2021 Indiana and Purdue Football Schedules Released

Let's be honest, the 2020 college football season was hectic, to put it mildly. Games were postponed and rescheduled due to positive COVID tests, or outright cancelled if a rescheduled date couldn't be figured out, leaving many to question the validity of any season rankings. Some conferences decided not to play at all, while those who did played a conference only schedule. Then you had some conferences, like the Big Ten, initially decide they would push the season to the Spring only to change course and decide instead to a later start date and a shortened schedule after adopting strict COVID protocols. It was a season unlike any other, and will hopefully be the only one of its kind. Now that it's in the rearview, and COVID vaccines being distributed around the country, the Big Ten is looking to what will hopefully be a return to normalcy with the release of the 2021 schedule.

The Conference released the full schedules for all 14 teams on Friday with all but two teams set to begin their seasons on Saturday, September 4th (Illinois and Nebraska will begin their seasons one week early when they face each other on August 28th).

For the Indiana Hoosiers, the upcoming season will be an opportunity to build on the success of last year's shortened season, and show the college football world last year wasn't some sort of fluke. The Hoosiers, under fifth-year head coach, Tom Allen, went 6-1 on the season, losing only to eventual national championship runner up, Ohio State by seven points on November 21st. IU would go on to face Ole Miss in the Outback Bowl where they would record their second loss of the season.

For Purdue, the 2021 season will be an opportunity to turn things around after a disappointing season that saw them start with back-to-back wins against Iowa and Illinois under fourth-year head coach, Jeff Brohm, which ended up being their only wins on the way to a 2-4 record and no bowl invite.

2021 will also mark the return of the team's "Old Oaken Bucket" rivalry game, that was initially scheduled for December 12th, then pushed back a week before being outright cancelled marking the first time since 1919 the game didn't take place. The game is scheduled to return as the final game of the regular season for both teams on November 27th, 2021.

The complete schedule, as it stands now, and barring any COVID-related issues, for each team is as follows: