WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue Boilermakers (1-0) head to UConn (0-2) for a Saturday, Sept. 11, matchup that will be the first of its kind. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network from Rentschler Field at Pratt & Whitney Stadium.
CBS Sports Network, CBS Sports' 24-hour cable channel which televises live sports programming throughout the year, as well as a full slate of original programming and studio coverage, is available through all major cable, satellite and telco distributors as well as via OTT streaming service providers YouTube TV, fuboTV, DirecTV and Hulu. Additionally, a live CBS Sports Network stream is available through CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports App with select providers.
PURDUE-UCONN SERIES HISTORY
• This is the first-ever meeting between Purdue (1-0, 0-0 B1G) and UConn (0-2) in football.
• Outside of routine matchups against Notre Dame, the meeting between Purdue and UConn on Saturday, Sept. 11, will be the first matchup between the Boilermakers and a current FBS Independent program.
TAKE THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD
• Under head coach Jeff Brohm's guidance, the Boilermakers have gone 3-1 in road openers since 2017.
• Geographically speaking, this will be the farthest east that Purdue has played a game since the 1947 season when the Boilermakers traveled to Boston, Massachusetts. Purdue defeated Boston University by a score of 62-7 on Oct. 18, 1947.
1-0 WITH THE WIN OVER OREGON STATE
• For the second-straight season, Purdue claimed its season-opening game to start 1-0.
• Last season, Coach Brohm and the Boilermakers defeated Iowa (Oct. 24, 2020) by a score of 24-20.
• Jeff Brohm earned his 50th career victory as a collegiate head coach.
BIG GAINS ON OFFENSE
• With the 31-21 win over Oregon State, head coach Jeff Brohm's Purdue squads have scored 30 points or more in 21 games. Since 2017, the Boilermakers have played 45 games.
• In the win vs. Oregon State, Purdue had at least two 100-yard receivers (WR Bell, 134, and TE Durham, 120) for the 38th time in program history and for the 11th time since 2016.
• Junior WR David Bell has been a part of the last six 100-yard receiving duos for the Boilermakers.
•For junior TE Payne Durham, the effort against the Beavers was his first career 100-yard receiving game. He set career bests in receiving yards (120) and receptions (seven).
CENTURY MARK
• Under head coach Jeff Brohm's leadership, Purdue has seen 26 games with at least one student-athlete topping 100 yards receiving, including nine games with two Boilermakers over the century mark and one with three different players.
100-YARD RECEIVING GAMES UNDER BROHM
David Bell - 11 (Tied for third-most in school history)
Rondale Moore - 10
Brycen Hopkins - 5
Anthony Mahoungou - 2
Isaac Zico - 2
Payne Durham - 1
Zander Horvath - 1
Gregory Phillips - 1
Jared Sparks - 1
Milton Wright - 1
Terry Wright - 1
THAT'S A FACT, JACK
• Junior QB Jack Plummer's 313 passing yards vs. Oregon State (Sept. 4) marked his fifth 300-yard passing game of his career.
• With five career 300-yard passing games, Plummer is tied for No. 8 in program history with Billy Dicken.
• The effort was the 18th 300-yard passing performance during head coach Jeff Brohm's tenure with the Boilermakers.
300-YARD PASSING GAMES UNDER BROHM
David Blough - 7
Jack Plummer - 5
Elijah Sindelar - 4
Aidan O'Connell - 2
OTHER NOTEWORTHY NOTES
• The Boilermakers posted their first victory vs. a Pac-12 Conference opponent since beating Arizona at the 2017 Foster Farms Bowl. It was their first such win at home since also beating Arizona in 2003.
• With the win over the Beavers, Purdue improved to 78-50-6 in season openers.
• All-time, the Boilermakers are now 92-37-4 in home-opening games. Purdue has won 22 of its last 24 home openers.
• Coach Brohm improved to 4-1 in home openers at Ross-Ade Stadium.
NEW FACES AND NEW PLACES
• Several Boilermakers made their collegiate debuts in the win vs. Oregon State (Sept. 4). Those 11 student-athletes included: Jack Albers, Jack Ansell, Prince James Boyd Jr., Hayden Ellinger, Josh Kaltenberger, Ben Kreul, Damarjhe Lewis, Dave Monnot III, Anthony Romphf, Collin Sullivan and Zac Tuinei.
• Seven Purdue student-athletes played in their first games as Boilermakers after transferring to the university from elsewhere: Joe Anderson, Jamari Brown, Dylan Downing, Mitchell Fineran, Chris Jefferson, Broc Thompson and Tyler Witt.
• Marvin Grant, Kydran Jenkins and Anthony Romphf made their first collegiate start. Tyler Witt made his first start as a Boilermaker.
RING THE BELL
• Despite having played in merely 19 career games, junior WR David Bell has climbed up the career receiving record charts at Purdue.
