Big Ten · Barry Odom, year 2 (3-11) · Ross-Ade Stadium · 57,282 · 50,363 avg in 2026
LastL 36–38 vs Wake Forest · Sat Sep 12 · Fame Ijeboi 114 rush yds, 3 TD, 42 rec yds
Nextat UCLA · Sat Sep 19 · 11 pm ET · Rose Bowl · UCLA by 14.5 · series 0-3-2, lost the last 2 · Game preview
Updated Tue Sep 15 · through week 2
| Wk | Date | Us | Opp | Line | Opponent | Result | Record | Conf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 4 | #119 | #219 | -35.5✗ | Indiana State | W 44–19 120 | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| 2 | Sep 12 | #118 | #79 | +2.5✓ | Wake Forest | L 36–38 150 | 1-1 | 0-0 |
| 3 | Sep 20 | #118 | #50 | +14.5 | @UCLA | |||
| 4 | Sep 26 | #120 | #2 | Notre Dame | ||||
| 5 | Oct 3 | @Illinois | ||||||
| 6 | Oct 10 | Minnesota | ||||||
| 7 | Oct 17 | Washington | ||||||
| 9 | Oct 31 | @Penn State | ||||||
| 10 | Nov 7 | Maryland | ||||||
| 11 | Nov 14 | @Iowa | ||||||
| 12 | Nov 21 | Wisconsin | ||||||
| 13 | Nov 28 | @Indiana |
| Date | Opp | Result | Yds | TO | TOP | EPA/play | Success% | Explosive% | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12 | Wake Forest | L 36–38 | 455 | 0 | 32:12 | +0.293 | 50.0% | 109.0% | |
| Sep 4 | Indiana State | W 44–19 | 523 | 0 | 37:22 | +0.372 | 50.0% | 117.7% | |
| Season average (2 games) | 489 | 0.0 | +0.332 | 50.0% | 113.3% | ||||
Purdue is the Cradle of Quarterbacks — the West Lafayette program that put Brees, Griese, and Dawson in the NFL — now digging out of back-to-back two-win seasons with Barry Odom hired to rebuild it from the studs.
Indiana spent a century as the easy in-state laughingstock — until the Hoosiers surged and Purdue cratered, and the Old Oaken Bucket started living on the wrong side of West Lafayette. The fanbase wan…
The season in chapters
What fans said
Real posts from the day of the game, chosen by community score · usernames not shown
What it is like to watch them2025 · 2-10 · last season
✓ measured from 12 games · ranks are among Big Ten teams the same season
Recent form · last 10 games · incl. 2025
Cold. 1-9 over the last 10, and lost the last one.
Next Sep 20
vs UCLA · away
✓ fact on line · ~ our read on style
Market outlook
Sportsbook consensus · best odds across multiple books · 2026-09-14
the open questiondo the new coordinators fit the roster?
Barry Odom inherits a 2-10 losing record at Purdue, a program historically known for developing NFL quarterbacks but now sitting in the bottom 25% of FBS power ratings.
our readbackground
Barry Odom's second season at Purdue begins with a 2-10 losing record and a win total down to 2.5, raising questions about whether the Cradle of Quarterbacks can reverse its slide.
our readdeveloping
Antonio Harris sees a real spike in usage once the game is out of reach, and his efficiency in competitive snaps sits below the position baseline -- the numbers lean on the opponent giving up.
our readdeveloping
Michael Jackson III is a legitimate money-down target -- his 3rd-down conversion rate ranks among the position's best, and his per-target value holds up in that spot too.
our readdeveloping
Nitro Tuggle sees a real spike in usage once the game is out of reach, and his efficiency in competitive snaps sits below the position baseline -- the numbers lean on the opponent giving up.
our readdeveloping
Barry Odom's second season at Purdue begins with a 2-10 losing record to overcome, though the program's quarterback legacy and coordinator reshaping offer a foundation to rebuild.
