Hoosiers take Bucket back from Boilers

The Old Oaken Bucket returned to Bloomington on Saturday night.

The 56-36 victory for IU (5-7, 3-5) against Purdue (1-11, 0-8) was an offensive showcase no other Hoosier team has ever seen against the Boilers.

Before today, the record for an IU offense against Purdue was 52 points in 1988. With the help of sophomore quarterback Tre Roberson, this Hoosier team was able to break the 25-year old record.

Roberson earned the start over sophomore Nate Sudfeld and shined. Roberson was 25-for-37 for 273 yards and six touchdowns. He added 154 rushing yards.

A pair of junior receivers, Cody Latimer and Shane Wynn, were his favorite targets. Latimer had 110 yards on seven catches for one touchdown. Wynn had 52 yards on seven catches for three touchdowns.

Seniors Kofi Hughes and Ted Bolser, in their last games donning the crimson, also contributed a score.

Once again, the defense struggled. The Purdue unit came in as the conference’s worst scoring offense, averaging 14.9 points a game (the next worst was Northwestern at 26.2 points per game).

Purdue put up as many points as it had all season, with 36. Their previous high had been 24 against Notre Dame and Northern Illinois.

Freshman quarterback Danny Etling was 33-for-49 for 485 yards and four touchdowns.

But the defense was able to hold off the Boiler attack enough for historic Hoosier offense.

This year’s offense is first all-time in total points scored and total yards accumulated.

The win against Purdue snaps a two-game skid against the Boilers.