• Bell entered the 2021 season first among all Football Bowl Subdivision players in receptions per game (7.7). He has caught at least one pass in all of his 19 collegiate games and led the Big Ten in receiving yards per game (104.2), receptions per game (8.8) and receiving touchdowns (8) in 2020.
• Bell ranks in the school's all-time Top 20 for receptions (14th), receiving yards (20th) and receiving touchdowns (T-12th).
CAREER RECEPTIONS
12. Keith Smith (2006-10) - 158
13. Isaac Jones (1995-98) - 154
14. David Bell (2019- ) - 147
15. Steve Griffin (1982-85) - 146
16. Jim Beirne (1965-67) - 142
Dustin Keller (2004-07) - 142
18. DeAngelo Yancey (2013-16) - 141
19. Bart Burrell (1977-80) - 140
CAREER RECEIVING YARDS
16. Steve Bryant (1980-81) - 1,863
17. Calvin Williams (1986-89) - 1,855
18. Chris Daniels (1996-99) - 1,845
19. Rodney Carter (1982-85) - 1,814
20. David Bell (2019- ) - 1,794
20. Isaac Jones (1995-98) - 1,763
CAREER RECEIVING TOUCHDOWNS
10. Dustin Keller (2004-07) - 16
Antavian Edison (2009-12) - 16
12. Steve Bryant (1980-81) - 15
Chris Daniels (1996-99) - 15
Tim Stratton (1998-01) - 15
David Bell (2019- ) - 15
PURDUE'S GREEK FREAK IS BACK
• The 2020 season did not go as planned for junior George Karlaftis. An injury and COVID-19 derailed his sophomore campaign despite getting off to a good start (two sacks in the first two games).
• Fully healthy in 2021, the Greek native is primed for a strong return in 2021. He was named to watch lists for the Lott Trophy, Bednarik Award and Nagurski Trophy. In 16 career collegiate games, Karlaftis has 19.5 tackles-for-loss and 9.5 sacks.
REMEMBERING LEROY
• Purdue icon, College Football Hall of Fame member and two-time consensus All-American Leroy Keyes passed away on April 15. In his honor, the 2021 Boilermakers will don a memorial sticker on their helmets for the entire season.
• A megastar for the Boilermakers from 1966-68, Keyes remains the only two-time consensus All-American in school history. He finished third and second in balloting for the Heisman Trophy as a halfback his junior and senior seasons. Keyes, born Feb. 18, 1947, is survived by his wife, Monica, and children, Raymond, Jacqueline, Courtland and Colin.
CBS Sports Network, CBS Sports' 24-hour cable channel which televises live sports programming throughout the year, as well as a full slate of original programming and studio coverage, is available through all major cable, satellite and telco distributors as well as via OTT streaming service providers YouTube TV, fuboTV, DirecTV and Hulu. Additionally, a live CBS Sports Network stream is available through CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports App with select providers.
PURDUE-UCONN SERIES HISTORY
• This is the first-ever meeting between Purdue (1-0, 0-0 B1G) and UConn (0-2) in football.
• Outside of routine matchups against Notre Dame, the meeting between Purdue and UConn on Saturday, Sept. 11, will be the first matchup between the Boilermakers and a current FBS Independent program.
TAKE THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD
• Under head coach Jeff Brohm's guidance, the Boilermakers have gone 3-1 in road openers since 2017.
• Geographically speaking, this will be the farthest east that Purdue has played a game since the 1947 season when the Boilermakers traveled to Boston, Massachusetts. Purdue defeated Boston University by a score of 62-7 on Oct. 18, 1947.
1-0 WITH THE WIN OVER OREGON STATE
• For the second-straight season, Purdue claimed its season-opening game to start 1-0.
• Last season, Coach Brohm and the Boilermakers defeated Iowa (Oct. 24, 2020) by a score of 24-20.
• Jeff Brohm earned his 50th career victory as a collegiate head coach.
BIG GAINS ON OFFENSE
• With the 31-21 win over Oregon State, head coach Jeff Brohm's Purdue squads have scored 30 points or more in 21 games. Since 2017, the Boilermakers have played 45 games.
• In the win vs. Oregon State, Purdue had at least two 100-yard receivers (WR Bell, 134, and TE Durham, 120) for the 38th time in program history and for the 11th time since 2016.
• Junior WR David Bell has been a part of the last six 100-yard receiving duos for the Boilermakers.
•For junior TE Payne Durham, the effort against the Beavers was his first career 100-yard receiving game. He set career bests in receiving yards (120) and receptions (seven).
CENTURY MARK
• Under head coach Jeff Brohm's leadership, Purdue has seen 26 games with at least one student-athlete topping 100 yards receiving, including nine games with two Boilermakers over the century mark and one with three different players.
