Purdue is heading into another season with the same message from the preseason crowd: prove it.
With Big Ten Football Media Days opening this week in Chicago, both USA Today and Cleveland.com released their conference projections, and both slotted the Boilermakers at the very bottom of the Big Ten for a third straight year. Purdue was also picked to finish 18th in 2024 and 2025, and it didn’t win a Big Ten game in either season.
That kind of forecast would sting for most programs. For Purdue, it just adds another layer to a season already built around urgency. The Boilermakers are trying to snap an 18-game conference losing streak as they enter 2026, so the outside skepticism is hardly the only fuel in the tank.
Barry Odom will bring quarterback Ryan Browne, linebacker Charles Correa and wide receiver De'Nylon Morrissette with him to Chicago for the program’s turn at the podium on Wednesday, July 29.
USA Today’s preseason All-Big Ten honors included one Purdue player, with Correa earning honorable mention recognition. The second-year Boilermaker is expected to anchor the defense after posting 93 tackles and three sacks in 2025. He stands as Purdue’s top linebacker and could push into All-Big Ten territory with a strong season.
Media Days also mark the unofficial start of the college football calendar, and once Purdue gets back from Chicago, the focus shifts to fall camp and then the opener. The Boilermakers begin the 2026 season on Sept. 4 against Indiana State in a Friday night game.
After that comes a demanding stretch: 11 straight games against Power Four opponents. Wake Forest visits Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, before Purdue opens Big Ten play a week later on Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Rose Bowl against UCLA.
That first league game could say plenty about whether Purdue can finally break through in conference play.
In Other News...
Matt Painter Sounds Alarm On One Purdue Issue Emerging In Canada
Purdues four-game trip through Canada has given Matt Painter a useful early look at his roster, and the results have been encouraging enough on the scoreboard. The Boilermakers are 2-0 after wins over the Vancouver Selects and Trinity Western University, but Painter is also using the trip to sort through lineup combinations, rotations and player roles with an eye toward what this group might become down the road.
What has stood out most so far is a need for more rebounding and overall physicality, especially on the glass, after the departures of Oscar Cluff and Trey Kaufman-Renn. Painters staff is still trying to determine who fits where at point guard, on the wings and in the frontcourt, and the lack of clear separation makes these early games more about evaluation than final answers. [Read more 🡒]
Purdue Rolls Again In Canada As Young Boilers Keep Impressing
Purdue kept rolling through its Canada trip with another convincing win, beating Trinity Western University 82-66 to move to 2-0. The Boilermakers again showed the kind of balance Matt Painter has been looking for this early in the preseason, getting 13 steals, 41 rebounds and 14 3-pointers while placing four players in double figures.
Daniel Jacobsen continued to look more comfortable inside with 14 points, while Antione West Jr. added 13 and Gicarri Harris and Jack Benter chipped in 11 and 10, respectively. The bigger picture for Purdue is just as encouraging as the final score, because the young pieces are not only producing, they are doing it in a way that keeps showing up possession after possession. [Read more 🡒]