Purdue's nightmare season has finally concluded. The Boilermakers capped off their 1-11 campaign with a disheartening 66-0 loss at the hands of No. 10 Indiana in Memorial Stadium.
The final tally was the largest margin of defeat for the Boilermakers in 126 meetings with the Hoosiers, surpassing the 52-7 score in 1988. It was also the largest shutout loss in program history, surpassing Ohio State's 56-0 triumph in 2013.
The Purdue offense was held to a season low in yards and was shutout for the third time this season, the worst mark in program history. Hudson Card was 6/13 for 35 yards and an interception before being replaced by Ryan Browne in the second half, and the run game averaged just a single yard per carry.
To make matters worse, the Boilermakers had four turnovers, three fumbles and the aforementioned Card interception, handing Indiana several golden scoring opportunities throughout the night.
On the flip side, Indiana had its way with Purdue's Big Ten-worst scoring defense, as Kurtis Rourke produced the best game of his Indiana career. The Hoosiers' signal caller set a record for most touchdown passes thrown against the Boilermakers with six, also chipping in 347 yards through the air.
Purdue's defense got off to a strong start against an explosive Indiana attack, helped by a sack from Nyland Green on third down to force a punt on the opening possession of the game. The Boilermakers returned the favor just minutes later, however, as Hudson Card was rushed on Purdue's third down attempt and missed on open Max Klare. The incompletion handed Indiana the ball right back and squandered an opportunity for the Boilermakers.
The Hoosiers' offense looked like themselves on the following possession, slicing and dicing their way to the game's first score. Kurtis Rourke found Omar Cooper Jr. for a 19-yard gain to start the drive, before Myles Price and Ke'Shawn Williams both took reverses for 22 and 13 yards, respectively, moving the ball into the red zone.
Justice Ellison then added a fourth play of 13 or more yards on the drive before capping off the drive with a two-yard score where he walked into the end zone untouched. The 9-play, 86-yard scoring drive handed the Hoosiers a 7-0 lead with 6:25 left in the first quarter.
Just a few plays later, the Hoosiers would get the ball back in golden field position. A flustered Hudson Card threw a pass intended for Devin Mockobee on third down, but instead it went right to Jailin Walker, who picked it off and put the Indiana offense at the Boilermaker 28-yard line.
The defense came up big to help negate the mistake by its quarterback. On third down and six, Kydran Jenkins and Yanni Karlaftis powered their way through protection to bring Kurtis Rourke down for an 11-yard loss. The tandem sack forced Indiana into a 46-yard field goal attempt by Nicolas Radicic, who hooked the attempt left, for his first miss of the season.
Purdue was unable to build on a glimpse of potential momentum, going three-and-out on the next possession. After picking up 13 yards on the opening drive, the Boilermakers had negative three on the following two drives, resulting in a pair of Keelan Crimmins punts.
Indiana would not be stop again, though, marching down the field for another scoring drive behind the arm of Kurtis Rourke. The Hoosiers' signal caller went 6-7 on the drive for 65 yards, capping it off with a 14-yard strike to Ke'Shawn Williams for the second touchdown of the day, making it a 14-0 Indiana advantage in the second quarter.
Andrew Sowinski looked poised to provide Purdue with a spark on the subsequent kickoff, taking it out to the 40-yard line. No such life was found by the Purdue offense, however, having another three-and-out. Keelan Crimmins did have one of his best punts of the year as a result, with a 54-yard boot that pinned the Hoosiers inside their own one-yard line.
That lasted all of two plays before the Hoosiers gave themselves some breathing room enough to air it out. Four plays into the drive, Kurtis Rourke found a wide open Elijah Sarratt for an 84-yard touchdown catch and run, which was the longest touchdown Purdue has given up this season.
The bomb from Rourke served as the back breaker for the Boilermakers, who fell deeper into a 21-0 hole with 6:59 left in the first half.
After Purdue went three and out for a fourth consecutive possession, the Hoosiers moved down the field once more, this time anchored by the running back tandem of Ty Son Lawton and Justice Ellison, who amassed 40 yards on the final three plays of the drive, the last of which was a four-yard touchdown by Lawton to give Indiana a 28-0 lead, which it took into halftime.
It was the fifth time the Boilermakers had been blanked in the first half of a game this season.
Ryan Browne entered the game coming out of halftime, after Hudson Card was just 6-13 for 35 yards and an interception in the first half. As Purdue looked for a spark offensively, but the results were the same. On the first play, a botched handoff to Devin Mockobee handed the ball back to the Hoosiers and gift wrapped them a scoring opportunity.
A would-be Justice Ellison touchdown was taken off the board after a holding call on the Hoosiers, which was followed by a rare defensive stand by the Boilermakers. Purdue wound up holding Indiana to another field goal attempt, which Nicolas Radicic sank from 26 yards out, which extended the lead to 31-0.
Another three-and-out by Purdue provided the Hoosiers with the ball on the plus half of midfield and another opportunity to run up the score on the reeling Boilermakers. In just four plays, Purdue's defense was diced for another score and the second touchdown connection between Rourke and Sarratt, to make it a 38-0 game.
In two and half quarters, Sarratt posted seven catches for 154 yards and two touchdowns to torment Purdue's secondary time and time again.
Following, you guessed it, yet another failed drive and Crimmins punt, Indiana began rubbing it in. Purdue thought it had its first stop of the second half, forcing a fourth down and six near midfield. Curt Cignetti had other ideas. Indiana pulled out a fake punt, already up 38-0, as James Carpenter took the snap 18 yards deeper into Purdue territory.
The trickery extended the drive, and the Hoosiers cashed in just three plays later on a pass from Kurtis Rourke to Zach Horton, extending the lead to 45-0.
The onslaught continued short thereafter, with the Hoosiers going on a 7-play, 76-yard scoring drive, which was capped by Rourke's fifth touchdown pass of the day, the final of which that went to Miles Cross. The seventh score in as many possessions, excluding a knee going into halftime, made it a 52-0 lead for Indiana.
Then, Purdue added insult to injury, with a Devin Mockobee fumble that handed the Hoosiers another golden opportunity to run up the score. It took just one play for Indiana to hit paydirt, with a Rourke touchdown pass to Omar Cooper Jr. to make it a 59-0 lead with 12:01 still to play.
Tayven Jackson was the final member of the party to reach the end zone, scoring on a four-yard scramble to put the finishing touches on Purdue's demoralizing defeat.
