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Game 10 Prep: Purdue Hosts Nation’s #1 Team for 1st Time Since 1989Game 10 Prep: Purdue Hosts Nation’s #1 Team for 1st Time Since 1989
Quan Nguyen/Purdue Athletics

Game 10 Prep: Purdue Hosts Nation’s #1 Team for 1st Time Since 1989

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – After dropping a hard-fought battle at No. 21 Michigan, 21-16, Purdue Football returns home to host the No. 1 team in the country. The Boilermakers face Ohio State, kicking off from Ross-Ade Stadium at 1 p.m. on BTN.

 

QUICK HITS

  • Purdue is playing the nation's No. 1 team for the first time since 1990. The game marks the first time the Boilermakers face the top team in the College Football Playoff rankings.
  • The Boilermakers have defeated a ranked OSU team eight times throughout history, including four times when the Buckeyes were ranked in the Top 5.
  • Twenty-five years ago, Purdue defeated No. 12 Ohio State 31-27 on the way to a Big Ten Championship and a trip to the Rose Bowl. The game featured one of the most famous plays in program history ("Holy Toledo"), with Drew Brees finding Seth Morales on a 64-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter.
  • Purdue's November features opponents with a combined record of 30-4. That includes facing the top two teams in the country and back-to-back weeks against the last two national champions.
  • On this date 22 years ago (Nov. 8, 2003), No. 16 Purdue beat No. 10 Iowa 27-14 at Ross-Ade Stadium. Also on this date, the No. 8 Boilermakers and No. 16 Buckeyes played to a 14-14 tie (Nov. 8, 1958).
  • Donald Winston, a starting wide receiver on the 2000 Big Ten Championship team, will serve as Purdue's honorary captain.
  • The Top 3 tacklers are Boilermakers. Charles Correa, Mani Powell and Tahj Ra-El lead the conference with 81 tackles apiece.
  • Correa, Powell and Ra-El all three average 9.0 tackles per game, ranking 18th nationally.
  • The Boilermakers are one of only two teams in the country (Buffalo) to have three different 15-tackle performances this season. (Mani Powell - 20 at Northwestern, Charles Correa - 15 vs. Illinois, Tahj Ra-El - 15 vs. Rutgers).
  • Michael Jackson III leads the Big Ten in receptions in league games with 39 catches for 315 yards. His 14-catch output at No. 22 Illinois is the most catches by any player in a B1G game this season.
  • Against No. 21 Michigan, Purdue was without Devin Mockobee for the first time since the 2022 season opener, snapping a streak of 37 straight games played by the starting running back. Mockobee is currently ranked in the program Top 10 in several career categories: 100-yard rushing games (4th), rushing yards (4th), all-purpose yards (7th) and rushing touchdowns (9th).
  • Spencer Porath is 11-for-12 on field goals this season, ranking third in the Big Ten and 10th nationally in field goal percentage (91.7%). Porath hit a career-long 50-yard field goal at Michigan last week.
  • Purdue leads the Big Ten and ranks 17th nationally in net punting with a 42.5 average.
  • The Boilermakers also rank 12th nationally in punt return defense, allowing only 2.7 yards per return.

 

FACING NO.1  

  • The Boilermakers are playing the No. 1 team in the country for the first time since 1990, a 37-11 loss at Notre Dame (Sept. 29, 1990).
  • Purdue is hosting the nation’s top ranked team for the first time since 1989, also the Fighting Irish.
  • Throughout the history of Purdue Football, the Boilermakers have beaten the nation’s No. 1 team seven times. Purdue is 7-11 against AP No. 1 teams and 7-11 against Coaches No. 1 teams.

 

BIG WINS OVER BUCKEYES

  • Purdue is no stranger to upsetting Ohio State. The Boilermakers have defeated a ranked OSU team eight times throughout history, including four times when the Buckeyes were ranked in the Top 5.
  • The last time the Boilermakers beat a Top 5 Buckeyes team, it was a night Purdue fans will never forget. Inspired by Purdue superfan Tyler Trent's fight against cancer, the Boilermakers blew out No. 2 Ohio State 49-20 (Oct. 20, 2018).
  • One of the most iconic plays in Purdue Football history occurred against Ohio State. Seth Morales caught the game-winning 64-yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees, prompting a "Holy Toledo" from TV announcer Brent Musberger as the Boilermakers beat Ohio State (Oct. 28, 2000). Brees' big throw to Morales helped the Boilermakers win the Big Ten and secure a trip to the Rose Bowl.

