WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Kicking off the month of November, Purdue Football returns home to host Maryland for the annual Homecoming game. The Big Ten matchup begins at 12:30 p.m. ET on BTN.
QUICK HITS
- The Boilermakers are 54-45-4 in Homecoming games with Saturday marking the 104th edition.
- David Bell, a 2021 All-American and one of the best wide receivers in program history, will serve as Purdue’s honorary captain for Saturday’s Homecoming contest.
- Purdue defeated Maryland 40-14 in the 2019 Homecoming game.
- The Purdue defense has held opposition scoreless on their opening drives of the second half for five straight games.
- The Boilermakers are outscoring opponents 50-30 in the third quarter this season.
- Purdue is 32-of-34 in the red zone this season (21 touchdowns, 11 field goals), which includes scoring on the last 14 straight trips to the area. The 94.1 scoring percentage ranks ninth in the country and third in the Big Ten.
- Jacobo Echeverria Lozano leads the Big Ten and ranks sixth in the country with 16 made field goals. His 94.1 field goal percentage ranks fourth nationally among those with a minimum of 15 attempts.
- Quarterback Ryan Browne (Manning Award Watch List) ranks third in the Big Ten and 23rd nationally in passing yards.
- Fame Ijeboi (Doak Walker Award Watch List) leads the Purdue rushing attack, ranking third in the Big Ten and 16th nationally with nine rushing touchdowns.
- Asaad Waseem (Biletnikoff Award Watch List) averages 81.5 receiving yards per game to rank sixth in the Big Ten, on pace for the highest average by a Boilermaker receiver since All-American Charlie Jones (New York Giants) in 2022.
- Fame Ijeboi is one rushing touchdown away from becoming the first Boilermaker with 10 rushing TDs in a season since Markell Jones in 2015.
- Bisi Owens leads the nation with two blocked punts this season (vs. Indiana State, last week at Penn State).
- With 16 made field goals on the season, Jacobo Echeverria Lozano has tied the Purdue record for made field goals by a freshman alongside Travis Dorsch (1998).
- Scoring 236 points already this year (29.5 ppg), Purdue has surpassed its total scoring from each of the past two seasons (189 in 2024, 225 in 2025).
HOMECOMING HISTORY
- Saturday’s game will be Purdue’s 104th Homecoming game.
- The Boilermakers are 54-45-4 in Homecoming contests.
- Purdue is facing Maryland for the second time on Homecoming. The Boilermakers cruised past the Terps 40-14 in the 2019 Homecoming game.
- Saturday marks just the fourth time over the past 50 years that the annual Homecoming is taking place in the month of November.
HONORARY CAPTAIN
- All-American wide receiver David Bell (2019-21) will serve as Purdue Football’s honorary captain for Saturday’s Homecoming game.
- As a Boilermaker, the Indianapolis native set a new Purdue record with 17 career 100-yard receiving games, which included seven during his 2021 All-American season.
- He ranks in the school's all-time Top 10 for receptions (4th-232), receiving yards (5th-2,946) and receiving touchdowns (T-5th-21) for a career. Bell paced Purdue in receiving yards all three seasons.
- Along with his All-America honors, Bell was a finalist for the 2021 Biletnikoff Award as one of the best receivers nationwide. He earned the 2021 Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year as the best receiver in the Big Ten, leading the conference in catches per game (8.5) and receiving yards per game (116.9), while ranking second and fourth in the country, respectively.
- Following his collegiate career, Bell was selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns (99th overall pick).
SHIBEST'S SUPERB SPECIAL TEAMS
- Special teams coordinator James Shibest has his unit playing superb week in and week out.
- Under Shibest’s guidance, freshman Jacobo Echeverria Lozano has become one of the best kickers in the country by connecting on 16-of-17 attempts to rank sixth nationally.
- Purdue has blocked two punts on the season, just behind Wisconsin and Sacramento State for the most in the country. Bisi Owens blocked both punts to serve as the nation’s individual leader.
