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Notre Dame looks to win its 14th straight game this weekend when it hits the road to take on Purdue. The 3rd-ranked Fighting Irish (3-0) will also look to win an 11th straight game over the Boilermakers (1-2) as the teams battle for the Shillelagh Trophy. Purdue is 1-2, but the Boilermakers have shown improvement this season, especially on the offensive side of the ball. It should be a much stiffer test for the Irish this season.

Location: Ross-Ade Stadium (West Lafayette, Ind.) 
Date: Saturday – September 26
Time: 2:00 PM ET
TV: Peacock
Line: Notre Dame -27.5; O/U 58.5

Let's kick off our preview of this matchup with an overview look at the Purdue Boilermakers

HEAD COACH – BARRY ODOM

Overall Record: 47-45 (8th season) 
Record at Purdue: 3-12 (2nd season)

Odom enters his second season in charge of the Boilermakers and things have taken a positive step forward in his second season. Purdue still has to improve its talent, especially on defense, but the team played hard and competed well in their first three games. This is Odom's third stop as a head coach, with his first coming at his alma mater, Missouri. Odom went 25-25 in four seasons and led the Tigers to bowl games in 2017 and 2018. The Tigers could have gone to a bowl game in 2019, but Odom was fired and they passed on a bowl game. He spent the next three seasons as the defensive coordinator at Arkansas before being hired as the head coach at UNLV for the 2023 season. The Rebels were coming off nine straight losing seasons, but Odom turned things around quickly, going 9-5 in 2023 and 10-3 in 2024. In 2024, the Rebels beat Houston, Kansas, Oregon State and California. Purdue hired him the next season and things are trending in a good direction.

Offensive Coordinator: Josh Henson (2nd season)
Defensive Coordinator: Kevin Kane (1st season) 

PURDUE 2026 SCHEDULE

2026 STATISTICAL OVERVIEW

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Rushing: RB Fame Ijeboi – 55 att., 248 yards, 4.5 YPC, 6 TD; RB Travis Terrell Jr. – 17 att., 45 yards, 2.6 YPC; RB Jerrick Gibson – 11 att., 41 yards, 3.7 YPC; RB Antonio Harris – 6 att., 32 yards, 5.3 YPC

Passing: QB Ryan Browne – 74-101, 73.3%, 1,024 yards, 10.1 YPA, 7 TD, 1 INT, 179.0 Rating 

Receiving: WR Asaad Waseem – 20 rec., 321 yards, 16.1 YPC, 1 TD; WR Xavier Townsend – 19 rec., 267 yards, 14.1 YPC, 2 TD; WR Chauncey Magwood – 8 rec., 110 yards, 13.8 YPC, 1 TD; TE George Burhenn – 5 rec., 90 yards, 18.0 YPC, 1 TD; RB Fame Ijeboi – 8 rec., 72 yards, 9.0 YPC

Tackles: S John Slaughter – 22; NB Don Saunders – 21; LB Charles Correa – 21; LB JoJo Hayden – 17, S Justin Denson – 17; S Jaden Mangham; DE Breeon Ishmail – 11; CB Smiley Bradford – 10; DT Curt Neal – 7

Tackles For Loss: DE Jeremy Lewis – 2.5; DE Breeon Ishmail – 2.0; DB Mister Clark – 2.0; DT Ian Jeffries – 2.0; DT Curt Neal – 1.5; S Justin Denson – 1.5; LB JoJo Hayden – 1.5; DT Rodney Lora – 1.5

Interceptions: NB Don Saunders – 1

PURDUE OVERVIEW

Purdue is just 1-2 on the season, but this team does look improved. The Boilermakers took Wake Forest to overtime and were within a touchdown late on the road in a loss to UCLA. So far this isn't the same Purdue squad that lost seven of its final 10 games last season by double figures. Odom's team needs a lot of work on defense and have been ripped up pretty good so far, but even on that side of the ball they play hard. Right now, Purdue just lacks the talent on defense to be much better than it is. On offense, however, Purdue is a legit quality group. Purdue scored 36 and 38 points in its two losses and they rank among the best teams in the Big Ten in scoring offense, yards per game and yards per play. Odom's rebuild will take time, but if he can build on what we saw the first two games there's a chance the Boilermakers go into November with a chance to compete for a bowl berth.

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