More: Number Crunching | Palm talks bowl scenarios ($) | Purdue has extra motivation | Purdue on the verge
Analysis ($): Vs.: Coaches or players?
D.J. Knox, technically, has seen the Old Oaken Bucket in person.
But it’s only been when “the opponents down south” have lofted it into the air after beating Knox’s Purdue teams.
Knox never has held it, felt the weight of its brass P links that fill the bucket. He’s never gotten to take photos posing with it in the locker room.
He’s only seen those, too.
And he wishes he hadn’t.
“I kind of try and forget about those moments,” Purdue’s junior running back said after Tuesday’s practice.
One particular celebratory pic stuck out, though, to Knox after last season’s loss — Knox was out for the season while recovering from ACL surgery — and it is one that still burns him: Quarterback Zander Diamont is holding the Bucket, cigar clasped between his teeth, smiling. The photo, posted on Diamont’s social media, was captioned, “And that’s all folks #boilerdown,” the hashtag a play on Purdue’s “Boiler up” slogan.
“It kind of ticked me off a little bit,” Knox said. “I was like, ‘Next chance I get to be on the field and get that Bucket, I’m going to get that.’ So I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that I can help us be successful.
"I’ve seen it before, but I definitely plan on holding it a little closer this year, probably in my hands."
Very few — perhaps none — of these current Boilermakers actually have held it. Maybe sophomore Jackson Anthrop, by virtue of being little brother to former receiver Danny.
But the trophy for the annual game against Indiana has been displayed far from West Lafayette of late.
It’s been stuck in Bloomington, where the Hoosiers surely proudly have it displayed after having first snatched it away from Purdue’s sidelines in 2013 and then kept it on their own since.
By Saturday, it’ll be 1,456 days since the Boilermakers have had the Bucket.
That streak of four consecutive victories by Indiana in one of the longest in the history of the rivalry. Though, technically, Purdue has more chains attached to the bucket, signifying a lead in the series, the recent string of I icons is not something Purdue fans and, especially, players — even former ones — like to think about.
“(Jason) King texted me, ‘You need to realize what’s at stake,’ ” junior captain Kirk Barron said. “I think we’ve always understood. Going on the fifth game, I think that’s the longest losing streak Purdue has had in the whole thing, and that’s just a horrible mark on the seniors that were here last year, the seniors who are here now. That’s a horrible look for us, and that’s something we can’t have.”
So does the sick feeling of losing the Bucket provide more motivation than having had the intimate knowledge of owning it? Hard to say, really, because the current guys don’t have any way to compare.
But they can get a feel for the importance just by going to class, by eating at a restaurant, by walking around the athletic department, by being immersed in the community.
Even if they may not know exactly what it could be like, they can live vicariously, at least.
“When I first got here, being from the state of Indiana, I kind of knew what it was about, but you talk to an alumni or when we had Mr. (Morgan) Burke, he was real passionate about the game,” Barron said. “Whenever we lost, that was the season right there. Even though we were 3-8 at the time, we lost to IU, that’s the most disappointing loss we could have had. So that’s something we’re trying to turn around.”
Senior Anthony Mahoungou said the veterans are trying to teach the young players what that would mean.
When Mahoungou first arrived from junior college, he didn’t understand the gravitas of the game until he actually stepped on the field.
“The game is just so much more intense,” he said. “It’s more crazy. It is different.
“People are just mad. They want to upset the other team. You’ve got the bragging rights the whole year.”
So, now as a veteran, Mahoungou knows about the stakes. And knows everyone needs to grasp them.
The seniors likely will pass on that message this week — Mahoungou said senior captain Da’Wan Hunte already spoke up after Tuesday’s practice — and continue to stress what this one means.
Whether a guy is from France, Maryland, Florida or, like Knox, Georgia.
This in-state rivalry is about every ounce.
“For me, it’s more about pride,” Knox said. “If I strap up my pads and go out there on the field, the thing for me, I’m not going to go out there and just let another man impose his will upon me. That’s not how my parents raised me to be. It’s definitely a pride issue for me. One thing, when I came to this school, I vowed I would give them everything that I have. Especially coming out playing a sport I love, I don’t do it just for the praise and the rewards. I do it for self satisfaction almost. I’m happy with the player I’ve been this year. I’ve given everything. I don’t want to look back and regret anything. So if anything, I’m going to give everything that I have to my teammates, to my coaches and everybody because that’s why they brought me here.
“The Bucket is just icing on the cake to me. So if I can beat you and then hold the Bucket up and kind of rub it in your face a little bit, that’s extra for me. I definitely know how much the Bucket means to everybody around here and especially to me and my teammates and my coaches, so I’m definitely going to give it everything I have.”
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