Indiana coach Curt Cignetti refuses to look past Purdue, and its justified

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana’s 1989 season started brightly.

The Hoosiers opened their schedule 4-2, with narrow losses at Kentucky and Ohio State, as senior running back Anthony Thompson chased NCAA rushing records and a Heisman Trophy. Things got rocky into November, when the Hoosiers lost three of four, but the win in that stretch — a 45-17 rout at Wisconsin — saw Thompson set what was then a single-game NCAA rushing record, with 377 yards.

Indiana headed into the Old Oaken Bucket game that season 5-5, with a bowl game in Hawaii interested in extending an invitation. Purdue was just 2-8 and a year away from firing Fred Akers. A strong showing from IU, the Hoosiers believed, would seal the Heisman for their star running back.

Curt Cignetti might not be familiar with the specifics of history. But what happened on Nov. 25, 1989, explains as well as anything why Indiana’s coach was so laser-focused on the task at hand, just 24 hours shy of 36 years to the day since that Bucket game.

“We’ve got 100% focus,” Cignetti said Monday. “All eyes on Purdue.”

No. 2 Indiana travels north chasing more history Friday night. A win would clinch the Hoosiers’ first 12-0 regular season, and their first unbeaten season since 1945.

That was also the last time IU won what was then still called the Western Conference, an opportunity Cignetti’s team can give itself 80 years later with a win in West Lafayette. That result would guarantee Indiana’s first appearance in the Big Ten championship game.

Cignetti hasn’t said it in so many words, but their chase of perfection has exacted a toll on the Hoosiers. An idle week before the final game of the regular season would normally seem awkward, but having last weekend off now appears well-timed.

“Everybody seems to be refreshed,” Cignetti said. “There was a lot of spirit at practice yesterday, and I can tell in the office everybody is rested up.”

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They will, Cignetti promised, need it.

Any time Cignetti was asked Monday about the bigger picture, about a season that could stretch well into or even beyond next month, he refused to engage. Virtually everything circled back to Purdue.

“If you don't respect your opponent, then you're starting in a bad spot,” Cignetti said. “I respect what I see on tape. They're playing hard. They're making plays. They're in games. They're doing a good job up there coaching, and we have to go up there prepared, and we’ve got to play well.”

Indiana is a comfortable, justified favorite. But Cignetti’s assessment of Purdue is fair.

The Boilermakers again sit at the foot of the conference standings, at 0-8. But they’ve been more competitive through much of this season than last, with close losses to Rutgers and Michigan recently.

They do not boast the profile of a team that should derail Indiana’s currently perfect season. But 12-0 doesn’t come easily, and this is hardly the only rivalry game famous for refusing to play nice with history.

Cignetti probably won’t know that history, but it’s on his side.

Bill Mallory’s Hoosiers traveled north in 1989 with Hawaiian hopes and Heisman dreams. Then Purdue played them to a standstill, the Boilermakers grinding out a 15-14 lead inside the final two minutes.

Thompson did not normally return kicks, but Mallory sent him deep trailing by that single point. His return started IU deep in Purdue territory, but the Boilermakers held. When freshman kicker Scott Bonnell missed what would’ve been a game-winning field goal, two-touchdown underdog Purdue ran off its own field a winner.

“Anthony was a workhouse, was in prime position to win the Heisman Trophy,” former IU linebacker Mark Hagen told IndyStar in a 2021 interview. “We just needed to go out and take care of business against Purdue in the Bucket game.

“In a nutshell, we didn’t get it done.”

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Complacency might not have been an issue that day, Indiana clearly motivated to provide its star senior the stage necessary to win the Heisman. But the more basic point remains.

Indiana is chasing program history. A less talented Purdue team stands in its way. Cignetti might know what this rivalry has done to his program in the past, and he might not. He’s clearly and justifiably aware, however, of what any dip in focus will do to his team’s pursuit of perfection come Friday night.

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IU football vs Purdue preview: Curt Cignetti focused on Bucket game