BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Chaos erupted at several rivalry games across the country on the final weekend of the college football season — and most of it happened to home teams that couldn’t protect their own turf against their rivals.

On Saturday, No. 2 Ohio State failed to beat Michigan as the Wolverines posted a surprising 13-10 win at Ohio Stadium.

No. 15 South Carolina went to Death Valley and defeated No. 12 Clemson 17-14 to eliminate the Tigers from general consideration for the College Football Playoff.

There were also near-rival surprises. On Friday, No. 7 Georgia needed a lot of luck and eight overtimes to beat Georgia Tech 44-42. Also on Friday, No. 14 Ole Miss struggled to get past Mississippi State before the Rebels pulled away late to take a 26-14 win. Vanderbilt stuck with Tennessee for a while, USC was tied at halftime against Notre Dame…you get the point.

By the time No. 10 Indiana took on Purdue at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, all the cautionary tales had already been heard. Don’t mess with your rival. They can and will bite back.

Indiana hadn’t beaten Purdue since 2019, but the Hoosiers had a parallel message to send beyond the rivalry. The College Football Playoff Committee needed to know that Indiana was a worthy playoff team. Purdue was the team that could deliver that message.

Purdue had no chance.

With a 66-0 victory – the most decisive Indiana victory in the series’ history – the Hoosiers not only made it clear to the CFP committee, but they also wanted to show Purdue that Indiana is the new big dog in the state of Indiana.

It was a victory so complete it’s hard to believe.

The Indiana defense? Suffocating. Purdue managed just 67 yards of total offense and five first downs.

The Indiana offense? Ruthlessly efficient. Indiana scored four more goals touchdowns when Purdue had first downs – nine total. The overall offensive advantage was 582-67 in Indiana’s favor.

At some points in the game you had to remember that this wasn’t Western Illinois, this was Purdue.

Indiana had Purdue crying well before halftime. Offensively, Indiana scored touchdowns on six of its nine possessions. Included were scoring series of 99, 86 and 70 yards.

Purdue’s total yardage per quarter was 10, 44, minus-6 and 19. Purdue never converted on third down and only converted on one fourth down. Indiana’s defense has been notable in several games this season. Just like against the Boilermakers.

Purdue’s running game was so ineffective that after Indiana faked a punt in the third quarter – which led to an 18-yard run by James Carpenter – Carpenter had an 18-12 lead in rushing against the entire Purdue team.

That it was the clearest Hoosiers win in series history is ironic, considering how many Indiana players were unfamiliar with it. There are 27 transfers in the squad who were not in the game.

Defensive player Mikail Kamara challenged people to learn about the rivalry.

“I took it to Twitter to see what it was about, and especially given how many comments there are, this is a big deal,” said Kamara, who said he couldn’t specifically mention many of those comments.

Center Mike Katic, who has played in three previous Old Oaken Bucket games, has made it his mission to educate his less familiar teammates about how the Indiana-Purdue rivalry works.

“I made it my goal and my job to educate all the transfers and stuff like that about the rivalry,” said Katic, who said the message was simple.

“Yes, we don’t like them, and I’ve really made that known. There were some good words said to describe her and kind of put her behind the rivalry.”

Kamara said Katic did a good job of getting his message across.

“We had Mike Katic, you know, pumping all this energy into us all week,” Kamara said. “I don’t think I could say the things he said. But he said a lot of great words that inspired us.”

Curt Cignetti also set a good tone for the Hoosiers, a department in which he hasn’t had a misstep all season.

Cignetti challenged the seniors throughout the week that their legacy depends on beating Purdue. That it “must be done,” as Cignetti said on his radio show.

It’s part of the never-satisfy ethos the Hoosiers have lived by all season, but Cignetti remains satisfied that his team is living up to the high standard he sets. That could be why Cignetti was objective about the rivalry aspect of the win.

“It’s a rivalry game and I thought we really gave them a run for their money. That’s it,” Cignetti said.

He later explained why his Hoosiers continue to set new standards.

“I just think we have a lot of older guys that have consistently made a lot of plays throughout their careers, and they’re very consistent, high character guys. “We have a very consistent standard of performance,” Cignetti said.

The spoils of this victory have yet to be determined. At 11-1 and dominant in all but one of its wins, Indiana shouldn’t have to worry about making the College Football Playoff.

However, this is an achievement that can be celebrated the day it is achieved. Saturday was all about beating Purdue and getting the Old Oaken Bucket.

Fittingly, the smell of cigar smoke wafted through the room as the media waited for player interviews to be conducted in the weight room at Memorial Stadium.

The cigar was lit by Indiana assistant athletic director for alumni relations Mike Deal, but there were other cigars floating around, too.

The smell of victory was fitting. With the win, Indiana surpassed its rival and left no doubt as to where the Hoosiers belong in college football’s pecking order.