Purdue Football (5-3, 3-2) heads into the month of November with five victories on its record for the first time since the 2007 season as the Boilermakers play hosts to No. 5/3 Michigan State (8-0, 5-0) on Saturday, Nov. 6. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
Head coach Jeff Brohm and his squad are on the hunt for a fourth Big Ten Conference victory for this 2021 campaign, a threshold that Brohm has been able to lead Purdue past twice thus far in his tenure (2017, 4-5; 2018, 5-4). Since the 2010 season, Purdue has claimed four or more Big Ten wins just three times.
A NOTEWORTHY NEBRASKA WIN
• The 28-23 win at Nebraska (Oct. 30) stands as Purdue's third win in the last four matchups against the Cornhuskers. It was also the second-straight win for the Boilermakers in Memorial Stadium.
• Head coach Jeff Brohm improved to 3-2 against Nebraska with the result, and the series record is now knotted up at 5-5-0.
• The victory was also Purdue's third road win of 2021. Since the 2000 season, Purdue has won three away contests just five times, with three of those instances by Joe Tiller-led squads (2003, 2004, 2006) and twice now by Brohm-led teams (2018, 2021).
• To find the last Purdue team to win four road games, one must dig back in the record book to 1943, when Elmer Burnham's band of Boilermakers went 9-0 on the season with a 5-0 away record.
PURDUE - MSU SERIES HISTORY
• Purdue and Michigan State cross paths more seldom than most Big Ten Conference colleagues, with just five matchups against each other since 2010. Saturday's game will be the first Boilermaker-Spartan contest since 2018.
• Purdue trails in the all-time series, 28-36-3, but has the advantage in games played at home (16-14-3).
LAST TIME AGAINST THE SPARTANS
• Purdue's last contest against Michigan State (Oct. 27, 2018) came after the famous Boiler win over No. 2 Ohio State (Oct. 20, 2018), with Purdue yielding a 23-13 result to the Spartans in East Lansing.
• Then-freshman LB Jaylan Alexander recorded three tackles in that game, and redshirt sophomore WR Jackson Anthrop returned one kickoff for 14 yards.
WELCOME TO THE PURDUE PICK PARTY
• Purdue has now had four interceptions in two of the last three games after not recording a four-INT game since the 2018 season. Prior to the four interceptions by Purdue's defense at No. 2 Iowa (Oct. 16) and the most recent effort at Nebraska (Oct. 30), the Boilermakers last had four interceptions vs. Boston College on Sept. 22, 2018.
• The Boilermakers have accomplished a four-interception game eight times in the last 21 seasons of football, but 2021 stands as the first season since 1999 with two instances in the same campaign.
DEFENSE IS TRENDING UP
• The Boilermakers have 10 takeaways in the last three games after recording a total of two in the first five games.
• Purdue also stands out as one of just 16 teams nationally to have recorded both a fumble return and interception return for touchdown this season. For Purdue, both types of defensive scores had not occurred since 2011, per Sports Reference.
MANY HAPPY RETURNS
• Junior LB Jalen Graham's second-quarter interception at Nebraska (Oct. 30) was returned 45 yards for a touchdown, becoming the first Purdue pick-six since Cory Trice's 37-yard return on October 12, 2019, vs. Maryland.
• Graham's performance at Nebraska, which included two interceptions, helped him earn Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Week, announced on Monday, Nov. 1
• Junior DE George Karlaftis' fumble return for a touchdown in the second half vs. Wisconsin (Oct. 23) was the first by a Boilermaker since Graham on October 31, 2020, at Illinois.
• With Karlaftis' play, Purdue has now had a fumble or interception returned for score by its defense for eight consecutive seasons.
Defensive Touchdowns in the Last EIGHT Years
2014 Frankie Williams vs. 39 yards vs. Iowa (INT)
2015 Danny Ezechukwu 90 yards vs. Virginia Tech (FUM)
2016 Gelen Robinson 78 yards vs. Eastern Kentucky (INT)
2017 Ja'Whaun Bentley 76 yards vs. Minnesota (INT)
2018 Markus Bailey 41 yards vs. Ohio State (INT)
2019 Cory Trice 37 yards vs. Maryland (INT)
2020 Jalen Graham 0 yards at Illinois (FUM)
2021 George Karlaftis 56 yards vs. Wisconsin (FUM)
2021 Jalen Graham 45 yards at Nebraska (INT)
BEDNARIK SEMIFINALIST FOR GEORGE
• Junior DE George Karlaftis was named a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award on Monday, Nov. 1, an honor annually bestowed upon the college football defensive player of the year.
• Prior to the season, Karlaftis was named to watch lists for the Lott Trophy, Bednarik Award and Nagurski Trophy. In 23 career collegiate games, Karlaftis has 25.5 tackles-for-loss and 12.5 sacks.
RING THE BELL
• If you hadn't heard of junior WR David Bell before the Iowa game (Oct. 16), now you have. The junior from Indianapolis (Warren Central HS) torched the No. 2 Hawkeyes for 240 receiving yards (11 catches), the second-highest yardage total in team history, behind only Chris Daniels' 301 vs. Michigan State (October 16, 1999).
