Written by: TJ Inman
The Indiana Hoosiers concluded the 2025 regular season with a perfect 12-0 record as they rolled over the Purdue Boilermakers in West Lafayette on Friday night. On a frigid evening at Ross-Ade Stadium, the Hoosiers leaned on the running game and racked up 355 yards rushing and 9.6 yards per carry as they hammered Purdue 56-3 and dropped the Boilermakers to 2-10 to conclude the season.
This was the 100th meeting between the rivals with the Old Oaken Bucket on the line and Curt Cignetti has now outscored Purdue 122-3 (66-0 and 56-3) in his two meetings since being named the head coach at Indiana. The 53-point win is Indiana’s largest ever at Ross-Ade Stadium and Indiana outgained Purdue 548-282.
The Purdue Boilermakers began the contest with the ball and Amare Ferrell made his presence known immediately with an interception of quarterback Ryan Browne on the second play of the game. Indiana’s offense was unable to take advantage of the good field position, going three and out and punting the ball back to the Boilermakers as Fernando Mendoza misfired on a couple of passes. Purdue’s offense was pinned back and the Hoosiers forced a punt that set the Hoosiers up in plus-territory again and this time, IU capitalized.
Elijah Sarratt picked up a first down and Kaelon Black finished the drive with two nice runs including a short run for the game’s opening score with 8:07 remaining in the first quarter. The teams traded punts before Purdue converted on a third down with a nice pass play and got into scoring territory but IU’s outstanding red zone defense stepped up and forced a field goal that cut the lead to 7-3. Indiana’s offense got into a rhythm by leaning on the ground game as Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black moved it down the field before Fernando Mendoza ran in the game’s second touchdown and pushed IU’s lead to 14-3.
Purdue’s offense was unable to gain any traction against Indiana’s elite defense and it became very clear they were not going to be able to make up any kind of large deficit. After another punt that set Indiana up with a short field, Mendoza picked up a first down on the ground and Kaelon Black ran in his second touchdown to give the Hoosiers a commanding 21-3 lead. Purdue had to punt again after picking up one first down and Mendoza took over for IU at the 18-yard line with 1:52 left in the first half.
On the second play of the drive, Roman Hemby exploded through the right side of the line of scrimmage and showed the defenders his taillights, pulling away for an 82-yard touchdown to make it 28-3 at the half. The Hoosiers did not throw it much in the first half but they had 209 yards on the ground, their most in a first half since 2016, and they averaged 11.6 yards per carry. The defense had seven tackles for loss as IU generally dominated the lines of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
The Hoosiers started the second half with the ball and picked up right where they left off, running the ball successfully and then finishing the 7:23 drive with a touchdown pass from Mendoza to Elijah Sarratt to extend the lead to 35-3. Devan Boykin punched the ball free from Ryan Browne’s hands and Stephen Daley pounced on the fumble to give Indiana’s offense another short field and again, the offense quickly took advantage. This time, it was Mendoza connecting with Omar Cooper for a 43-yard score to make it 42-3.
The defense kept on dominating and Curt Cignetti took out the offensive starters, letting Alberto Mendoza and Khobie Martin get valuable snaps. The younger Mendoza brother scampered down the sideline for a long run and Martin finished the drive with a touchdown run to push the lead to 49-3 at the end of the third quarter. After another defensive stop, Indiana notched their sixth consecutive scoring drive as Alberto Mendoza completed a pass to freshman Davion Chandler who turned and beat the Purdue defense down the sideline for a 65-yard touchdown scamper to make it 56-3. Indiana’s backups and third string played the rest of the way on both sides of the ball as the Hoosiers coasted to the finish line.
The victory and unbeaten regular season secures Indiana’s first-ever trip to the Big Ten Championship Game. The Hoosiers know they will be playing in Indianapolis next Saturday. The opponent will be determined tomorrow with a win by Ohio State over Michigan locking in a #1 versus #2 showdown while a Michigan win opens the door for a rematch with Oregon or a clash against the Wolverines. For now, Indiana will relish the remarkable accomplishment of the first-ever perfect regular season. Hoosier Huddle will have ongoing coverage of this amazing season.