BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football fans spent the week of Thanksgiving prepping for a trip to Indianapolis while mapping out various College Football Playoff scenarios.

Mark Deal doesn’t want to take part in any of that speculation.

The team’s assistant athletic director for alumni relations is solely focused on this year's 100th Old Oaken Bucket Game, a matchup he says is the “most consequential bucket game” for IU in West Lafayette in the history of the series. More: Indiana football heads into Old Oaken Bucket Game focused on Purdue

Deal has a historical perspective of the rivalry that few share — he’s played and coached for the Hoosiers and worked in the athletic department since 2000. His father, Russ, was a captain of the 1945 team that won a Big Ten title and his brother helped

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