A rivalry that goes back to the 1800s, the Purdue Boilermakers get set to take on the Indiana Hoosiers annually on the gridiron. The two teams traditionally play for the Old Oaken Bucket. We’ll take a look into the history of the Old Oaken Bucket and which team leads the series.
History Behind the Old Oaken Bucket
This old rivalry began back in 1891 as Purdue shut out Indiana in a big way 60-0. It was more of the same through the first four games as Indiana never scored on them and didn’t score until their fifth game in 1897 as the Hoosiers lost 20-6.
The Boilermakers went 13-6-1 in the first 20 games of the series.
It wasn’t until 1925 that the Old Oaken Bucket was awarded to the winning team.
The term “Old Oaken Bucket” came from a poem by Samuel Woodworth in 1826 as it has become a big part of the history of Indiana. The two schools came together in 1925 to create the trophy and whoever wins the game will get either a “P” or “I” added to the bucket. In their first game with the bucket on the line in 1925, the game ended in a 0-0 tie which resulted in both a “P” and “I” being linked together on the bucket for that first game.
The overall series between the two teams can be categorized as lopsided with Purdue dominating the series. In 124 games played, the Boilermakers have the lead in the series with a record of 76-42-6 overall. As for the record, since the trophy became a part of the rivalry, Purdue once again leads with a 62-32-3 record.
To dig more into the dominance of Purdue in the rivalry, the Boilermakers have the largest margin of victory over Indiana winning 68-0 back in 1892. Purdue also has the longest winning streak in the series with a ten-game winning streak from 1948 through 1957. If fans include the tie the two teams had in 1958, the Boilermakers also have the longest unbeaten streak with 14 from 1948 through 1961.
In recent years, it’s been a split between the two teams. Purdue and Indiana are tied with a 5-5 record in the last ten games. The Boilermakers have won four of the last five games though including two double-digit wins in the last two years.
Both teams enter Saturday’s game with a 3-8 record and no chance of being able to be bowl-eligible this season. Winning this game could be the best way for both teams to close out the season on a high note. They will play at noon EST on the Big Ten Network.