How would you describe college football to a sentient alien lifeform? I’ve thought about it.
“Well, you see, we put 22 large sweaty men on a big green field and watch them attempt to move a pigskin ball to either side of it,” I would say. “Once a year, this team that wears cream and crimson plays a different team wearing black and gold. The winner gets an ‘Old Oaken Bucket.’”
It’s an outlandish ritual — yet we love it.
That ritual happened for the 100th time Friday night, as Indiana football beat Purdue 56-3 to finish off its flawless regular season. While the Hoosiers hoisted the aforementioned wooden bucket, a trophy fit for a 19th-century farmer, I couldn’t help but question how long the celebration of their latest rivalry win would last.
Indiana will compete in the Big Ten Championship — a program first — in a week’s time. Then, it’s off to the College Football Playoff for the second straight year. There’s no time to rest.
From the outside, it’s easy to be drawn into the gauntlet of a successful college football season. After each win, we look ahead, breaking down the grocery list of negatives from matchups that ultimately end in a positive result. I know because it's my job to do that every single week — look no further than the Richards’ Report Card, where I nitpick every position group after each game.
The ability to zoom in and find faults is important, not just in football, but in life in general. It’s how we improve. If you’re oblivious to what you do wrong, you’ll never be able to correct those shortcomings. But it’s equally crucial to zoom out.
Just over three years ago, the Hoosiers lost to Maryland 38-33 on a sunny afternoon in Bloomington. The otherwise unremarkable defeat was significant. With it, Indiana became the first NCAA Division I program to reach 700 losses. The laughingstock of college football had hit a new milestone of failure.
Fast forward to the present. In a week, the Hoosiers will play at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis with the Big Ten title, the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff and the Heisman Trophy for their quarterback on the line. Even the aliens would agree it's an impossible turnaround. But that’s the thing, it isn’t. It happened — or I should say — it’s happening.
So why not cherish it for a moment?
Indiana has won its last two matchups against the Boilermakers by a combined score of 122-3. To put things in perspective, that’s the two largest wins in the all-time series since 1893 — the same year the zipper was invented
The Hoosiers bested last year’s 11-1 regular season record with a 12-0 campaign this season and are on pace to be the 11th team to have multiple College Football Playoff appearances. In a sport that’s been historically dominated by a select handful of accomplished elites, Indiana — once the losingest program in college football — has broken the mold.
Even pedigreed football schools like Nebraska and the University of Florida haven’t sniffed the success the Hoosiers have had under head coach Curt Cignetti.
There’s still work to be done, a cliche that’s somewhat of an understatement. Another early postseason exit would put an underwhelming cap on a historic season. The veteran makeup of Indiana’s roster fosters questions about the team’s future.
Still, playing meaningful games at all is something worth celebrating.
Just look at what’s happened in Bloomington. Memorial Stadium sells out. Local bars are packed on Saturdays, with patrons paying close attention to the game plastered on every screen. Indiana football players are recognized when they go out in public. Students are pushing for a Heisman Trophy campaign, a foreign concept for a school generally fixated on basketball by the time December rolls around.
The unfortunate truth of college sports is that windows of success come and go. While that window is open right now for Indiana, it won’t be forever. It can be tempting to let that truth translate to impatience, to let the urgency of an always-shifting landscape overcome the thrill of the present.
Sometimes though, it’s best to just enjoy the ride. After all, it's some dudes throwing a pigskin around for an Old Oaken Bucket. It’s supposed to be fun.
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
