WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – At the halfway point through the 2025 season, the first under head coach Barry Odom, Purdue Football remains on the road for another Big Ten matchup. The Boilermakers make the short trip north to face Northwestern on the shores of Lake Michigan. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network.
QUICK HITS
- Purdue wraps up a stretch of playing three of four games away from home.
- The Boilermakers are coming off a tough loss on the road to Minnesota, 27-20, in which they outgained the Golden Gophers 456-262 throughout the contest.
- Purdue leads the Big Ten and ranks third nationally in net punting with a 45.2 average.
- The Purdue defense has only surrendered six touchdown passes this year, including just three in three Big Ten games.
- Purdue is 10-for-13 (77%) on fourth down, the second-best conversion rate in the country among teams that have successfully converted at least 10 fourth down attempts.
- With 453 yards against No. 22 Illinois and 456 yards at Minnesota, the Boilermaker offense has eclipsed 450 yards in back-to-back Big Ten games for the first time since November 2021 (481 at Ohio State, 473 versus Northwestern).
- The Boilermakers have scored at least 27 points in four of their six games this season after only reaching that mark twice throughout the entire 2024 campaign.
- The Boilermakers have beaten the Wildcats 53 times throughout history, their second-most over a Big Ten opponent (77 wins over Indiana).
- Last week, Purdue bottled up the Golden Gophers' run game to just 30 yards, the fewest allowed by Purdue since 11 yards in a win over Virginia Tech in 2023. It marked the sixth game since 2000 that Purdue allowed 30 yards or fewer on the ground and just the third against Big Ten competition.
- Devin Mockobee is currently ranked in the program Top 10 in several career categories: 100-yard rushing games (4th), rushing yards (4th), rushing touchdowns (9th) and all-purpose yards (10th).
- Michael Jackson III leads the Big Ten in receptions in league games, averaging 8.3 per contest. That includes his 14-catch output at No. 22 Illinois, the most catches by a player in a B1G game this season.
- Ryan Browne made his collegiate debut in the Boilermakers' last meeting at Northwestern (Nov. 18, 2023). As a true freshman, he split series with Bennett Meredith and finished with 104 passing yards and 85 rushing yards.
- Browne's 281.8 yards of total offense per game are fourth-most in the Big Ten and rank 23rd in the country. Browne has been even better in B1G contests, averaging 299.0 yards per game to rank third in the conference.
- Averaging 9.2 tackles per game, sophomore linebacker Charles Correa ranks third in the Big Ten and 20th nationally in tackle average.
OFFENSIVE SURGE
- With offensive coordinator Josh Henson calling the plays, Purdue has moved the ball up and down the field this season.
- The Boilermakers have averaged more than 400 yards of total offense (408.7), an improvement of 100-plus yards from the 2024 season. The difference has been led by quarterback Ryan Browne, who ranks third in the Big Ten and 23rd nationally with 281.8 yards of total offense per game.
- The offense has averaged 422.0 yards in conference games, ranking third in the Big Ten. Purdue joins USC as the only two teams to rank in the Top 7 of the conference in both passing and rushing. The Boilermakers are fourth in passing (270.0 ypg) and seventh in rushing (152.0 ypg).
- After racking up 453 yards against No. 22 Illinois, the Purdue offense recorded a season-high 456 yards at Minnesota. It marked the first time that the Boilermakers reached 450 yards of total offense in back-to-back Big Ten games since November 2021 (481 at Ohio State, 473 versus Northwestern).
- Averaging nearly 27 points per game, Purdue has scored at least 27 points in four of the team’s six games. The 2024 Boilermakers reached the 27-point plateau just twice throughout the entire season, averaging 15.8 points per game.
RUNNING WILD
- Purdue has averaged 202 yards per game on the ground over the past two contests.
- Against Minnesota, the Boilers set a season high with 253 yards on the ground, their most since 263 yards at Oregon State last season.
- Mockobee led the rushing attack with 98 yards, just two yards shy of his third 100-yard game against the Golden Gophers.
- Ryan Browne added 61 yards on the ground on eight carries, and Malachi Singleton tacked on a career-high 73 yards on five rushes. Both quarterbacks had rushing touchdowns. The 134 yards on the ground were the most by Purdue quarterbacks since Rob Henry rushed for 132 yards at Northwestern in 2010.
- Browne and Singleton also became the first quarterback duo at Purdue to both rush for 50 yards in a game since at least 1995.
- Browne, Singleton and Mockobee were the first trio with 60+ yards on the ground since Raheem Mostert, Akeem Hunt and Austin Appleby did it against Minnesota in 2014.
STOPPING THE RUN
- While Purdue ran for 253 yards at Minnesota, the defense limited the Golden Gophers to only 30 yards on the ground.
- It marked the sixth game since 2000 that Purdue allowed 30 yards or fewer on the ground and just the third against Big Ten competition.
FROM GEORGIA TO PURDUE
- In the offseason, the Purdue wide receiver room welcomed a pair of Georgia transfers who have become an important part of the Boilermaker offense.
- After making the move north, Michael Jackson III and Nitro Tuggle have combined for 52 catches for 636 yards and four touchdowns through the first half of the season.
- Jackson leads the Boilermakers in receptions (36) and receiving yards (354), while Tuggle ranks second in both categories, 16 and 282, respectively, and his three receiving touchdowns are a team best.
- Averaging 8.3 catches per conference game, Jackson leads the Big Ten. Tuggle has been a big play threat, ranking fourth in the league with 17.7 yards per reception.
- Scoring a touchdown against Notre Dame, Tuggle became the first Purdue wide receiver to find the end zone in three straight games since Charlie Jones (Cincinnati Bengals) accomplished the feat during his 2022 All-American season.
- Jackson hauled in a career-high 14 receptions against No. 22 Illinois, the only Big Ten player to reach that mark this season. It was also the most catches by a Boilermaker since Rondale Moore (Minnesota Vikings) caught 15 passes against Minnesota (Nov. 20, 2020).
SWARM THE BALL
- Purdue has four players with at least 40 tackles this season, tied for the most in the country with Oregon State: Charles Correa (55), Mani Powell (45), Myles Slusher (43) and Tahj Ra-El (42).
- The Boilermakers are the only Power 4 team to have four players rank in the Top 15 of their respective conference in tackles. Correa ranks third, Powell is ninth, Slusher is 12th and Ra-El is 13th.
- Correa and Powell led the attack against No. 22 Illinois, recording 15 and 14 tackles, respectively. They became the first pair of Purdue teammates to have at least 14 tackles in the same game since the Boilermakers’ 2021 Music City Bowl win over Tennessee (Chris Jefferson, Jaylan Alexander and Kieren Douglas).
TACKLING MACHINE
- Making the move with head coach Barry Odom from Las Vegas to West Lafayette, sophomore linebacker Charles Correa has made an immediate impact for the Boilermaker defense.
- Correa has made 55 tackles through the first five games of the season, averaging 9.2 per game to rank third in the Big Ten and 20th nationally.
- He was the first Boilermaker underclassmen with at least 49 tackles through five games since Ja'Whaun Bentley in 2015.
- Correa is the first Boilermaker since at least 1995 to record 10 or more tackles in four of the first five games and just the 14th Big Ten player to do so in that span.
- Only eight other players throughout the country have recorded four 10-plus tackle games this year.
- With four double-digit tackle games, Correa is tied for seventh-most in a season at Purdue since 1995.