100-YARD RECEIVING GAMES UNDER BROHM
David Bell - 11 (Tied for third-most in school history)
Rondale Moore - 10
Brycen Hopkins - 5
Anthony Mahoungou - 2
Isaac Zico - 2
Payne Durham - 1
Zander Horvath - 1
Gregory Phillips - 1
Jared Sparks - 1
Milton Wright - 1
Terry Wright - 1
THAT'S A FACT, JACK
• Junior QB Jack Plummer's 313 passing yards vs. Oregon State (Sept. 4) marked his fifth 300-yard passing game of his career.
• With five career 300-yard passing games, Plummer is tied for No. 8 in program history with Billy Dicken.
• The effort was the 18th 300-yard passing performance during head coach Jeff Brohm's tenure with the Boilermakers.
300-YARD PASSING GAMES UNDER BROHM
David Blough - 7
Jack Plummer - 5
Elijah Sindelar - 4
Aidan O'Connell - 2
OTHER NOTEWORTHY NOTES
• The Boilermakers posted their first victory vs. a Pac-12 Conference opponent since beating Arizona at the 2017 Foster Farms Bowl. It was their first such win at home since also beating Arizona in 2003.
• With the win over the Beavers, Purdue improved to 78-50-6 in season openers.
• All-time, the Boilermakers are now 92-37-4 in home-opening games. Purdue has won 22 of its last 24 home openers.
• Coach Brohm improved to 4-1 in home openers at Ross-Ade Stadium.
NEW FACES AND NEW PLACES
• Several Boilermakers made their collegiate debuts in the win vs. Oregon State (Sept. 4). Those 11 student-athletes included: Jack Albers, Jack Ansell, Prince James Boyd Jr., Hayden Ellinger, Josh Kaltenberger, Ben Kreul, Damarjhe Lewis, Dave Monnot III, Anthony Romphf, Collin Sullivan and Zac Tuinei.
• Seven Purdue student-athletes played in their first games as Boilermakers after transferring to the university from elsewhere: Joe Anderson, Jamari Brown, Dylan Downing, Mitchell Fineran, Chris Jefferson, Broc Thompson and Tyler Witt.
• Marvin Grant, Kydran Jenkins and Anthony Romphf made their first collegiate start. Tyler Witt made his first start as a Boilermaker.
RING THE BELL
• Despite having played in merely 19 career games, junior WR David Bell has climbed up the career receiving record charts at Purdue.
• Bell entered the 2021 season first among all Football Bowl Subdivision players in receptions per game (7.7). He has caught at least one pass in all of his 19 collegiate games and led the Big Ten in receiving yards per game (104.2), receptions per game (8.8) and receiving touchdowns (8) in 2020.
• Bell ranks in the school's all-time Top 20 for receptions (14th), receiving yards (20th) and receiving touchdowns (T-12th).
CAREER RECEPTIONS
12. Keith Smith (2006-10) - 158
13. Isaac Jones (1995-98) - 154
14. David Bell (2019- ) - 147
15. Steve Griffin (1982-85) - 146
16. Jim Beirne (1965-67) - 142
Dustin Keller (2004-07) - 142
18. DeAngelo Yancey (2013-16) - 141
19. Bart Burrell (1977-80) - 140
CAREER RECEIVING YARDS
16. Steve Bryant (1980-81) - 1,863
17. Calvin Williams (1986-89) - 1,855
18. Chris Daniels (1996-99) - 1,845
19. Rodney Carter (1982-85) - 1,814
20. David Bell (2019- ) - 1,794
20. Isaac Jones (1995-98) - 1,763
CAREER RECEIVING TOUCHDOWNS
10. Dustin Keller (2004-07) - 16
Antavian Edison (2009-12) - 16
12. Steve Bryant (1980-81) - 15
Chris Daniels (1996-99) - 15
Tim Stratton (1998-01) - 15
David Bell (2019- ) - 15
PURDUE'S GREEK FREAK IS BACK
• The 2020 season did not go as planned for junior George Karlaftis. An injury and COVID-19 derailed his sophomore campaign despite getting off to a good start (two sacks in the first two games).
• Fully healthy in 2021, the Greek native is primed for a strong return in 2021. He was named to watch lists for the Lott Trophy, Bednarik Award and Nagurski Trophy. In 16 career collegiate games, Karlaftis has 19.5 tackles-for-loss and 9.5 sacks.
REMEMBERING LEROY
• Purdue icon, College Football Hall of Fame member and two-time consensus All-American Leroy Keyes passed away on April 15. In his honor, the 2021 Boilermakers will don a memorial sticker on their helmets for the entire season.
• A megastar for the Boilermakers from 1966-68, Keyes remains the only two-time consensus All-American in school history. He finished third and second in balloting for the Heisman Trophy as a halfback his junior and senior seasons. Keyes, born Feb. 18, 1947, is survived by his wife, Monica, and children, Raymond, Jacqueline, Courtland and Colin.