Purdue football's 2025 season is a failure, but still incomplete story
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
WEST LAFAYETTE − When it ended, thousands of fans who braved temperatures in the 20s for four hours were walking the Ross-Ade Stadium concourse to chants of “Hoo, Hoo, Hoosiers.”
On the field, Purdue football‘s rival celebrated a 56-3 victory and a trip to next week’s Big Ten title game by hoisting the Old Oaken Bucket.
This is the lasting image of the Boilermakers‘ 2025 season, a less-than-glamorous ending of a season to match.
But the story of Purdue football in 2025, while officially over, can be redefined as a success depending on what happens next.
“We have a lot of guys who, including myself, their first year really seeing serious playing time and experiencing everything,” quarterback Ryan Browne said. “I’m supremely confident in what we can do next year, especially with all the guys that we have who played a lot of ball this year who hadn’t previously to the season.”
If this wasn’t an overnight turnaround, and instead is a two- or three-year reclamation, perhaps 2025 isn’t a lost season in the history of Purdue football’s program.
Barry Odom was blunt when asked about the next step.
He has no idea what this roster will look like from a retention standpoint. That’s not a complete indictment on Purdue’s program. It’s just the reality of college football now, even at programs that win a lot.
Odom said all along Purdue needed to be a developmental program. If the Boilermakers can retain pieces who they tab as being instrumental in future success, it’s not as far fetched to think wins can rack up sooner rather than later.
Against Indiana, Purdue started five sophomores on offense, four on defense and has a sophomore kicker who booted a pair of 50-yard field goals this season. The Boilers started a true freshman at cornerback and had three other starters who have a year of eligibility remaining.
“Hopefully we keep the core guys who want to do it and build this thing to winning success,” Odom said. “You look at consistent teams are able to retain players and then you turn them into where every single year, you’re competing for bowl games and then something bigger than that.”
It’s a tough sales pitch trying to lure top-end talent to a program that went a combined 3-21 the past two seasons.
For the players within the program, ones who may be vital to the future, there’s a belief that even at 2-10, some sort of foundation was set in place for the future.
“I think our future is bright here,” offensive guard Hank Purvis said. “It might take a little bit but our snowball is rolling. That’s just going to keep growing and growing and we’re all just going to keep growing together and closer.
“We had a lot of new guys this year so we’re going to grow closer, a lot closer, this offseason and I think we’ll be good.”
Last Tuesday, a full three-and-a-half days prior to kickoff for Friday’s Old Oaken Bucket game, sophomore linebacker Charles Correa seemed as sure of that happening as the day he transferred to Purdue from UNLV.
Inside the practice facility at Mollenkopf Athletic Center, Correa pointed up to 21 banners indicating Purdue bowl bids.
Correa then promised more were on the way.
Fast forward to late Friday night after the Boilermakers had just seen their season end, Correa described the process to get there.
“We want to be the hardest working team in the country, day in and day out, on the field and off the field,” Correa said. “So to anyone out there, or anyone on this team who is questioning going to Purdue, we’re going to work our tails off and we’re going to be successful because there’s no other option at this point.”
That sounds like an echoed sentiment of Purdue’s head coach.
Odom has never shied away from accountability for what transpired in 2025. The win-loss record ultimately falls on the head coach.
Before fielding questions after the loss to Indiana, Odom made an opening statement.
“I’ll get it fixed where it’s going to be a lot of fun for everybody that has stuck with us,” he said.
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Can Purdue football spin awful 2025 season into positive?
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos