WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Kaelon Black had two touchdown runs, and Fernando Mendoza and Roman Hemby each ran for scores as No. 2 Indiana beat rival Purdue 56-3 on Friday night, completing the first perfect regular season in school history and securing a Big Ten championship game berth.
The Hoosiers (12-0, 9-0) also likely locked up a second straight College Football Playoff berth. They'll find out Saturday whether they'll play No. 1 Ohio State, No. 5 Oregon or No. 15 Michigan a week later for the conference title.
Indiana celebrated by hoisting the Old Oaken Bucket in the series' 100th trophy game, and Curt Cignetti became the first Hoosiers coach since Bo McMillin in 1934-35 to win his first two matchups against Purdue.
Many wondered if the Hoosiers would be one-hit wonders after last year's historic season. But Cignetti promised there would be no decline in 2025 — and there wasn't. With the nation's second-best scoring offense and scoring defense, a Heisman Trophy front-runner and a perfect record, the Hoosiers are better-positioned to make a playoff run than they were last year.
«I think we put on one or two,» Cignetti said when asked about his pregame remark that he wanted to finish the season with an exclamation point instead of a question mark. «It was a good day.»
Purdue (2-10, 0-9) endured more misery in the coldest game played at Ross-Ade Stadium, with a kickoff temperature of 24 degrees. The Boilermakers closed coach Barry Odom's first season with a 10th straight loss and posted their second straight winless season in conference play, the first since 1919-20.
It took the Hoosiers a quarter to adapt to the chilly conditions.
Mendoza, who grew up in Miami and previously attended California, struggled. He went
Read more on espn.com
espn.com
