Purdue opened the season with a win, and that’s the headline that matters most after a 44-19 finish against Indiana State.
The Boilermakers are undefeated, the 10-game losing streak is gone, and Purdue has now won a third straight season opener. The final score looks comfortable enough, but the road to get there was uneven for a while.
The first half dragged, with Purdue taking a 16-6 lead into the break after settling for field goals three times. It wasn’t until the second half that the game finally opened up.
That’s when Purdue started separating for real. The lead grew to 44-6 after a pick-6 from Don Saunders, and from there the result was effectively settled. Indiana State added two late touchdowns to make the margin look a little less lopsided, but Purdue had already put the game away.
There were some clear positives for the Boilermakers. Fame Ijeboi made a strong first impression at running back, scoring a touchdown, finishing just shy of 100 yards, and looking like a real threat with the ball. Ryan Browne delivered a big night as well, throwing for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns.
Jacobo Echeverria-Lozano also had a debut worth noting. The freshman kicker went 3 for 3 on field goals and made all five extra points.
Asaad Waseem crossed 100 receiving yards and found the end zone, while Purdue spread the ball to 11 different receivers. Evans Chuba also got work as the backup quarterback and helped on a couple of important drives.
And there was one more first for Purdue in Ross-Ade Stadium: Brady Allen threw a touchdown pass to a Purdue player there for the first time.
Still, this wasn’t a game Purdue controlled as cleanly as it should have. The first half was too close for comfort, and 16-6 at halftime left plenty to be desired. Penalties were a problem early, and the Boilermakers never looked especially sharp while the game was still in the balance.
At the same time, Purdue also kept things pretty basic, and that seemed to be part of the plan. The Boilers won without having to empty the playbook, got a lot of players on the field, and came away with a result that was never truly in doubt once the second half got rolling. Wake Forest is a much bigger test, so the real question is what Purdue can take from a night when it didn’t have to reveal much at all.
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Barry Odom Revealed What Changed In Purdues Opener
Purdues 2026 opener had the kind of uneven first half that usually leaves a coach looking for answers, but the Boilermakers found theirs in a dominant third quarter. After struggling offensively early against Indiana State, Purdue settled in and finished with a 44-19 win, fueled by a period in which it scored 21 points and held the Sycamores to just 34 yards. Barry Odom pointed to the halftime adjustments as the turning point, and the result gave the Boilermakers an opening-game snapshot that was more encouraging than clean.
Ryan Browne was at the center of the surge, turning in a polished performance by completing 23 of 29 passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. For Purdue, the bigger takeaway may be how quickly the offense corrected itself after looking out of sync in the first half. The win wont erase the rough spots, but it did show the Boilermakers have a quarterback capable of settling things down once the game starts to tilt their way. [Read more 🡒]