NOTEBOOK: Hoosier Oaken Bucket Focus is Clear -- Beat Purdue
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - A season of Indiana football firsts gets an Oaken Bucket twist with the rivalry’s first-ever night game when the No. 10/10 Hoosiers (10-1) host Purdue (1-10) Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Yes, there are big implications, but with three-straight Bucket losses, plus the fact IU hasn’t beaten Purdue since 2019 (the 2020 game was cancelled because of COVID-19), winning the Bucket back in the regular-season finale is the top priority.
“Total focus on Purdue, a rivalry game,” head coach Curt Cignetti said during Monday’s weekly media session.
Cignetti wants all Hoosier attention on the next opponent. Saturday’s loss at No. 2 Ohio State dropped the Hoosiers five spots in the AP and coaches’ polls.
“We’re sitting in a good spot, but we’ve got to take care of business,” Cignetti said.
Indiana is 7-0 at home this season. Saturday's game is a sellout as were the previous three home games.
“We need to get the students back (from Thanksgiving break),” Cignetti said. “We need to pack the stadium. It’s got to be loud. It’s got to be a winning edge. We’ve got to have a great week of preparation.”
Motivation to do that comes in many forms, including the fact Purdue leads a series that began in 1891, 77-42-6. The Oaken Bucket rivalry trophy was added in 1925.
“We’ve got to play very, very well,” Cignetti said.
The Boilers’ 10-game losing streak includes some near-miss victories. They are coming off a 24-17 road loss to Michigan State. They were competitive in a 26-20 overtime home loss to Northwestern and had a chance in a 50-49 overtime loss to Illinois in which they rallied from a 27-3 halftime deficit.
Their only victory was by a 49-0 score against Indiana State in the season opener.
“They're a capable team,” Cignetti said. “They're not having the kind of season they wanted to have, but they're also a team that scored 40 points in the second half against Illinois to send the game to overtime. At this level, everybody is capable.”
The Boilers rank last in the Big Ten in scoring defense, allowing 37.5 points. They are next to last in scoring offense, at 17.2 points.
Purdue quarterback Hudson Card completes 58.7 percent of his passes for 1,606 yards, nine touchdowns, and six interceptions. He’s coming off the best game of his career, passing for 342 yards and a touchdown against Michigan State.
Tailback Devin Mockobee has rushed for 666 yards and four touchdowns. He’s rushed for 2,445 yards and 19 touchdowns in his career. Tailback Reggie Love III has rushed for 372 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Max Klare is the top receiver with 46 catches for 649 yards and four touchdowns.
“The quarterback is experienced,” Cignetti said. “He’s a very talented guy. He's got arm talent and really good escapability.
“The tight end is a weapon with 46 catches. The one receiver (Jahmal Edrine) is a very explosive player, and they've got a speed guy, too, and then they've got some guys that make good, contested catches.
“I've always thought (Mockobee) was good. The center is an excellent player. Right tackle is very athletic. The scheme is good.
“Defensively, they've given up some points, but they've tweaked a few things and they're playing better defense. They're a very capable football team.”
Running backs Ty Son Lawton and Justice Ellison were effective against an Ohio State defense holding teams to 90.0 rushing yards per game. Lawton ran for 79 yards and two touchdowns. Ellison ran for 62 yards.
For the season, Ellison ranks ninth in the Big Ten with 748 rushing yards. He has nine rushing touchdowns. Lawton is 15th with 587 yards. He has 11 rushing touchdowns.
“I just thought we did a nice job of coming off the ball and targeting the right people,” Cignetti said. “I thought the backs ran really well. Really well. We had pretty good downfield blocking.”
Offensive lineman Tyler Stephens has been solid since replacing Drew Evans, who’s lost for the season with an Achilles injury.
“He’s done a nice job in both games,” Cignetti said. “He’s stepped in and done well. I hate that we lost Drew because I’m very high on him. He has a couple of years of eligibility left. He’s a real tough guy.”
Pass protection was a problem at Ohio State as it was in the second half against Michigan. Cignetti said missed assignments and poor technique were the biggest reasons.
“On the five sacks against Ohio State,” Cignetti said, “we had three missed assignments, routine stuff, communication stuff. We got beat physically one time. We had poor technique on a weak-side twist, which is similar to what Michigan had done. We didn't do a good job.”
The result -- an offense that had been averaging over 46 points a game has scored just 18 points over the last six quarters.
“We've got to get back in sync offensively and get our rhythm back where we're playing with a lot of confidence, scoring points, scoring points in bunches, and running the ball and throwing the ball with equal success,” Cignetti said.
Ohio State and Michigan have some of the best defensive lines in the country. That was certainly a factor in the protection issues, but Cignetti reiterated it was more of an assignment error problem.
“It was routine stuff we didn’t do a good job of handling.”
Against Ohio State, IU scored on its first and basically last possessions.
“We protected well in the first series,” Cignetti said. “We protected well in the last series.”
That wasn’t the case in between those series. Quarterback Kurtis Rourke was sacked five times and pressured constantly. He finished 8-for-18 for 68 yards, by far his worst game of the season.
“Our quarterback got hit,” Cignetti said. “He got sacked. When he did have the opportunity to throw, he wasn’t as effective with his reads or his accuracy. When you get rocked like that, not many guys are.”
Rourke is playing despite recent thumb surgery. Cignetti said the thumb isn’t an issue. Recent poor pass protection is.
“We’ve got to do a better job of protecting the quarterback. I’m confident we will.”