Purdue gets its season started Friday in West Lafayette with a familiar goal and a familiar opponent in Indiana State: show real progress on defense.
The Boilermakers did trim their points allowed last season, cutting 8.1 points per game off the previous year’s number. Even so, the unit still gave up 31.8 points a game in 2025, and that’s the area Purdue knows has to tighten up if it wants to move past last year’s 2-10 finish.
There’s a blend of continuity and fresh blood on that side of the ball. Top linebacker Charles Correa and defensive lineman Ian Jeffries are back, and they’re joined by Curt Neal, a lineman who came over from Illinois after starting his college career at Wisconsin. Jeffries said the group is already clicking.
"We have jelled so much together," Jeffries said. "It's almost like we've been playing since we've been in high school."
Purdue is leaning on that kind of familiarity on offense too as Barry Odom enters his second season. Ryan Browne returns as the starting quarterback and will once again operate behind an offensive line led by left tackle Joey Tanona. Ethan Trent could also become a steady presence up front on a line that picked up multiple portal additions.
Indiana State comes in trying to avoid an 0-2 start after a narrow loss in its opener. The Sycamores, sparked by quarterback Elijah Owens in his return after missing most of 2025 with a collarbone injury, erased a 17-7 deficit early in the third quarter against Southeast Missouri State on Saturday. They briefly moved ahead on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Owens to Jayden Reed with 10:26 left, but Southeast Missouri answered with a 45-yard Justin Keller field goal at 7:04 and held on for a 23-21 win.
Owens finished 23-for-32 for a career-high 288 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception.
"This is a team that has been together, and that's what we're going to keep preaching," Sycamores coach Curt Mallory said. "We've got to keep fighting together, and we'll get back on track."
Purdue has won seven straight in the in-state rivalry and has taken the last two meetings by a combined 105-0. Indiana State is the Boilermakers’ only Football Championship Subdivision opponent this season. After Friday’s opener, Purdue hosts Wake Forest next week before heading to UCLA on Sept. 19, where it will try to snap an 18-game Big Ten losing streak.
In Other News...
Purdue Enters Opener With Late-Week Injury Questions Still Lingering
Barry Odom spent part of the week emphasizing the value of opening at home, where Purdue can settle into a routine and give its new staff a familiar backdrop as the season begins. He also made clear he feels good about the way offensive coordinator Josh Henson and the rest of the coaches are working together, while pointing to the programs incoming class and the progress of the wide receiver room as reasons for optimism heading into the opener.
The lingering uncertainty is on the injury front, even if Odom offered some reassurance. Kylan Fox and Raderrion Daniels are expected to be active, but Purdue is not planning to release an injury report this week, leaving a little more guesswork than usual as the Boilermakers prepare for Indiana State and Curt Mallorys team. For a season opener, it is a small complication, but the kind that can shape how a staff handles its first Saturday. [Read more 🡒]
Purdues New Leadership Group Just Sent An Early Message
Purdue has put its first leadership marker on the 2026 season by naming six captains, splitting the group evenly with three on offense and three on defense. It is a telling early move for a roster that is still taking shape, especially with the Boilermakers getting ready to open against Indiana State at Ross-Ade Stadium.
The mix also says plenty about where the program is trying to head next, because most of the captains are familiar faces who arrived in the offseason and quickly earned the rooms trust. The lone newcomer to the group brings a different kind of rsum, one that includes stops at Wisconsin and Illinois, and his addition gives Purdue a leadership core that looks built on both continuity and fresh perspective. [Read more 🡒]
Purdue Opens With Two Early Tests Fans Can't Ignore
Purdues opener brings a chance to sort through a few lingering questions before the schedule gets far more demanding, and the most obvious one is whether the Boilermakers can lean on a rushing attack that was too often stuck in neutral last season. Indiana State offers a clear talent gap on paper, but this game is also about giving the staff a first real look at how the backfield fits together and whether the offense can find a steadier ground game early in the year.
The same is true on the other side of the ball, where Purdue needs more consistent pressure after struggling to disrupt opposing quarterbacks a year ago. The matchup with an FCS opponent should help reveal whether the front can turn a deeper rotation into real production, with several players expected to play meaningful roles in that effort. For a team with bigger tests waiting soon after, this one is less about the final score and more about whether the Boilermakers can leave with a few answers. [Read more 🡒]