Former Purdue linebacker Jim Schwantz still loves telling the story of the late Fred Akers' halftime speech during the 1989 Old Oaken Bucket game.
That year—like this year—the odds were stacked against the Boilermakers. In 1989, IU was a 15.5-point favorite. It's a 10-point favorite this year. Like 2020, few thought Akers’ third Purdue team 31 years ago had much of chance to pull the upset.
But, it happened.
“Coach Akers calls everybody up and we all kind of gather around and he starts to get us all fired up,” recalled Schwantz. “I didn't know him to swear once. I never heard him say, 'darn it.' But when it was time for us to go out there, Akers said: 'Let’s burn this bleeping house down!' Everybody was quiet for what seemed like 15 seconds. Then, all of a sudden, the locker room exploded.”
Akers’ words worked. The Boilermakers pulled off a 15-14 victory, one of the biggest upsets in the series.
Jeff Brohm’s squad is looking to pull off a similar stunner on Saturday when Purdue (2-4) visits Blooming for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff to play No. 8 Indiana (6-1). The last time the Boilermakers faced an IU team ranked in the top 10? You have to go back to 1945. This is a Hoosier team for the ages.
“I think they are excited about the next opportunity and the next game and they don't want the season to end and they want to continue to compete and find ways to get better,” said Brohm. “They understand we're going through a little bit of adversity now and things haven't gone our way, which is our fault but you know what, that's part of football and we've got to fight through it. I haven't seen one inch of less fight from our team.”
Purdue has slowly lost its grip on the Old Oaken Bucket since Joe Tiller retired after the 2008 season. The late Tiller crafted a 10-2 mark vs. the Hoosiers during his 12-year run as Boilermaker boss (1997-2008). And the two losses (2001 and 2007) came by a combined nine points.
But in the 11 Old Oaken Bucket games since then, the Boilermakers are 5-6. Danny Hope went 3-1; Darrell Hazell 0-4 and Jeff Brohm is 2-1.
The Hoosier won a 44-41 double-overtime thriller last year in Ross-Ade Stadium to end a two-game winning streak for Purdue. Fourth-year coach Tom Allen has become a national darling, engineering victories over traditional powers Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin this season. The lone loss was a seven-point setback (42-35) at No. 3 Ohio State.
“Well, we're excited to get back on the field and play a very good football team that's playing well on their home turf,” said Brohm. “The Bucket means a lot to us as a team and as a fan base, and we want to work hard to go out there and try to win the game.
“And I want to see coaches and players that want to compete and show some fight and that want to do everything in our power to get the Bucket and bring it back to West Lafayette.”
Yes, the Hoosiers are without star quarterback Michael Penix, Jr.,—out with a knee injury suffered vs. Maryland on Nov. 28—but this team still showed it could function with aplomb when it won 14-6 at Wisconsin last week with Jack Tuttle at quarterback. The Boilermakers will have their work cut out for them.
Thirty-one years ago, the Boilermakers limped into Bloomington under Akers. The week before, Purdue lost 24-0 vs. Iowa. In the Bucket game in 1988, IU won, 52-7, in Ross-Ade Stadium. It was a dim time for the program.
The Boilermakers were 2-8 overall and 1-6 in the Big Ten with nothing but pride and the Bucket to play for as they arrived in Memorial Stadium. There also was an opportunity to rain on Indiana’s bowl parade and sully the Heisman hopes of star Hoosier tailback Anthony Thompson.
A victory reportedly would give IU (5-5 overall and 3-4 Big Ten) a likely trip to the Freedom Bowl in Anaheim, Calif., while polishing Thompson’s resume. He was putting the cap on a final season that would see him run for 1,793 yards and 24 TDs.
Did Purdue have a shot?
Purdue kicker Larry Sullivan provided the winning margin when he drilled a 32-yard field goal with 2:51 to play. That capped a 12-point fourth quarter for the Boilermakers. The Hoosiers had a shot to win, but Indiana kicker Scott Bonnell missed a 26-yard field goal a little more than a minute later.
The Boilermakers held Thompson to 97 yards on 28 carries. He also didn’t score a TD. It was just the third time in 1989 he didn’t rush for 100 yards and first time he failed to find the end zone in 12 games. Thompson finished second in Heisman voting to Houston quarterback Andre Ware, leaving as college football’s all-time leader in TDs with 65.
“I’m not going to cry-baby around,” said IU coach Bill Mallory. “It’s a real disappointment. I feel for our seniors. They lost out on a great opportunity there. We lost a lot and it’s too bad.”
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Schwantz recalled T-shirts were printed up and sold on campus to commemorate the win emblazoned with the phrase: “No Heisman, no Bucket, no bowl, no s***”
“I remember I had a pretty good day punting,” said Shawn McCarthy. “Having to punt twice out of our end zone at the end sticks out. Punted once and there was a penalty that backed us up half the distance, if I remember correctly, and had to re-punt. Hit it well enough that it put them outside of field-goal range. They ran Thompson once, and we tackled him in bounds as the clock expired.
“With that, we kept them from winning and kept (Thompson) from Heisman talk and brought the Bucket back to West Lafayette.”
After the game, Akers said: “Men, I love you. You have just taken Purdue’s program and turned the corner with it.”
Well, that didn’t exactly happen. The win took Akers off the hot seat, but he went 2-9 (1-7 Big Ten) in 1990 and was fired, ushering in the Jim Colletto era.
While the momentous 1989 Bucket win didn’t spark Purdue and Akers, perhaps a big upset by Brohm and Co., this Saturday could serve as a catalyst.
There’s always hope.
“So, I think it's important to have a great week of practice,” said Brohm. “Put in the work. Build up the inner anger, so when you take the field, you're ready to compete and fight for the win.”
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