‘I’m really excited to get into that rivalry and try to get that Oaken Bucket back’: IU Football is looking to start a new chapter in the Indiana-Purdue rivalry under Curt Cignetti

1,827. That’s how many days it will have been since the last time IU Football beat Purdue when the two schools face off for the Old Oaken Bucket on November 30.

The Hoosiers desperately want to snap the three-game losing streak against their rival and beat Purdue in Bloomington for the first time since 2016.

With new head coach Curt Cignetti there is excitement around IU Football for the first time in a while as he looks to rebuild the program.

“I haven’t really put much thought into that. I’m kind of a one-day-at-a-time, one-game-at-a-time type guy. They’re game 12, they’ve beaten us three years in a row. Indiana’s last year was 2019 in double overtime,” he said during the Big Ten Media Days.

While Cignetti said his focus is not on the 12th game of the season, he clearly recognizes the importance of the rivalry.

He showcased that while speaking to the Indiana faithful during an IU basketball game after being hired.

“I’ve never taken a backseat to anyone and I don’t plan on starting now. Purdue sucks, so does Michigan and Ohio State,” he said in December.

Every time Cignetti speaks he exudes confidence and it has generated a lot of excitement from the Indiana fans. Beating Purdue and snapping the losing streak in year one will be critical in determining the success of his first season.

With a brand new roster filled with transfers, the returning players have emphasized the importance of that final regular season game to the new guys.

“First getting here you ask around who do we play a lot, who are the rivals and it jumps out at you,” linebacker Aiden Fisher said about Purdue. “We don’t talk about Purdue, you don’t go to West Lafayette. We handle business when we play them.”

It didn’t take long for the new IU Football players to buy into the Indiana-Purdue Rivalry

© Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports

Fisher knows a thing or two about handling business, especially in rivalry games.

During his two seasons with Cignetti at James Madison, he only lost four games and the Dukes dominated their rival, Coastal Carolina.

“We had a rival in the Sun Belt, they made Coastal Carolina our rival because they were really catching fire and beating everybody. We beat their ass 47-7 and 56-14,” Cignetti said.

Now the attention turns to Purdue and Fisher has quickly bought into the rivalry.

Cignetti and the new look IU Football team will be looking to replicate that success with IU Football and start a new chapter in the Indiana-Purdue rivalry.

“[Purdue is] a school we don’t like, which I learned very quickly. I’m really excited to get into that rivalry and try to get that Oaken Bucket back,” Fisher said.

Taking down Purdue would be a big step in the right direction for Cignetti and IU Football in year one.

He has high expectations for the program and beating the Boilermakers is one piece of the puzzle, but it’s clear Cignetti does not want to stop there.

Indiana has been an afterthought in the Big Ten for much of its history. The Hoosiers have not won the Big Ten since 1967 when Cignetti was just six years old.

Now the 63-year-old coach is looking to change the culture and build IU Football into a team that opponents circle when they see them on the schedule.

“In-state rivalries are a great thing. We want to be so good we’re a lot of people’s rival,” Cignetti said.

SEE ALSO: Curt Cignetti ‘had to wake some people up’ when it came to Indiana football. Why? He wants ‘to be the best’ — and he’s not changing his tone.

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