In 1988, the last time IU football defeated Ohio State, Tim Jorden was on the field for the Hoosiers.
The tight end was playing his final season for IU, a season that saw the Hoosiers beat Ohio State handily for the second-straight season, post an 8-3-1 record and pick up a postseason win in the Liberty Bowl.
Conversely, the Buckeyes finished the 1988 season with only four wins.
Some 30 years later, after a five-year NFL career and a new life as the regional manager of a homeowners financial company, Jorden will return to Bloomington for Thursday's IU-Ohio State matchup at Memorial Stadium.
"It's going to be an electric atmosphere," Jorden said. "There's nothing better than watching Ohio State fans when they lose."
Former IU Coach Bill Mallory was the last man able to mastermind a Hoosier victory against the Buckeyes. Five IU coaches have come and gone since then, with first-year coach Tom Allen the next man to attempt to pull the upset.
Jorden said he sees parallels between Allen and Mallory, especially in the way the two men address their teams at practice.
"I watch videos and speeches, he talks a lot about character and effort, that's very similar to what we heard," Jorden said.
The memory of his senior-year game against Ohio State remains strong for Jorden. The Hoosiers dominated Ohio State 41-7 at Memorial Stadium in front of a national television audience and raucous crowd, two similarities shared with Thursday's opener game.
"Probably the most electric I've ever seen the stands at Indiana," Jorden said. "To look up and see Memorial Stadium packed, it gets the adrenaline going."
The year prior, Jorden and IU snapped a 36-year winless drought against the Buckeyes with a convincing 31-10 victory in Columbus, Ohio.
In recent seasons, IU has come close to replicating those success of the '80s. The Kevin Wilson-led Hoosiers lost by three points in 2012 and by seven points in 2015.
But none of those close calls were preceded by the fanfare awaiting this year's game.
The arrival of the ESPN program "College GameDay." A sell-out crowd at Memorial Stadium for the first time since Ohio State's visit in 2015. The return of Wilson, now the offensive coordinator at Ohio State.
"The season, the moment, all of that, you just want your guys to be at their best," Allen said. "You want our guys to play for 60 minutes or beyond, whatever it's going to take, to be able to finish."
While it's been 29 years since an IU win against Ohio State, it's been 50 years since the team's Big Ten Championship and Rose Bowl berth. Jorden said IU faces a constant battle in this regard by playing in one of the toughest divisions in college football.
"It's a huge task," Jorden said. "If we can continue over the next two or three years to compete, that's where you need to be for national recognition."
Thursday night won't be about about reaching a Rose Bowl or winning a conference championship, though.
For IU, the game will be about a solitary moment in time. A chance to change the perception of the IU football program.
To Jorden, an Ohio native who returned to Bloomington just a few weeks ago to take in an IU team scrimmage, the game will mean what it has always meant — a chance to pull one over on his hometown school.
"I heard it when I committed to IU that we would never beat Ohio State when I was there," Jorden said. "There's a cockiness that's good and bad that OSU fans bring. That's what makes it so special when you beat them. You're beating a school with such a storied history."
