GoldandBlack.com predictions: Indiana at Purdue
Purdue (3-8 overall; 2-6 Big Ten) will look to end the season on a positive note when it plays host to Indiana (3-8; 1-7) on Saturday in Ross-Ade Stadium in a noon ET kickoff on BTN.
Our GoldandBlack.com staff predictions ...
Overall Thought: It’s the end of a long season where the Old Oaken Bucket comes down to pride. No bowl game on the line. Since 2017, the final game of the regular season has usually featured more than just the trophy and in-state bragging rights. Maybe next year it will return and add more significance. Both teams have allowed a bunch of points in Big Ten play, ranking No. 13 and No. 14 but that doesn’t mean the offenses will take advantage.
*The* Key To The Game: Purdue is no longer the Cradle of Quarterbacks, instead carving out its identity as a running team. It worked last week due to the quarterback situation when Ryan Walters played two backups. Back-to-back 300-yard games for the first time in more than 50 years is quite an accomplishment for this program that has leaned on the forward pass throughout its history. Welcome to the ground and pound era.
Your Pick To Click (offense): Devin Mockobee . Why can’t Crazy Legs – if he still uses that nickname – rush for 231 yards and reach the 1,000-yard mark for the season? That’s what rivalry games are for – special moments. He’s had plenty of electrifying runs in the second half of the season. Secure the ball and run wild.
Your Pick To Click (defense): Cam Allen . Senior Day is for seniors to make plays. Allen closes out his career with another interception.
Spiciest Take: A fitting conclusion – the Old Oaken Bucket goes to multiple overtimes and is decided by two-point conversions.
Predicted Score: Purdue 25, Indiana 23
Overall Thought: The game marks the start of a month that’ll be critically important to the Boilermakers’ program. A win might help to kick it off, but what comes after could be just as important. The transfer portal will open — and Purdue needs to keep its A players as much as it needs to bring in more of them — then early signing day; Ryan Walters needs more talent around here.
*The* Key To The Game: Limit mistakes. On a chilly day in West Lafayette, when neither team is playing for more than the Bucket, the ability to focus is probably critical to the outcome.
Your Pick To Click (offense): Hudson Card. No better way to show how valuable you are to a team than when you’re missing. It became evident last week that the Boilermakers couldn’t function in the way they want without Card under center. He’ll have a big game vs. an Indiana defense that seems incapable of stopping much right now.
Your Pick To Click (defense): Nic Sourton. Let’s make it 2-for-2 with guys returning from injury last week. Purdue is averaging three sacks per game — Indiana ranks 10th in the Big Ten, allowing 23 in 11 games — so Scourton should be able to inch his way closer to double-figures on the season.
Spiciest Take: The Boilermakers will rack up its third consecutive 300-yard rushing day, setting a mark that will never again be repeated at Purdue.
Predicted Score:Purdue 35, Indiana 32
Overall Thought: No bowl on the line, but the Old Oaken Bucket is. And that matters. A win over IU always gives fans a feel-good vibe and helps a head coach build good-will ... regardless of the final record.
*The* Key To The Game: Run, run, run. Purdue will be looking to rush for 300 yards in three consecutive games for the first time since 1968. Just keep handing off to Devin Mockobee and Tyrone Tracy. Why complicate things?
Your Pick To Click (offense): RB Tyrone Tracy . This will be his final college game. And, you know the Indiana native would love to go out with a big game vs. an in-state school.
Your Pick To Click (defense): Dillon Thieneman . He’s gonna lead the team in tackles again, punctuating a freshman All-American season.
.Spiciest Take: Purdue will pull out all the stops, running a fake field goal that will result in a TD.
Predicted Score: Purdue 31, Indiana 28
Overall Thought: Bucket games are usually entertaining when they are close in score. This one should keep fans’ interest for 60 minutes and from checking their phones too often for the Ohio State-Michigan score.
The Key To The Game: It is about the same thing every week...To paraphrase Ryan Walters: “We need to play clean and pay attention to the little things.”
Your Pick To Click (offense): Devin Mockobee: A southern Indiana kid will have a big game against Indiana. Expect Purdue to run it early and often. Will it be the first Purdue team since 1968 to rush for 300 yards since LBJ was president? I don’t think so. But another 200-plus yard game is possible.
Your Pick To Click (defense): Nic Scourton Kydran Jenkins . Man, these guys are fun to watch, and one of the key off-season questions will be if the duo will have an encore performance in 2024.
Spiciest Take: I think I have picked Purdue to prevail in every game that Vegas thought would be close this year. I will pick Purdue, but this won’t won’t be close in the fourth quarter.
Predicted Score: Purdue 35, Indiana 20
Overall Thought: Year one hasn’t gone the way Ryan Walters had hoped, but he does have the chance to win both of the trophy games played in 2023. A win here would give everyone a positive note to end the season on, but the real battle for Purdue begins a week from Monday: the opening of the transfer portal. In order to compete in the 18-team Big Ten, Purdue must upgrade its roster at nearly every position on the field.
*The* Key To The Game: Cash in on opportunities. In Purdue’s best offensive performance of the season, the 49-point breakthrough against Minnesota, it scored touchdowns on all five red zone trips. After three turnovers on downs last week, including two in the red zone, Purdue needs to find a way to capitalize on opportunities.
Your Pick To Click (offense): Devin Mockobee. After a huge season in 2022, expectations were inflated for the redshirt sophomore from Boonville in 2023. Whether he’s lived up to them or not can be debated, but he’ll undoubtedly look to put up a big day on the southern Indiana school that didn’t recruit him.
Your Pick To Click (defense): It’s been the Year of the Outside Linebackers, as Kydran Jenkins and Nic Scourton have emerged as some of the conference’s best pass rushers. They’ll go out with a bang and make it a long afternoon for Indiana QB Brendan Sorsby.
Spiciest Take: The game will be entertaining enough to keep fans from watching Michigan vs. Ohio State on their cell phones.
Predicted Score: Purdue 24, Indiana 21
BRIAN NEUBERTPredicted Score: Purdue 23, IU 17
