Purdue Dismantles Hoosiers to Win Old Oaken Bucket

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

The outcome of the Old Oaken Bucket game in West Lafayette was never really in doubt as Purdue (8-4) rolled to a 44-7 victory to end IU’s 2021 season in the same fashion it was carried out from the beginning. The loss drops IU to 2-10 on the year and the Hoosiers finished winless in the Big Ten. For a season that began with great expectations, it was a miserable outcome that leaves Tom Allen’s programs with a lot more questions than answers.

The game began with a long drive from the Boilermakers as Jackson Anthrop caught a pair of passes for first downs and Zander Horvath capped off the 13-play drive with a short touchdown to make it 7-0. IU started walk-on quarterback Grant Gremel and the former Noblesville High School player had a nice opening possession, moving the ball well and setting up a short touchdown run from Donaven McCulley to tie the game. Purdue moved the ball across midfield quickly but a sack from Marcelino McCrary-Ball halted their drive and gave possession back to Indiana. As has been the case nearly all season, IU’s offense completely stalled after their opening series. They went three and out and gave Purdue excellent field position. Jaylin Williams intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown but the play was called back for a pass interference penalty on Raheem Layne. The Boilers took advantage and on the very next play Aidan O’Connell found a wide open Paul Piperi for the go-ahead touchdown. Indiana again went three and out and Purdue moved the ball into scoring territory before the IU defense stiffened and forced a field goal from Mitchell Fineran that made it 17-7. The Hoosiers got one first down on a run from Davion Ervin-Poindexter but had to punt after a personal foul penalty that resulted in third and 23. Purdue went three and out thanks to nice run defense from IU’s defense and the Hoosiers got the ball back before halftime. Indiana found a bit of success in the final drive of the half, getting into scoring territory with a nice play from Peyton Hendershot and a completion to Miles Marshall that set up a 40 yard field goal attempt for Charles Campbell. Even IU’s normally reliable kicker has fallen apart though as Campbell missed the attempt and the score remained 17-7 at the half.

IU had the ball first in the second half but quickly went three and out. Another poor punt from James Evans gave the Boilermakers the ball at the 49-yard line. Four plays later, Jackson Anthrop caught a touchdown pass from Aidan O’Connell to put the game completely out of reach for the hapless Hoosiers. IU’s David Holloman got a first down but the offense went nowhere after that. The Boilermakers got another touchdown as TJ Sheffield caught an Aidan O’Connell pass to make it 31-7. The offense punted the ball away again and Purdue scored again. This time, it was David Bell from O’Connell. IU blocked the extra point so the score was 37-7. Dillon Downing added a long touchdown run to make it 44-7 as Purdue poured salt into the gaping wounds and ran up the final score. O’Connell was outstanding for the Boilermakers, going 26 for 31 yards with 278 yards with four touchdowns. Purdue had 447 yards to IU’s 205.

As has been the case for much of the second half of this season, attention now turns to whether or not Tom Allen makes changes to his offensive coaching staff. After an abysmal season, the IU head coach has said everything within the program will be evaluated. Hoosier Huddle will have extensive coverage of what all went wrong this season and whatever changes occur as Indiana tries to rebound for the 2022 season.