- Last week at Penn State, Owens blocked a punt with fellow wide receiver Jalil Hall picking it up and returning it for a touchdown. It marked Purdue’s first blocked punt for a touchdown since Sept. 6, 2008 against Northern Colorado when Frank Haliburton blocked a punt and Mike Conway returned the ball 11 yards for a score.
- Purdue also ranks 18th in the nation in net punting (42.5).
HE'S YA BOI, IJEBOI
- Fame 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 588 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on the year, he ranks third in the Big Ten and ranks 16th nationally in rushing touchdowns.
- He is one rushing TD away from becoming the 22nd Boilermaker to record double-digit rushing touchdowns in a season and the first since Markell Jones in 2015. Ijeboi has a pair of three-touchdown games this season, the first Boilermaker to accomplish the feat since Kory Sheets in 2008.
- With a receiving touchdown to his credit, Ijeboi's 10 total touchdowns this season are the most by a Boilermaker through the first seven games of a season since Sheets in 2008.
- Ijeboi had the best game of his career against his former team, running for 195 yards and three scores to lead Purdue to a 28-point win over Minnesota. It was the 15th-best rushing game in terms of yardage in program history as well as the most by a Boilermaker since 2017. He became the second Boilermaker this century to total at least 195 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in a single game.
- Against Wake Forest, Ijeboi finished with 114 rushing yards on 27 carries and three touchdowns. Ijeboi also added six receptions for 42 yards. Finding the end zone three times, he became the first Boilermaker with three rushing touchdowns in a game since D.J. Knox helped Purdue knock off No. 2 Ohio State in the famous Tyler Trent Game (Oct. 20, 2018).
- In his first game as a Boilermaker, Ijeboi racked up 87 yards and a touchdown while averaging a staggering 7.9 yards per carry to help Purdue roll past Indiana State.
PUTTING UP POINTS
- The Purdue offense has put up points throughout the season, averaging 29.5 points per game, on pace for the team’s highest scoring average since 2018.
- Through eight games, the Boilermakers have already surpassed their entire season points total from each of the past two seasons.
- The Boilermakers scored 38 points against UCLA. In their other four Big Ten games, the Bruins have surrendered a combined 35 points by the opposition.
PFF GRADING JOJO & DON
- Both Jojo Hayden and Don Saunders have been bright spots for the Boilermakers’ defense, and PFF proves the impact of this duo.
- Hayden earned an 84.2 defensive grade and 81.6 run defense grade against Penn State. The defensive grade was the second-highest of his career, while the run defense grade was his fourth best.
- The transfer from Illinois continues to grow as the season progresses with at least an 84.2 and 81.6, respectively, in two of the last three games.
- Saunders was targeted just three times against the Nittany Lions and allowed only one catch for three yards to earn an 82.2 defensive grade.
- The transfer from Utah has now put up three performances of at least 80.5 overall defensively this season.
2 FOR 92
- Curt Neal recorded a pair of full sacks against Penn State for his first career game with multiple sacks and tackles-for-loss.
- His two sacks came on back-to-back drives on third down in the third quarter to force Penn State field goal attempts. His first sack, a seven-yard loss, was credited on an intentional grounding that forced a 55-yard field goal that came up short.
- Neal is the first Boilermaker with at least 2.0 sacks in a quarter against an FBS opponent since Khordae Sydnor on Nov. 18, 2023, only the second since Evan Panfil on Oct. 15, 2016 against Iowa.
FORCING TURNOVERS
- Purdue forced five Washington turnovers on a Friday night in Ross-Ade (Oct. 16). The five turnovers (four on defense, one on special teams) by the Huskies were the most forced by the Boilers in a game since Oct. 21, 2015 vs. Nebraska. The Boilermakers had three interceptions for the first time since the 2023 Old Oaken Bucket Game.
- Hudauri Hines, Smiley Bradford and Jojo Hayden picked off the Washington quarterback. It was the first time since Oct. 30, 2021 that three different Boilermakers recorded an interception in a game.
- Hines made his interception on the first play of the game, the first time Purdue intercepted a pass on an opponent's first play since Garrett Hudson had a pick to open the 2017 Old Oaken Bucket Game.