‘Maple Missile’ and ‘Waffle House’ Set Records in IU’s 66-0 Rout Over Purdue

Written By: Ben Gillard (@benjgillard)

The Bucket is home, and there is only one way to celebrate: a Waffle House dinner with plenty of Maple Missile Syrup. The Hoosiers got their first win over Purdue since 2019 in emphatic fashion on Saturday, hanging 66 points on the Boilermakers. With this win, Indiana was able to both reclaim The Old Oaken Bucket and add some much-needed style points to their CFP resume. This was in large part thanks to the superb connection between Kurtis Rourke and Elijah Sarratt.

Following a disappointing loss to Ohio State last weekend, the Indiana offense needed to bounce back on Saturday against a struggling Boilermaker team. Bounce back the Hoosiers did, racking up 66 points and 582 yards of total offense, averaging 7.8 yards per play. When asked about the offensive success after the game, Head Coach Curt Cignetti said, “You know he [Rourke] was right on the button, so it was good to see that offense scoring points in bunches again.” 

Rourke was certainly “on the button” Saturday night. The 6th-year senior ended his first Bucket Game 23-31 with 349 yards and 6 TDs. With those 6 touchdown passes, Rourke tied Tre Roberson for Indiana’s single-game passing TD record. Speaking about this accomplishment after the game, Rourke said, “It’s a great honor; I’m glad I could be a part of the record books.” While Rourke is clearly pleased with this accomplishment, he is not letting it distract him from the Hoosiers' almost pathological need to get better. “It was really awesome to get back on schedule…it’s something that we’ve been preaching; we’ve been practicing hard and wanting to come out and get back to the offense that we’re used to, you know, balanced run balanced pass, so it was really nice to see, and hopefully it will be momentum carrying on into whatever’s next for us.” He said.

Two of Rourke’s six touchdowns came from the sure-handed receiver Elijah Sarratt. “Waffle House” lived up to his nickname on Saturday, as he was almost always open. Sarratt finished the day with 8 catches on 11 targets with 165 yards and 2 TDs. With this performance, Sarratt broke James Hardy’s record for most receiving yards in the Bucket Game. When asked about his performance after the game, Sarratt said, “I put in the work throughout the week, so I’m just glad I get to go out there and show it to everybody. I wanted to bounce back—had a couple of drops these past games, so I just wanted to bounce back this game, and I want to keep it up, keep it going for the next couple of weeks.”

Sarratt and Rourke’s comments echoed those of their head coach, who said that his team is “not satisfied; they’re not done yet.” There’s still a lot to shake out in terms of the CFP bracket, but one thing’s for sure: the Hoosiers still have at least one postseason game to play. There’s only one problem: Bloomington does not have a Waffle House to celebrate at. Take it from Waffle House himself after the game: “We need one here. If you’re listening, we need a Waffle House in Bloomington.”