Snow was falling in Bloomington. Not the pretty, Hallmark-movie kind of snow, but the biting, freezing Indiana slush that makes you question why you’re standing in a stadium on a Saturday night in November.
But for the 53,000 people packed into Memorial Stadium, nobody was leaving. They were watching something that shouldn't have been possible a year ago.
The iu purdue football game 2024 wasn't just a rivalry game. It was a 66-0 execution.
Honestly, it’s hard to even call it a "game." When the clock hit zero on November 30, 2024, the Indiana Hoosiers hadn't just beaten the Purdue Boilermakers; they’d essentially deleted them from the field. It was the largest margin of victory in the 125-game history of the Old Oaken Bucket.
It was absolute, unmitigated carnage.
Why the iu purdue football game 2024 Broke the Record Books
If you grew up in Indiana, you know the Bucket game is usually a scrappy, weird, anyone-can-win kind of affair. 2024 was different. IU came in ranked No. 10 in the country with an 11-1 record. Purdue came in at 1-11.
The gap wasn't just on paper. It was everywhere.
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Indiana outgained Purdue by over 500 yards. Think about that for a second. Purdue’s entire offense managed 67 total yards. IU scored 66 points. The Hoosiers literally scored nearly as many points as Purdue had yards.
The Kurtis Rourke Show
Kurtis Rourke, the "Maple Missile," was surgical. He went 23-of-31 for 349 yards and six touchdowns. He tied the school record for passing TDs in a single game while wearing gloves in a snowstorm.
His favorite target? Elijah Sarratt.
Sarratt was basically playing a different sport than the Purdue secondary. He caught eight balls for 165 yards and two scores, including a demoralizing 84-yard bomb where he just outran everyone. It was the most receiving yards by any player in Bucket history.
Defensive Domination You Have to See to Believe
While the offense was flashy, the IU defense was just mean. Purdue never even saw the red zone. Not once.
Linebacker Jailin Walker was a one-man wrecking crew. He finished with:
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- 4 tackles for loss
- 1.5 sacks
- An interception
- A forced fumble
Purdue’s quarterback, Hudson Card, was hounded until he was eventually pulled in the second half. He only completed six passes for 35 yards. The Boilermakers' rushing "attack" netted 13 yards. Total.
It felt like Indiana was playing 15 guys on defense. They were faster, stronger, and significantly more motivated.
The Cignetti Effect and the Fall of Ryan Walters
Exactly one year before this game, IU hired Curt Cignetti. At his intro press conference, he famously told a crowd at Assembly Hall that "Purdue sucks."
People laughed. They thought it was just coach-speak.
Fast forward 365 days, and he backed it up in the most disrespectful way possible. Cignetti didn't call off the dogs. He didn't play for a polite 30-0 win. He wanted 66. He wanted the record.
On the other sideline, the iu purdue football game 2024 was the end of the road for Ryan Walters. Purdue fired him the very next day. You can't lose 66-0 to your rival—capping off an 11-game losing streak—and keep your office. It just doesn't happen in the Big Ten.
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What This Meant for the CFP
For Indiana, this wasn't just about the Bucket. They needed a statement win to secure their spot in the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff.
The committee had been skeptical of IU's strength of schedule all year. By hanging 66 on a Power Four opponent (even a struggling one), the Hoosiers essentially dared the committee to leave them out. It worked. They finished the regular season 11-1 and earned a trip to South Bend to face Notre Dame in the first round.
How to Process the Aftermath
If you're a Purdue fan, you're probably looking toward the Barry Odom era with a mix of hope and exhaustion. The 2024 season was a historic low, but it also forced a necessary reset.
For IU fans, this is the golden era.
The 2024 Bucket game will be remembered as the night the power dynamic in the state shifted. It wasn't just a win; it was a changing of the guard.
If you want to relive the madness or prepare for next year’s clash, here is what you should do:
- Watch the Condensed Replay: Go back and look at the 84-yard Sarratt touchdown. Notice the blocking from the offensive line in the snow; it was elite.
- Study the Turnover Margin: IU was +5 in turnovers. In rivalry games, that's usually the only stat that matters, but in this one, it was just the icing on the cake.
- Check the 2025 Schedule: The game moves back to West Lafayette next year. Expect a much different atmosphere as Purdue tries to scrub the memory of the 66-0 blowout from their home turf.
The Old Oaken Bucket is back in Bloomington, and based on the way Cignetti has this program running, it might stay there for a while.