• Bell's effort against Iowa sets him as the eighth Boilermaker to have 200-plus receiving yards in a game and the first since Rondale Moore had 220 vs. Vanderbilt (September 7, 2019).
• Also within the Iowa game was a season-long 60-yard snag for Bell, which is the longest play from scrimmage for the Boilermakers in 2021. His longest is an 89-yard touchdown reception vs. Nebraska during the 2020 season (Dec. 5).
• Bell has surpassed 100 receiving yards in 14 of his 25 career games at Purdue, which ties the program record previously held solely by John Standeford.
• Bell started his 2021 campaign with a 134-yard, eight-catch effort vs. Oregon State (Sept. 4) and a 121-yard, six-catch, three-touchdown outing at UConn (Sept. 11).
• Bell missed the Illinois (Sept. 25) game due to being in concussion protocol after the Notre Dame (Sept. 18) game.
• The Boilermaker star ranks seventh nationally in receiving yards per game (112.3), and first in the Big Ten Conference.
• For his career, Bell is averaging 7.7 catches per game and 97.8 yards per game. His 97.8 receiving yards per game is No. 1 in the NCAA FBS for active careers. His 7.7 receptions per game is currently the 2nd-most for an active NCAA career.
• The three-TD game for Bell at UConn matched his career-high he set against Iowa last season (Oct. 24, 2020). He is just the second Purdue WR in school history with multiple three-TD reception games, joining Taylor Stubblefield (2001-04).
JAYLAN'S JURISDICTION
• Since the 2000 season, just five Boilermakers have accumulated 15 or more tackles in a game. With his effort against Wisconsin (Oct. 23), senior LB Jaylan Alexander became the latest to accomplish the feat (11 solo, 4 assisted, 1.0 TFL).
• In recent memory, former LBs Ben Holt and Markus Bailey make the list provided by Sports-Reference.com. Holt recorded 17 tackles in 2019 against TCU (Sept. 14, 2019), while Bailey posted 15 stops in 2018 in the win against No. 2 Ohio State (Oct. 20, 2018).
• Alexander is tied for 16th in the Big Ten Conference, currently, with his 58 total tackles (7.3 per game).
GOODBYE, NUMBER TWO
• With the win against No. 2 Iowa (Oct. 16), Purdue improved to 6-10 all-time against teams ranked No. 2 in the AP poll, and the Boilermakers have won two in a row, including the 49-20 win against second-ranked Ohio State on October 20, 2018
• The Boilermakers have 16 wins over top-five opponents when they are unranked, the most in the country.
• The Iowa win is Purdue's first against a top-2 foe on the road since a 31-20 victory at Notre Dame on September 28, 1974.
Head coach Jeff Brohm and his squad are on the hunt for a fourth Big Ten Conference victory for this 2021 campaign, a threshold that Brohm has been able to lead Purdue past twice thus far in his tenure (2017, 4-5; 2018, 5-4). Since the 2010 season, Purdue has claimed four or more Big Ten wins just three times.
A NOTEWORTHY NEBRASKA WIN
• The 28-23 win at Nebraska (Oct. 30) stands as Purdue's third win in the last four matchups against the Cornhuskers. It was also the second-straight win for the Boilermakers in Memorial Stadium.
• Head coach Jeff Brohm improved to 3-2 against Nebraska with the result, and the series record is now knotted up at 5-5-0.
• The victory was also Purdue's third road win of 2021. Since the 2000 season, Purdue has won three away contests just five times, with three of those instances by Joe Tiller-led squads (2003, 2004, 2006) and twice now by Brohm-led teams (2018, 2021).
• To find the last Purdue team to win four road games, one must dig back in the record book to 1943, when Elmer Burnham's band of Boilermakers went 9-0 on the season with a 5-0 away record.
PURDUE - MSU SERIES HISTORY
• Purdue and Michigan State cross paths more seldom than most Big Ten Conference colleagues, with just five matchups against each other since 2010. Saturday's game will be the first Boilermaker-Spartan contest since 2018.
• Purdue trails in the all-time series, 28-36-3, but has the advantage in games played at home (16-14-3).
LAST TIME AGAINST THE SPARTANS
• Purdue's last contest against Michigan State (Oct. 27, 2018) came after the famous Boiler win over No. 2 Ohio State (Oct. 20, 2018), with Purdue yielding a 23-13 result to the Spartans in East Lansing.
• Then-freshman LB Jaylan Alexander recorded three tackles in that game, and redshirt sophomore WR Jackson Anthrop returned one kickoff for 14 yards.
WELCOME TO THE PURDUE PICK PARTY
• Purdue has now had four interceptions in two of the last three games after not recording a four-INT game since the 2018 season. Prior to the four interceptions by Purdue's defense at No. 2 Iowa (Oct. 16) and the most recent effort at Nebraska (Oct. 30), the Boilermakers last had four interceptions vs. Boston College on Sept. 22, 2018.
• The Boilermakers have accomplished a four-interception game eight times in the last 21 seasons of football, but 2021 stands as the first season since 1999 with two instances in the same campaign.
