BLOOMINGTON —
What better way to spoil your rivals’ bid for bowl eligibility than to beat them on their own football field?
That’s the scenario Indiana University (4-7, 2-5 Big Ten) finds itself in for today’s annual Old Oaken Bucket game with Purdue. Kickoff is set for noon.
Last week’s loss at Penn State ensured a fifth straight bowl-less season for the Hoosiers, while the Boilermakers (5-6, 2-5) need a victory today to go bowling for a second straight year.
But the Hoosiers aren’t necessarily focused on what they can do to Purdue, but what a season-ending win can do for them.
“My objective is not whether they go to a bowl game or not,” IU coach Kevin Wilson said. “My deal is we need to win the game.
“It has nothing to do with what it does for them; it’s about what it does for us. Winning is good for us. Winning builds us. Winning takes care of our seniors that we have a lot of respect for. Winning gives us momentum in recruiting. Winning gives us an opportunity to build in the offseason. I’ve never looked at it as, ‘This is what it does for them.’”
Expectations weren’t high for the Hoosiers entering the season, not after a 1-11 record in Wilson’s first campaign. That lone win came against FCS opponent South Carolina State.
But the Hoosiers eked out victories in their first two games, and even with a five-game losing streak, were in position to get to the Big Ten championship game.
Wisconsin brought IU back to reality, though, rushing for 564 yards in a 62-14 rout that clinched a spot in the conference title game for the Badgers. And last week, despite 454 yards passing from Cam Coffman, the Hoosiers lost at Penn State to fall to 0-16 all-time against the Nittany Lions and fall out of bowl eligibility as well.
The Boilermakers had their own struggles. Expected to contend for a Leaders Division title before the season, Purdue also lost five in a row. But the Boilermakers can become bowl-eligible with a win today and make it to consecutive bowl games for the first time since the 2006 and ’07 seasons.
Purdue coach Danny Hope thinks his team was playing too tight during the losing streak.
“When the competition was at its highest and the stakes were the highest, I thought our team played tight some,” Hope said. “So our approach the last two or three weeks is to be loose and be wide open and have a lot of fun, so that will be the approach that we take going into this ballgame.”
Leading the way for the Boilermakers will be sixth-year senior QB Robert Marve, who’s completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 1,174 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions. His counterpart across the field, Coffman, has thrown for 2,386 yards, 14 TDs and eight interceptions while completing 61 percent of his passes.
As steady as the quarterbacks have been, the running game could be the deciding factor in which team wins today. The Hoosiers have allowed opponents 235.5 yards per game on the ground; Purdue averages 163.2 yards rushing.
“I think we manufactured a little more run-right-at-‘em, north-and-south run game, starting with the Ohio State game, and that allowed us to move the sticks and get first downs and compete against an outstanding defensive football team and allowed us to still be two-dimensional from an offensive standpoint,” Hope said. “That hurt us some early in the season when we couldn’t establish the run early and we couldn’t stop them defensively, and the next thing you know we’re behind by three scores and we haven’t been out there very much.”
“Sometimes we’re just not getting off blocks,” Wilson said of IU’s defensive struggles. “Sometimes we’re misaligning and not executing right. And sometimes we have to keep looking and put guys in right places. Schematically, are we doing the right things?”
The Hoosiers will be looking for a rare second straight win in West Lafayette, after finishing the 2010 season — and Bill Lynch’s tenure as head coach — with a 34-31 overtime victory. IU hasn’t won two straight at Purdue since victories in 1994 and ’96.
Sports
Indiana out to keep Purdue from becoming bowl eligible
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Small ball: Ciara McClain bunts to advance a teammate early in the Viking�s sectional matchup with Brown County.
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West Vigo comes up short against 19-9 Brown County softball
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The Eagles bested the Vikings 7-5 and will meet South Vermillion, a 12-7 winner over Owen Valley, for the sectional championship on Thursday starting at 6 p.m.
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Valley baseball teams have been keeping busy heading into sectionals
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Northview powers way past Terre Haute South in sectional semifinal
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Manaea's shoulder causing him latest pain
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PREP ROUNDUP: South tennis cruises into regional final
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Terry enjoys strong year with Wildcats, and still enjoying suiting up to play
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West Vigo softball holds off nemesis Edgewood in softball sectional
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West Vigo comes up short against 19-9 Brown County softball
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Coach: Tim Terry is the South Vermillion baseball coach and plays in the senior league on Sunday afternoons.
