Hoosiers Blow Out Purdue 56-36 in Bucket Game

Well that went probably easier than any of even the most optimistic Indiana fans thought it would. The Hoosiers were able to move the ball quickly and easily on a Purdue defense that was more hapless than even Indiana's. The Hoosiers won the coin toss and elected to receive. Within the ensuing 2 minutes it was 7-0 on a Stephen Houston 53 yard touchdown run. The Hoosier defense got a stop and Indiana took the ball 73 yards for another touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

After another defensive stop the Hoosiers offense was moving the ball once again. However Tre Roberson made his first of only a few mistakes on the game. On a 3rd and long opportunity in Purdue territory, Roberson gambled with a pass into very tight coverage that was picked off by Purdue's Ricardo Allen. Purdue took this opportunity and went down the field to score a touchdown early in the second quarter. Then Purdue did a very Purdue thing and got their extra point blocked. Indiana answered with a score of their own and the Boilers followed up their TD drive with a field goal drive. That was pretty much it for Purdue's offensive effectiveness until Indiana called off the dogs early in the second half.

Indiana's ability on offense was just entirely too much for Purdue to handle. By halftime the score was 35-9 and Purdue hadn't really done anything to make anyone believe that they could prevent Indiana from putting up 70 points if they wanted to. The Hoosiers came out of half, got an immediate defensive stop and then put up another two touchdowns to push the score to 49-9. At that point, Indiana called it quits.

Purdue was able to generate a big 70 yard play on a swing pass to running back Brandon Cottom to push the score to 49-16, but obviously by then it was way too late. The Hoosiers went straight to third stringer Cam Coffman at quarterback with time left in the third quarter. The Hoosiers offense was relatively ineffective and the Indiana defense lost focus giving up big play after big play. A desperate Purdue offense was able to bring the game to within 19 points before Indiana threw Roberson back out there to put up another touchdown and guarantee the win and a final of 56-36.

Overall, you have to be somewhat frustrated by the Indiana performance late in the game. This was an opportunity to make a huge statement and drop 70 points while holding the Purdue offense to under 20. That would have been a nice statement, but instead Indiana took their foot off the pedal and let Purdue make some cosmetic adjustments to the score. I really don't think this is a game where you can blame the coaches on defense, as the issue was obviously poor focus late. However, I do think this the final nail in the Doug Mallory coffin.

I just can't imagine the Hoosiers bringing him back for a fourth year at defensive coordinator. Other than that I expect we're going to see focus on more growth in the off-season. Kevin Wilson will be coming into year 4 looking to get a bowl game and if that doesn't happen next year, then the pressure is going to get ramped up. However, that's a discussion for another time. Instead, we need to appreciate that we have the bucket and a program looking to still be on the rise. Purdue can't say the same.