our readbackground
EJ Horton Jr.: a garbage time merchant signal screened this season.
our readbackground
Michael Jackson III is used almost exclusively underneath -- a low share of his targets are downfield shots.
our readbackground
Michael Jackson III does NOT see a usage spike in garbage time -- his workload holds steady regardless of score.
our readbackground
Tyrell Green and Miles Mitchell headline Barry Odom's 51-player portal class — the second-largest in FBS this cycle — as Purdue attempts to rebuild from a 2-10 season.
our readfront page
Purdue leaped 31 spots in SP+ — the gap between the ranking and 2-10 record is the story Barry Odom has to answer in Big Ten this year.
our readbackground
Barry Odom inherits a 2-10 losing record at Purdue, a program historically known for developing NFL quarterbacks but now ranked in the bottom 25% of FBS by power rating.
our readdeveloping
Outcome band · Purdue · 2026
Floor, base and ceiling come from the season-path projection, which plays out conference title games and the CFP — so a ceiling can run past 12 games.
Purdue: coordinator change reshaping a unit.
The optimistic read: momentum, and the 'this is real' takes.
The analytical counter: rankings, results, and 'the hype is ahead of the tape' takes.
This event was in 220 of 1801 board posts (12%) over the last 60 days — a fanbase consumed by it. Fan text shown verbatim, attributed to the community not the individual poster.
The boards ≠ the fanbase: a vocal, self-selected slice.
Purdue win total fell from 3.5 to 2.5 (-1 wins) between Sep 9 and Sep 10, 2026 (tier B). It is win total down 1.0 from 3.5 to 2.5. The market moved; the fan base is split on what it means. Oddsmakers react to information, not sentiment — but that doesn't mean they're right. The room is divided — bulls and bears both have game-specific cases.
The 'market knows something fans don't' read -- when odds move, it's on information.
The 'markets overcorrect' counter -- lines move on noise too; the receipts may not hold.
This event was in 220 of 1801 board posts (12%) over the last 60 days — a fanbase consumed by it. Fan text shown verbatim, attributed to the community not the individual poster.
The boards ≠ the fanbase: a vocal, self-selected slice.
Fan mood index · most recent r/cfb data
More in this tab
Purdue is the Big Ten 'Cradle of Quarterbacks' — 14 NFL starting QBs developed, Drew Brees' 2000 8-1 + Rose Bowl run, and the 2022 9-4 + Big Ten title game under Jeff Brohm.
The program ledger
since 2025Kevin Kane returns as Purdue DC
Odom keeps his defensive architect in house — Kane returning as DC is the structural anchor for a unit that jumped 31 SP+ spots and still has linebacker pressure left to solve.
Win total: 3.5 → 2.5 (▼1)
The 3.5 to 2.5 move confirmed what was already public — the market repriced after the news landed.
Purdue tries to end 10-game losing streak
Barry Odom's first real test isn't X's and O's — it's snapping a 10-game skid with a #55 class and a linebacker room still finding itself under a new coordinator.
Top 3 commits
Recruiting Footprint · 2026
IL leads the 2026 class with 4 commits. National footprint reaching 15 states.
Where they recruit · 2023-2026
89 signees across 21 states, 2023-2026. IN leads the pull.
Miles from home · 2026 roster
The median Purdue player grew up 412 miles from campus.
Half this roster came from closer than that; half came from farther.
Straight-line distance from each player's listed hometown to Ross-Ade Stadium. Hometowns are placed at city-centroid precision, not street address — fine at this scale, but a player's true door-to-door number can differ by a few miles. 110 of 120 listed players have a geocoded hometown. Source: CFBD roster hometowns.
Top community posts · last 12 months · r/cfb
Fan confidence in a typical range for this program right now
38th percentile among FBS programs
17 penalties committed, 11 drawn on opponents — a near-even trade all season.
135 penalty yards committed vs. 117 drawn on opponents, 2026 season total.
Outcome band · Purdue · 2026
Recruiting Footprint · 2026