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Terry enjoys strong year with Wildcats, and still enjoying suiting up to play
South Vermillion’s Tim Terry is the longest tenured coach in Wabash Valley high school baseball as his Wildcats are set to begin sectional play Thursday against Owen Valley.
But on the Yankees, a 35-and-over team in the Terre Haute Men’s Senior Baseball League, Terry is “just a youngster” if you ask Larry Roesch, his 68-year-old teammate on the Volkers Group Yankees. -
Softball sectionals up for grabs
All three Vigo County high schools and Northview appear to have a realistic chance of winning sectional championships in softball this week.
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Indiana State baseball series canceled
Heavy rain from Thursday through Saturday has forced Indiana State and Tennessee Martin to cancel their three-game weekend baseball series in northwest Tennessee.
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METRO ROUNDUP: Rose-Hulman baseball to play DePauw on Thursday after Tuesday's rain
The Rose-Hulman baseball team has rescheduled its non-conference game with DePauw to Thursday night.
The start time remains 7 p.m. for the single nine-inning game that was originally scheduled for today. Tuesday’s scheduled Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game at Anderson was moved to Sunday because of rain. -
Vigo County Youth Soccer Association to host Indiana Soccer Cup Games
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Terry enjoys strong year with Wildcats, and still enjoying suiting up to play
- High School
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West Vigo comes up short against 19-9 Brown County softball
West Vigo got off to a good start but Brown County finished better in Class 3A high school softball sectional semifinal action Tuesday night at Edgewood.
The Eagles bested the Vikings 7-5 and will meet South Vermillion, a 12-7 winner over Owen Valley, for the sectional championship on Thursday starting at 6 p.m.
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- College
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Manaea's shoulder causing him latest pain
Indiana State pitcher Sean Manaea has battled through so many aches and pains during the 2013 season that it can be hard to discern the serious pain from the pain he pitches through.
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ISU's Negele answers call in big way in wake of Manaea injury
When Indiana State starting pitcher Sean Manaea slumped on the mound in obvious pain after he took his warm-up pitches, red flags raised for ISU’s Missouri Valley Conference tournament hopes.
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ISU baseball hoping Manaea can get its MVC Tournament moving in right direction
Indiana State’s baseball team has been waiting all season for its stars to align.
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ISU track sending record 22 to postseason
On the heels of their thrilling double victory at the 2013 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships both the Indiana State men and women moved up in the national rankings which were released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
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ISU's athletic treasure trove
Think of every championship that Indiana State has won in each of its sports, past and present. Think of every tournament — postseason or regular season — which the Sycamores have claimed as their own.
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Manaea's shoulder causing him latest pain
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TRACKSIDE: Local drivers, owners looking to have strong night at Tony Hulman Classic
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TRACKSIDE: Local drivers, owners looking to have strong night at Tony Hulman Classic
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Colts hoping for more high marks on draft picks
A year ago, the Indianapolis Colts received high marks for the impact players the team added through the NFL draft.
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Colts hoping for more high marks on draft picks
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Consultation: Rex manager Brian Dorsett talks with his pitcher and players during a time-out Sunday, July 15, at Sycamore Field. (Tribune-Star file/Bob Poynter)
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2012 an up, down season for Rex
The Terre Haute Rex went through plenty of trials and tribulations during the summer of 2012.
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2012 an up, down season for Rex
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Colts' coordinators enjoying getting rookies acclimated
While the Indianapolis Colts put their rookies and a handful of second-year players through workouts this weekend at the team’s Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center, a pair of first-year coordinators are getting a chance to do some valuable on-field work as well.
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Colts' coordinators enjoying getting rookies acclimated
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TRACKSIDE: Local drivers, owners looking to have strong night at Tony Hulman Classic
In its rich 43-year history, the Tony Hulman Sprint Car Classic has long carried on a strong local racing tradition.
From its early beginnings starting in 1971, the U.S. Auto Club-sanctioned event has been the annual centerpiece of the racing calendar at the Terre Haute Action Track as well as a key stop on the USAC sprint schedule and one of the most sought after wins in big league sprint-car racing. - Carpenter arrives as Indy 500 threat
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TRACKSIDE: Local drivers, owners looking to have strong night at Tony Hulman Classic
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