WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue Football makes its final road trip of the 2025 season, traveling 2,192 miles to face Washington in the first Big Ten matchup between the two teams. Kickoff from Husky Stadium is set for 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) on FS1.
QUICK HITS
- The Boilermakers are making their sixth trip to Washington, the first since 198. That includes the first matchup in the series, a 13-6 victory in 1961.
- The last two matchups were in bowl games. Purdue defeated Washington 34-24 in the 2002 Sun Bowl. The two teams also met in the 2001 Rose Bowl after the Boilermakers captured the 2000 Big Ten title.
- The contest features the Boilermakers going up against their former head coach, Ryan Walters, who serves as the Huskies' defensive coordinator. Purdue head coach Barry Odom's brother, Brian, coaches Washington's inside linebackers.
- Purdue's November features opponents with a combined record of 32-5. That includes hosting the top two teams in the country and coming off back-to-back weeks against the last two national champions.
- On this date in 1958, Jack Mollenkopf's No. 8 Boilermakers went on the road to beat No. 13 Northwestern 23-6 in a Top 15 matchup.
- Last week, Purdue became the first team this season to hold a lead over No. 1 Ohio State at the end of the first quarter (3-0). The Boilermakers also became the second team to hold the Buckeyes scoreless in two quarters this season.
- Purdue ranks third in the Big Ten and 21st nationally in red zone defense.
- After forcing only one turnover through the first five games of the season, the Boilermakers have forced seven turnovers in the last five games, at least one in each contest during that stretch.
- The Top 3 tackle leaders in the Big Ten are Boilermakers. Mani Powell (94) leads the way, while Tahj Ra-El (91) is second and Charles Correa (88) ranks third.
- All three crack the nation's Top 30 in tackles per game. Powell (9.4) ranks 17th, Ra-El (9.1) ranks 22nd and Correa (8.8) ranks 28th.
- CJ Nunnally IV is one of three players in the country with at least seven tackles-for-loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one interception (Xavier Adkinson - Auburn and Byrun Parham - UConn). Nunnally has recorded at least five sacks in all three seasons at the FBS level.
- Spencer Porath is 12-for-13 on field goals this season, ranking third in the Big Ten and 10th nationally in field goal percentage (92.3%). Porath hit a career-long 50-yard field goal at Michigan to kick off the month of November.
- Purdue leads the Big Ten and ranks 18th nationally in net punting with a 42.2 average.
- Jack McCallister ranks second in the Big Ten in punt average (44.8) and leads the conference with 16 punts pinned inside the 20-yard line.
- The Boilermakers also rank 21st nationally in punt return defense, allowing only 3.9 yards per return.
CROSS-COUNTRY CONNECTIONS
- Despite being more than 2,000 miles apart, there are several connections between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Washington Huskies.
- Purdue starting punter Jack McCallister spent four seasons at Washington, including the past three as the Huskies’ starting punter.
- Head coach Barry Odom’s brother, Brad, is the inside linebackers coach at Washington.
- Washington defensive coordinator Ryan Walters served as Purdue’s head coach during the 2023 and 2024 campaigns.
- Washington special teams coordinator Chris Petrilli served on Walters’ Purdue staff in the same position.
FAR, FAR AWAY
- When Purdue makes the 2,192-mile trip to Seattle this weekend, it will be the 21st time in history that the Boilermakers have traveled more than 2,000 miles to play a football game.
- With Washington being one of the newest members of the Big Ten, Saturday's game will be the longest road trip for a conference game in Purdue Football history.
- The Boilermakers have made five trips to Seattle to face Washington, their most-common opponent from the West Coast, having met 10 times throughout history.
- Six of those 2,000-mile road trips have been to the Los Angeles area for matchups against UCLA and USC, as well as a pair of Rose Bowl appearances (1967, 2001).
MISSING MOCKOBEE
- For the rest of the season, Purdue is without one of the best running backs in program history.
- Devin Mockobee suffered an injury in the fourth quarter against Rutgers (Oct. 24), which required season-ending surgery.
- Mockobee missed the matchup at No. 21 Michigan (Nov. 1) due to injury, snapping a streak of 37 straight games played by the starting running back going all the way back to the 2022 season opener.
- Mockobee appeared in five games before earning the starting position midway through the 2022 campaign and never looking back.
- The Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year semifinalist ranks in the program’s Top 10 in several career categories: 100-yard rushing games (4th - 9), rushing yards (4th - 2,987), all-purpose yards (7th - 3,864) and rushing touchdowns (9th - 23).