DEFENSE IS TRENDING UP
• The Boilermakers have 10 takeaways in the last three games after recording a total of two in the first five games.
• Purdue also stands out as one of just 16 teams nationally to have recorded both a fumble return and interception return for touchdown this season. For Purdue, both types of defensive scores had not occurred since 2011, per Sports Reference.
MANY HAPPY RETURNS
• Junior LB Jalen Graham's second-quarter interception at Nebraska (Oct. 30) was returned 45 yards for a touchdown, becoming the first Purdue pick-six since Cory Trice's 37-yard return on October 12, 2019, vs. Maryland.
• Graham's performance at Nebraska, which included two interceptions, helped him earn Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Week, announced on Monday, Nov. 1
• Junior DE George Karlaftis' fumble return for a touchdown in the second half vs. Wisconsin (Oct. 23) was the first by a Boilermaker since Graham on October 31, 2020, at Illinois.
• With Karlaftis' play, Purdue has now had a fumble or interception returned for score by its defense for eight consecutive seasons.
Defensive Touchdowns in the Last EIGHT Years
2014 Frankie Williams vs. 39 yards vs. Iowa (INT)
2015 Danny Ezechukwu 90 yards vs. Virginia Tech (FUM)
2016 Gelen Robinson 78 yards vs. Eastern Kentucky (INT)
2017 Ja'Whaun Bentley 76 yards vs. Minnesota (INT)
2018 Markus Bailey 41 yards vs. Ohio State (INT)
2019 Cory Trice 37 yards vs. Maryland (INT)
2020 Jalen Graham 0 yards at Illinois (FUM)
2021 George Karlaftis 56 yards vs. Wisconsin (FUM)
2021 Jalen Graham 45 yards at Nebraska (INT)
BEDNARIK SEMIFINALIST FOR GEORGE
• Junior DE George Karlaftis was named a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award on Monday, Nov. 1, an honor annually bestowed upon the college football defensive player of the year.
• Prior to the season, Karlaftis was named to watch lists for the Lott Trophy, Bednarik Award and Nagurski Trophy. In 23 career collegiate games, Karlaftis has 25.5 tackles-for-loss and 12.5 sacks.
RING THE BELL
• If you hadn't heard of junior WR David Bell before the Iowa game (Oct. 16), now you have. The junior from Indianapolis (Warren Central HS) torched the No. 2 Hawkeyes for 240 receiving yards (11 catches), the second-highest yardage total in team history, behind only Chris Daniels' 301 vs. Michigan State (October 16, 1999).
• Bell's effort against Iowa sets him as the eighth Boilermaker to have 200-plus receiving yards in a game and the first since Rondale Moore had 220 vs. Vanderbilt (September 7, 2019).
• Also within the Iowa game was a season-long 60-yard snag for Bell, which is the longest play from scrimmage for the Boilermakers in 2021. His longest is an 89-yard touchdown reception vs. Nebraska during the 2020 season (Dec. 5).
• Bell has surpassed 100 receiving yards in 14 of his 25 career games at Purdue, which ties the program record previously held solely by John Standeford.
• Bell started his 2021 campaign with a 134-yard, eight-catch effort vs. Oregon State (Sept. 4) and a 121-yard, six-catch, three-touchdown outing at UConn (Sept. 11).
• Bell missed the Illinois (Sept. 25) game due to being in concussion protocol after the Notre Dame (Sept. 18) game.
• The Boilermaker star ranks seventh nationally in receiving yards per game (112.3), and first in the Big Ten Conference.
• For his career, Bell is averaging 7.7 catches per game and 97.8 yards per game. His 97.8 receiving yards per game is No. 1 in the NCAA FBS for active careers. His 7.7 receptions per game is currently the 2nd-most for an active NCAA career.
• The three-TD game for Bell at UConn matched his career-high he set against Iowa last season (Oct. 24, 2020). He is just the second Purdue WR in school history with multiple three-TD reception games, joining Taylor Stubblefield (2001-04).
JAYLAN'S JURISDICTION
• Since the 2000 season, just five Boilermakers have accumulated 15 or more tackles in a game. With his effort against Wisconsin (Oct. 23), senior LB Jaylan Alexander became the latest to accomplish the feat (11 solo, 4 assisted, 1.0 TFL).
• In recent memory, former LBs Ben Holt and Markus Bailey make the list provided by Sports-Reference.com. Holt recorded 17 tackles in 2019 against TCU (Sept. 14, 2019), while Bailey posted 15 stops in 2018 in the win against No. 2 Ohio State (Oct. 20, 2018).
• Alexander is tied for 16th in the Big Ten Conference, currently, with his 58 total tackles (7.3 per game).
GOODBYE, NUMBER TWO
• With the win against No. 2 Iowa (Oct. 16), Purdue improved to 6-10 all-time against teams ranked No. 2 in the AP poll, and the Boilermakers have won two in a row, including the 49-20 win against second-ranked Ohio State on October 20, 2018
• The Boilermakers have 16 wins over top-five opponents when they are unranked, the most in the country.
• The Iowa win is Purdue's first against a top-2 foe on the road since a 31-20 victory at Notre Dame on September 28, 1974.