a 44-41 victory and bring the Old Oaken Bucket back to Bloomington. The victory moved the Hoosiers to 8-4 and gave them a 5-4 finish in the Big Ten. Both of those happened for the first time in a season since 1993. Indiana will now wait to find out what bowl game they will be selected for and a win in the postseason contest will give them a school record nine victories. Peyton Ramsey threw for 337 yards with three touchdowns and added 42 yards rushing with a pair of touchdowns. Sampson James had 118 rushing yards with a touchdown before leaving the game with an injury. Purdue was led by Aidan O’Connell threw for 408 yards and Zander Horvath 164 yards with two touchdowns. The two squads combined for more than 1,100 yards in a roller coaster game that saw both defenses struggle to consistently get stops. None of that will matter to Indiana as they found a way to escape West Lafayette with the coveted Bucket and their eighth victory in a season that will not be forgotten.

The Huddle

Hoosiers Take Back the Bucket in Classic Clash

Hoosier Huddle