Upsetting unbeaten Indiana on Friday night looms as a tall order for host Purdue, a loser of nine straight games and winless in conference play.
Potentially emulating the Hoosiers’ meteoric turnaround next season is the plan for the Boilermakers (2-9, 0-8 Big Ten), a goal they see as feasible even if No. 2 Indiana (11-0, 8-0) runs away with the Old Oaken Bucket again.
“I do believe in my soul in the foundation of the core of who we’re going to be and what we’re becoming and what we’re building and what we’ve changed in 10 or 11 months,” first-year Purdue coach Barry Odom said. “If we change that much more in the next few months, then we’ll be playing really meaningful games in the month of November.”
This meeting carries significance for the Hoosiers, of course, as they maintained the No. 2 spot in the latest College Football Playoff ranking released Tuesday. Indiana will reach the Big Ten Championship game on Dec. 6 in Indianapolis with a win in West Lafayette, Ind., on Friday or a loss Saturday by No. 1 Ohio State at No. 15 Michigan.
Internalizing a “next game up mentality” is Indiana’s aim, tight end Riley Nowakowski said.
“We can’t play tomorrow’s game; we have to play today’s game. I think that’s really just been the message,” he said. “Every day we come in focused. Intensity has got to be high every single time because in college football, you can get beat on any given Saturday. You see it all throughout the season that, you know, a team thinks they have an easy game, and it doesn’t end well for them.”
Being idle since a 31-7 home rout of Wisconsin on Nov. 15 has given the Hoosiers more time to embrace that mindset and to get healthy.
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said this week that the team expects wide receiver Elijah Sarratt and defensive lineman Mikail Kamara to return from injury.
Even with Sarratt sidelined, Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza has continued to thrive, recording 30 touchdown passes to match Sawyer Robertson of Baylor for most in FBS.
Omar Cooper Jr. and Sarratt have caught 10 touchdowns apiece.
“Everybody seems to be refreshed,” Cignetti said.
Purdue has played just three one-score conference games this season and is coming off a 49-13 loss at Washington on Nov. 15.
Malachi Singleton passed for 150 yards and a touchdown, but Ryan Browne will start Friday as Odom sticks with a two-QB system.
“We’ll feel the flow of the game and see how they’re playing,” Purdue offensive coordinator Josh Henson said. “We didn’t really have a set plan for the last game. But we felt as the game was flowing that some of the things Malachi brought to the table gave us a good shot to win that game.
“Ryan’s had a great week of practice. Malachi has, too. We’ll start it the way we did and see how the game’s going.”
The Hoosiers’ 66-0 rout of the Boilermakers last season marked Indiana’s most points and its largest margin of victory in the long-running rivalry.
