ROSEMONT, Ill. – After putting together the best rushing performance of his career and leading Purdue Football to a 41-13 victory over his former team, sophomore running back Fame Ijeboi was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday afternoon (Oct. 12).
Along with Purdue’s back-to-back B1G wins, it marks the second straight week that a Boilermaker has earned a weekly conference accolade. Freshman kicker Jacobo Echeverria Lozano was selected as the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week following Purdue’s road victory at Illinois (Oct. 5). Ijeboi becomes the first Boilermaker to be named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week since quarterback Aidan O’Connell during the 2022 season (Oct. 17, 2022).
Going up against his former team in the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Ijeboi produced career highs in carries (31), rushing yards (195) and rushing touchdowns (3), racking up the most rushing yards by a Boilermaker since Markell Jones in 2017 (217 vs. Indiana) and the 15th-most all-time. According to PFF, he forced 18 missed tackles, the most missed tackles forced in a game since Ashton Jeanty (Boise State) versus San Diego State in 2024 and the most in a Big Ten game since Blake Corum (Michigan) had 24 versus Michigan State in 2022. Ijeboi became just the fourth Boilermaker since 1995 to record at least 195 rushing yards and three touchdowns in a game, the first since Montrell Lowe in 2000 (208 rushing yards, 4 TDs vs. Indiana).
Ijeboi has made an immediate impact for Purdue after transferring from Minnesota, becoming one of the leaders on the offensive side of the ball. With 549 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on the year, he ranks second in the Big Ten and ranks fifth nationally in rushing touchdowns. He is one rushing TD away from becoming the 22nd Boilermaker to record double-digit rushing touchdowns in a season. The Folcroft, Pennsylvania, native has a pair of three-touchdown games this season, the first Boilermaker to accomplish the feat since Kory Sheets in 2008.
Proving to be a hard back to take down, Ijeboi leads the nation by forcing 48 missed tackles throughout the season, 14 more than any other Big Ten player according to PFF. He joins Bijan Robinson (62), Kenneth Walker III (58) and Jeanty (48) as the only players with at least 48 missed tackles through the first six games of a season since 2021.
Ijeboi and the Boilermakers look to continue their winning ways, welcoming Washington to Ross-Ade Stadium for a Friday night matchup (Oct. 16). The conference battle is set for 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