 

SUCCESS VS. RANKED OPPONENTS

  • Purdue has beaten seven ranked teams over the past seven seasons despite being the underdog in each one of those games.
  • Three of those wins were against Top 3 teams, while Purdue handed five of those ranked teams their first loss of the season.
  • The victories during the 2021 campaign (No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Michigan State) gave Purdue multiple wins over Top 5 teams in one season for the first time since 1960 (No. 3 Ohio State, No. 1 Minnesota).
  • Five of the seven wins have been by double digits, the biggest being a 29-point victory over No. 2 Ohio State in 2018.

 

LAST WEEK VS. MICHIGAN

  • In a hard-fought battle, Purdue fell to No. 21 Michigan 21-16 at Michigan Stadium to kick off the month of November. The Wolverines entered the contest winning all four of their previous home games by at least 14 points.
  • The Boilermaker defense forced a pair of red zone turnovers, an interception by Hudauri Hines and a forced fumble by CJ Nunnally at the goal line that went out of the back of the end zone.
  • Purdue produced a 16-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that nine minutes and thirty seconds off the clock, the team’s longest drive in terms of time duration this season. It was the longest drive in plays for the Boilermakers since 2022 when they scored a touchdown on a 19-play drive against Illinois.
  • Tahj Ra-El finished with double-digit tackles for the third straight game, leading the team with 13 stops on the night.
  • Spencer Porath connected on a career-long 50-yard field goal early in the third quarter,the longest by a Boilermaker kicker since JD Dellinger hit a 53-yarder against TCU in 2019.
  • Winston Berglund got his hand on a punt in the third quarter, the first blocked punt by the Boilermakers since the season opener in 2024 by Leland Smith.

 

MISSING MOCKOBEE

  • Last week against No. 21 Michigan, Purdue was without one of the best running backs in program history.
  • Devin Mockobee missed the matchup 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 is currently ranked in the program 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.

 

BIG PLAY CJ

  • 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 (7), while ranking second in tackles-for-loss (7.5). He also has a fumble recovery to his credit.
  • Last week against No. 21 Michigan, Nunnally forced a fumble at the goal line, punching the ball out of the back of the end zone to give the ball back to the Boilermakers.

 

SWARM THE BALL

  • Charles Correa (81), Mani Powell (81) and Tahj Ra-El (81) have combined for 243 tackles this season, more than any other trio of teammates in the country.
  • The Top 3 tacklers are Boilermakers. Charles Correa, Mani Powell and Tahj Ra-El lead the conference with 81 tackles apiece. Those numbers are even better in conference play. Powell’s 10.8 tackles per conference contest lead the Big Ten, while Correa and Ra-El are tied for second with 9.7.
  • The three Boilermakers crack the nation’s Top 25 in tackle average, ranking 18th with 9.0 tackles per game.
  • 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).

 

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 74 catches for 804 yards and five touchdowns this season.
  • Jackson leads the Boilermakers in receptions (50) and receiving yards (456), while Tuggle ranks second in both categories, 24 and 348, respectively, and his four receiving touchdowns are a team best.
  • With 39 catches in conference games, Jackson leads the Big Ten. He 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).
  • 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.

 

MANI’S THE MAN

  • A team captain and finding a spot on the Butkus Award Watch List, linebacker Mani Powell is Purdue’s leading tackler through the first nine games of the season.
  • Powell leads the Big Ten in total tackles (81) and ranks 18th nationally with 9.0 tackles per game. He has been even better in conference play, as his 10.8 tackles per game in B1G games lead the league.
  • He also paces Purdue with 8.5 tackles-for-loss and ranks second on the team with a trio of 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).

 

SPECIAL SPENCER

  • Nine games into his sophomore year, Spencer Porath has already made more field goals as he did all of last season. He went 7-for-11 as a freshman, and he is 11-of-12 to start the 2025 campaign.
  • 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 12 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 17 career games, Porath has moved into 14th on the Purdue career charts with 18 made kicks.
  • His 78.3% 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).

 

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 81 tackles on the season, leading the Big Ten and averaging 9.0 tackles per game to rank 18th nationally.
  • He was the first Boilermaker underclassmen with at least 49 tackles through five games since Ja'Whaun Bentley in 2015.
  • Correa was 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.