Iowa-Purdue: There's actually some depth to this series

IOWA CITY - Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz admitted he shrugged his shoulders when the Big Ten announced Purdue as Iowa's permanent cross-divisional opponent beginning this fall.

“That's probably about it,” Ferentz said. “It was going to be somebody. Yeah, I didn't think too much about it.”

But Ferentz then flipped the script on the reporter.

“I'll ask you a question since we're asking questions back and forth,” Ferentz said. “Do other conferences do that? I've never really paid attention to this divisional play, but I think it's a great concept quite frankly and the way they went about things, I thought that was pretty neat.”

Yes, Kirk, the Southeastern, Atlantic Coast and Pac-12 conferences all have permanent cross-divisional rivalries. The Big Ten is no different. Each school has its assigned opponent from now until eternity - or the next expansion.

Many of the Big Ten's permanent cross-divisional rivalries feature series lasting more than 100 games, such as Michigan-Ohio State, Wisconsin-Minnesota and Illinois-Northwestern. Among the others, Nebraska-Penn State was selected because of the programs' high-profile status. Indiana and Michigan State share a trophy - the Old Brass Spittoon.

Then there's Iowa-Purdue, kind of like the leftovers at a middle school dance. The schools' upcoming meeting on Saturday is the 82nd in a series that dates to 1910. Purdue is Iowa's third most-played rivalry behind Minnesota (105) and Wisconsin (86). Iowa is Purdue's third most-played Big Ten rivalry after Indiana (113) and Illinois (86).

“I'm happy with Iowa,” Purdue Athletics Director Morgan Burke said last summer. “There's a lot of cultural similarities between Iowa City and West Lafayette.”

But if there's a whiff of irony in the permanent Iowa-Purdue rivalry, it's that the teams hadn't played since 2008. Just six current Iowa players competed in the Hawkeyes' 22-17 win against Purdue in 2008. Broderick Binns had four tackles, Jordan Bernstine had two and Tyler Nielsen tallied one. Trent Mossbrucker missed both of his extra-point attempts. Shaun Prater and LeBron Daniel participated but did not earn a statistic.

Only one current player for each school - Iowa safety Jordan Bernstine and Purdue cornerback Charlton Williams - participated in the teams' last meeting in West Lafayette in 2007, a 31-6 Purdue win. Williams red-shirted in 2008; Bernstine in 2009.

“I remember you've got to have the right cleats on because you're slipping all over the place,” Bernstine said. “I remember it being pretty windy, but we just have to make those adjustments when we're in there.”

The schools have had interesting streaks in the series. Purdue once beat Iowa 20 games in a row, from 1961 through 1980. Iowa beat Purdue nine times in a row from 1983 through 1991.

Purdue was the only Big Ten school to play Iowa in 1930, when Iowa was booted from the league. Only once - in 1946 - did the teams play in September. Saturday's game is latest meeting between the longtime competitors, who now are forged together for eternity as Big Ten bosom buddies.

“I didn't know that,” Purdue defensive tackle Kewann Short said. “That's something new to me.”

You're not the only one, Kewann.