10 Observations Indiana-Purdue

Here is what has us talking after Purdue’s 56-3 loss vs. No. 2 Indiana on Friday night in Ross-Ade Stadium.

1 – The Old Oaken Bucket stays in Bloomington. The last time the Hoosiers won back-to-back Buckets was when they won four in a row from 2013-16 when Darrell Hazell was the Purdue head coach. When will Purdue get the Bucket back? It may be a while, as the talent gap between these programs is glaring and was on full display. How bad have the last two years been? Purdue has lost by an aggregate 122-3 to IU.

PDF: Purdue-Indiana statistics

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2 – A year after closing with 11 defeats in a row, Purdue finished the 2025 season with 10 losses in a row. (Sigh) Add it up, and Purdue has a combined three wins the last two years. The last time the program had that few wins over two seasons was 1941-42. The Big Ten losing streak is now 18. The last conference team to have back-to-back winless Big Ten seasons? It was Rutgers in 2018-19. Not a program you wanna be lumped with. But, here we are.

“A long season for everybody, I understand that,” said Odom. “But also know that we’re in a heck of a lot better spot today than we were about a year ago.”

3 – The offensive struggles persisted tonight. Purdue began the game No. 17 in scoring in league games (15.9 ppg), scoring just two TDs in the previous two games. Tonight, the offense scored no touchdowns. Add it up, and the Boilers scored four TDs in November. That’s it.

4 – What is Purdue gonna do at quarterback next year? Is it gonna roll with Ryan Browne and Malachi Singleton? Or is the staff gonna shop for a portal option? Let’s be honest: Purdue needs to explore an upgrade. It never should have entered the season with a QB depth chart that was devoid of experience. Questions loom throughout the roster.

“We have Ryan Browne, we have Malachi Singleton,” said Odom. “We have Bennett Meredith. We have Evans Chuba, and we have Garyt Odom. And our job is to develop those guys, every single person in our program, to try to get them to play their best ball, and that will be our approach every single position, including the quarterback.”

5 – Last year, Purdue had just 67 yards of offense in a 66-0 loss at Indiana. This year, it was better: 282 yards. Hey, had to have something positive in this space tonight.

6 – Devin Mockobee is gone. He was the last senior to walk out tonight and be honored. And No. 45 got emotional. Mockobee was one of a kind and will be missed. Players of his ilk in this transfer portal era are rare, a guy who didn’t chase a buck because he loved where he was at. Mockobee will be missed.

7 – Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza was lauded by some as the Heisman front-runner coming in to tonight, but he hit only 8-of-15 passes for 117 yards and two TDs before checking out late in the third quarter. He didn’t throw like a Heisman guy but didn’t need to with how well IU RBs Kaelon Black and Roman Hemby toted the rock. Check this out: The Hoosiers finished with 355 yards rushing. Purdue was physically outmatched on a long, cold night–getting out gained 548-282.

8 – Watching Hemby stiff arm Tahj Ra-El and out run three Purdue defenders who had an angle on him on his way to an 82-yard TD late in the second quarter personified the difference between these programs. Purdue isn’t even close. Odom has a big talent gap to make up. IU led 28-3 after the Hemby TD sprint. And this game essentially was over before everyone noshed their halftime popcorn and woofed their hot dog.

9 – On a frigid night in West Lafayette, the Ross-Ade stands were populated with lots of IU red. At least half (if not more) of the crowd appeared to be wearing Crimson. At least someone enjoyed the night.

“I’ll get it fixed where it’s where it’s gonna be a lot of fun for everybody that has stuck with us,” said Odom.

10 – What’s next now that the season is over? Gotta think we’ll see players jump in the portal soon. Who will be first? Will it happen on Sunday? A bigger question: Will there be any staff changes? If so, gotta think they’ll happen soon.

“Signing day is Wednesday,” said Odom. “I’m excited about the high school class that I hope that we get signed on Wednesday. And then in January, when the portal window opens, we’ll be very aggressive in that world, as well, and hopefully retain some players that want to do it the Purdue way and excited about turning the page and getting into that process on what it looks like.”