- This season, Mockobee leads the team in rushing yards (521) and rushing touchdowns (4). He has also thrown a touchdown and caught a touchdown this year.
LAST WEEK VS. OHIO STATE
- Purdue held a 3-0 advantage at the conclusion of the first quarter, becoming the first team to lead Ohio State at the end of the first quarter this season.
- The Purdue offensive line did not allow a sack on 22 pass attempts. It marked the third time this season that the o-line played a complete game without giving up a sack.
- Purdue became the second team this season to hold Ohio State scoreless in two quarters, the first coming being Texas in the season opener.
- Mani Powell had 13 tackles, one sack, and 1.5 tackles-for-loss. It was Powell's fourth game this season with double digit tackles.
- CJ Nunnally IV became the first Boilermaker defensive lineman with an interception since George Karlaftis on Sept. 14, 2019 vs. TCU.
CJ STUFFS THE STAT SHEET
- Joining Purdue after two years as a First Team All-MAC defensive lineman at Akron, CJ Nunnally IV has proven to be a major transfer pickup for Barry Odom’s Boilermakers.
- The Douglasville, Georgia, native leads Purdue in sacks (5.0), forced fumbles (2) and QB hurries (8), while ranking second in tackles-for-loss (7.5). He also has an interception and a fumble recovery to his credit.
- Nunnally is one of three players in the FBS this season with at least seven tackles-for-loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one interception (Xavier Adkinson, Auburn and Byrun Parham, UConn).
- He recorded the first interception of his career last game against No. 1 Ohio State, picking off Heisman Trophy favorite Julian Sayin in the end zone. His interception was the first by a Boilermaker defensive lineman since George Karlaftis against TCU in 2019.
- Nunnally has picked up the pace lately, forcing two fumbles and intercepting a pass over the last three games.
- He has at least five sacks in all three of his seasons at the FBS level.
SWARM THE BALL
- Mani Powell (94), Tahj Ra-El (91) and Charles Correa (88) have combined for 273 tackles this season, more than any other trio of teammates in the country.
- The Top 3 tacklers in the Big Ten are Boilermakers. Powell leads the way, Ra-El ranks second, and Correa is tied for third. Those numbers are even better in conference play. Powell’s 11.1 tackles per conference contest lead the Big Ten, while Ra-El (9.7) and Correa (9.3) round out the Top 3.
- The three Boilermakers crack the nation’s Top 30 in tackle average. Powell ranks 18th (9.4), Ra-El (9.1) ranks 22nd and Correa (8.8) ranks 28th.
- With Ra El’s career-high 15-tackle performance against Rutgers, Purdue became the second team nationwide to record at least three individual 15-tackle games this season (Buffalo).
- 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).
SPECIAL SPENCER
- Spencer Porath has been a major factor in Purdue's special teams play this season, going 12-of-13 on field goals.
- The sophomore went 7-for-11 as a freshman. He eclipsed his make total in game four this season.
- Against Michigan this season, Porath connected on a career-long 50-yard field goal. It was Purdue's first kick of 50 or more yards since J.D. Dellinger made a 53-yard boot against TCU in 2019.
- Porath is one of 14 kickers this season to have made 10 or more field goals at a 90% clip with a long of 50 yards or better. He and USC's Ryon Sayeri are the lone representatives from the Big Ten.
- Porath’s perfection through the his first nine kicks of the season matched the best start by a Purdue kicker since Mitchell Fineran in 2021.
- In just 18 career games, Porath has moved into 14th on the Purdue career charts with 19 made kicks.
- His 79.1% career field goal clip is currently second in Purdue history.
- He made a career-high three field goals at No. 21 Notre Dame. That included a career-long 48-yard field goal in the second quarter.
- Against Southern Illinois, he scored 10 points thanks to a pair of field goals and splitting the uprights on four PATs. For his performance, Porath became Purdue’s first Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week since Dellinger six seasons ago (Nov. 11, 2019).
MANI’S THE MAN
- A leader on the field and in the locker room as a team captain, Mani Powell is the Big Ten’s leading tackler through the first 10 games of the season.
- Powell leads the conference in total tackles (94) and ranks 17th nationally with 9.4 tackles per game. He has been even better in conference play, as his 11.1 tackles per game in B1G games lead the league.
- He also paces Purdue with 10.0 tackles-for-loss and ranks second on the team with 4.0 sacks.
- 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).