Indiana football’s 66-0 victory over Purdue puts its stamp on the CFP bid

BLOOMINGTON — An irony permeated Memorial Stadium Saturday night in the aftermath of Indiana’s historic 66-0 Old Oaken Bucket win over rival Purdue.

The no. 10 Hoosiers spent the better part of four quarters playing like a team desperate to prove to the College Football Playoff selection committee — and anyone else paying attention — that they deserved to be in that first 12-team field to be included. They beat and hustled Purdue in a way this rivalry has never been seen before, and it could be decades before they see each other again. When the game was over, coach Curt Cignetti even acknowledged a value in “style points” at this time of year.

And then it didn’t matter. Texas defeated Texas A&M and eliminated the Aggies from serious contention, just hours after Syracuse’s victory over Miami likely handed the Hurricanes the same fate. There will be tiebreakers and champions to sort out in the Big 12 and elsewhere, but their behavior so far suggests we can probably carve out most of the field as the committee will see it in two weeks, including IU.