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Game 8 Prep: Returning Home to Host Rutgers for HomecomingGame 8 Prep: Returning Home to Host Rutgers for Homecoming
Quan Nguyen/Purdue Athletics

Game 8 Prep: Returning Home to Host Rutgers for Homecoming

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – After back-to-back road games, Purdue Football comes home to host Rutgers in the Boilermakers' annual Homecoming game. Just the third meeting between the two programs, kickoff from Ross-Ade Stadium is set for noon on BTN.

 

QUICK HITS

  • The Boilermakers are 54-44-4 in Homecoming games with Saturday marking the 103rd edition.
  • Purdue is 4-1 in Homecoming games played on October 25.
  • Rutgers becomes the Boilermakers’ 18th different Homecoming opponent throughout history.
  • Scott Campbell (1980-83), a member of the Cradle of Quarterbacks, will serve as Purdue's Honorary Captain for Saturday's contest.
  • Purdue leads the Big Ten and ranks eighth nationally in net punting with a 44.9 average.
  • The Boilermakers have limited their past two opponents from completing less than 50 percent of their passes (Minnesota - 46.7, Northwestern - 42.3), holding quarterbacks to under 50 percent in back-to-back games for the first time since 2014 (Minnesota - 50.0, Nebraska - 38.1).
  • Purdue has kept Big Ten opponents to converting only 32.8 percent (18-of-55) of their third downs, ranking third in the conference behind No. 1 Ohio State (17.4%) and No. 2 Indiana (27.8%).
  • The Boilermakers are one of only five teams in the country (Buffalo, Colorado State, New Mexico, UCLA) to have two different 15-tackle performances this season. (Mani Powell - 20 at Northwestern, Charles Correa - 15 vs. Illinois).
  • Purdue is the only team to have three players crack the Big Ten's Top 10 in tackles. Mani Powell (65) ranks second, Charles Correa (59) ranks fifth and Tahj Ra-El (53) ranks ninth.
  • Powell sits 16th nationally in tackles per game (9.3). His output is even better in conference contests, averaging a B1G-best 12.3 tackles per game.
  • Powell, on the Butkus Award Watch List, made a career-high 20 tackles at Northwestern last week. It was the most tackles by a Boilermaker since 1997 (20 - Willie Fells vs. Iowa).
  • According to PFF, Smiley Bradford's 90.1 coverage grade against Northwestern led the Big Ten and ranked second in the FBS last week (min. 15 coverage snaps). Bradford's day featured his first career interception.
  • 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).
  • Mockobee is a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year, an award given to someone who demonstrates leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship both on and off the field.
  • Michael Jackson III ranks second in the Big Ten in receptions in league games, averaging 7.5 per contest. His 14-catch output at No. 22 Illinois is the most catches by any player in a B1G game this season.

 

HOMECOMING HISTORY

  • Saturday’s game will be Purdue’s 103rd Homecoming game.
  • The Boilermakers are 54-44-4 in Homecoming contests.
  • Purdue is 4-1 in Homecoming games played on October 25: 1930 (Purdue 7, Wisconsin 6), 1941 (Purdue 7, Iowa 6), 1947 (Purdue 14, #5 Illinois 7), 1969 (#15 Purdue 45, Northwestern 20) and 2008 (#25 Minnesota 17, Purdue 6).
  • After losing six straight Homecoming games from 2012-17, the Boilermakers won four of the past seven.
  • Purdue hosts Rutgers for Homecoming for the first time. The Scarlet Knights become the Boilermakers’ 18th different Homecoming opponent throughout history. Wisconsin is Purdue’s most common Homecoming opponent (21 matchups).

 

HONORARY CAPTAIN – SCOTT CAMPBELL

  • Scott Campbell, one of the 12 members of the Cradle of Quarterbacks, will serve as Purdue’s honorary captain for Saturday’s Homecoming game.
  • Campbell put up incredible numbers throughout his career, including a 516-yard passing effort at Ohio State in 1981
  • For 16 years, he ranked second to his predecessor Mark Herrmann in virtually every category in school history. Campbell now ranks seventh in the school record books with 7,636 yards and 45 touchdowns.

 

SWARM THE BALL

  • Purdue has four players with at least 45 tackles this season, the most in the country: Mani Powell (65), Charles Correa (59), Tahj Ra-El (53) and Myles Slusher (46).
  • The Boilermakers are the only team to have three players crack the Big Ten’s Top 10 in tackles. Powell ranks second, Correa ranks fifth and Ra-El ranks ninth in total tackles.
  • 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).
  • With Powell’s 20-tackle performance at Northwestern, Purdue became the fifth team nationwide to record at least two individual 15-tackle games this season (Buffalo, Colorado State, New Mexico, UCLA).

 

MANI’S THE MAN

  • A team captain, linebacker Mani Powell is Purdue’s leading tackler through the first seven games of the season.
  • Powell ranks second in the Big Ten and 16th nationally with 9.3 tackles per game. He has been even better in conference play, as his 12.3 tackles per game in B1G games lead the league.
  • Against Northwestern, the Columbus, Ohio, native produced one of the best performances this century by a Purdue defender. He made a career-high 20 tackles, the most by a Big Ten player in a conference game since 2018.
  • Powell’s game marked the first time a Boilermaker recorded 20 tackles in a game since Willie Fells accomplished the feat against Iowa 28 years ago (Nov. 1, 1997).

 

ALL SMILES

  • Sophomore Smiley Bradford has become a lockdown defender in the passing game.
  • The defensive back leads the Boilermakers in pass breakups (5) and has one of the team’s two interceptions, recording his first career INT against Northwestern.
  • According to PFF, Bradford’s 91.0 combined coverage grade over the past two weeks leads the FBS (minimum 40 coverage snaps).
  • Last week against the Wildcats, he earned a 90.1 coverage grade to sit atop the Big Ten and rank second nationally (min. 15 coverage snaps).

 

SUPPRESSING THE PASSING GAME

  • Purdue held its opponent below 50 percent in pass completions for two consecutive weeks, containing Minnesota to 46.7 percent (Oct. 11) and Northwestern to 42.3 percent (Oct. 18).
  • It marked the first time Purdue held Big Ten opponents to under 50 percent in back-to-back games since 2014 (Minnesota - 50.0, Nebraska - 38.1).
  • Purdue joined Oregon and UCLA as the only three Big Ten teams to hold a Big Ten opponent under 50 percent in multiple games this season.

 • During the two games, the Boilers totaled 20 passes defended and picked off their first two passes of the season. Purdue’s 12 passes defended at Minnesota are tied for the fourth-highest single-game total in the FBS this season.