Genuine program bottom, with early signs of a floor
Two straight 0-9/1-8 Big Ten seasons is about as low as this program has been — but Purdue's Year 2 portal class ranked top-25 nationally, a real signal of accelerating buy-in.
BIG TEN FOOTBALL COMPANION GUIDE • ALPHABETICAL 13 OF 18
PURDUE BOILERMAKERS
2026 Season Snapshot • West Lafayette, Indiana
2-10 (0-9 Big Ten)
B1G
2026 Schedule
Live schedule, lines and results for Purdue.
Loading schedule…
HEAD COACH
HANDICAPPING PROFILEHEAD COACH
Barry Odom — 2nd season at Purdue
LIFETIME COACHING RECORD
46–43 college (14–8 high school)
Previously head coach at Missouri (2016-19) and UNLV (2023-24, Mountain West Coach of the Year in 2023). Inherited a Purdue program coming off a 5- 19 stretch under Ryan Walters and delivered a 2-10 first season — still winless in Big Ten play across the last two years combined.
PURDUE ATS RECORD
No single published career ATS figure
2025 finished 2-10 (0-9 Big Ten), Purdue's second straight winless conference season. The defense improved from historically bad (453 ypg allowed in 2024) to still-bad (433 ypg in 2025) — Odom's rebuild is real but still very much in progress.
HEAD COACH SALARY (2026)
$6.0M
TEAM NIL VALUATION (EST.)
Not disclosed
PRIMARY NIL COLLECTIVE
Not publicly named
Coach salary per Wikipedia/Purdue Exponent (FOIA'd data: $5.37M total 2025 comp; base rises to $6M for 2026 under his 6-yr, $39M deal). Purdue is separately still paying fired coach Ryan Walters through 2027 ($3.08M in 2025 alone) — the program is funding two coaching regimes' worth of salary simultaneously.
HANDICAPPING NOTES
- Genuine program bottom, with early signs of a floor: Two straight 0-9/1-8 Big Ten seasons is about as low as this program has been — but Purdue's Year 2 portal class ranked top-25 nationally, a real signal of accelerating buy-in.
- Defense trending the right direction, slowly: Purdue went from the worst defense in the Big Ten to merely the 2nd-worst — incremental, not dramatic, progress that's still meaningfully below the conference average.
- Special teams already a program strength: Purdue produced All-Big Ten honorees at both kicker (88.2% FG rate, a program record) and punter (6th-best single- season average in school history) in year one — a rare bright spot to build around.
COORDINATORS & SCHEME
OFFENSE / DEFENSEOFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
Josh Henson — 2nd season • Multiple
Improved Purdue's offense from 127th to 102nd nationally in year one; QB Ryan Browne returns after a promising finish to 2025 (2,153 yds, 9 TD) and the receiving corps was specifically targeted for upgrades via the portal.
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
Kevin Kane • Mike Scherer — 3rd season • Multiple
Kane arrives from Minnesota (where he coached linebackers) to take over play-calling; Purdue's linebacker corps, led by returning veteran Charles Correa, is considered the clearest strength of the defense entering 2026.
2025 SEASON RECAP
RECORD & VENUE NOTES2025 RECORD
2–10 (0–9 Big Ten)
Odom's debut season; wins came against Ball State and Southern Illinois before 10 straight losses. Linebacker Mani Powell (UNLV transfer) became the first Boilermaker to ever lead the Big Ten in conference-game tackling.
HOME FIELD
Ross–Ade Stadium
Natural grass, West Lafayette. A program working to rebuild both its on-field product and fan enthusiasm simultaneously after consecutive historically difficult seasons.
PRIMARY SKILL PLAYERS
2026 PROJECTED STARTERS| SLOT | PLAYER | YEAR | HS Stars | NOTES / NFL OUTLOOK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB1 | Ryan Browne | Jr | ★★★★★ | Former three-star signee (New York, 2023); finished 2025 strong (2,153 yds, 9 TD, real rushing ability) after limited early-career snaps. The clear returning starter for year two of Henson's offense. |
| RB1 | Fame Ijeboi | — | ★★★★★ | Minnesota transfer; impressed enough in spring ball that beat writers already call RB a Purdue strength for 2026. Ran for 441 yds, 4.5 ypc, 2 TD on 97 carries for the Gophers in 2025, positioning him as the Week 1 frontrunner over Jerrick Gibson, Travis Terrell Jr. and Antonio Harris. |
| WR1 | Bisi Owens | — | ★★★★★ | Penn transfer who "performed at an extremely high level" at the FCS level per beat coverage, bringing top-end quickness to a receiving corps rebuilt almost entirely via the portal. |
| WR2 | De'Nylon Morrissette | Sr | ★★★★★ | Returning veteran expected to be a difference-maker after missing all of 2025 to injury; healthy and a full participant in spring ball for the first time since 2024. |
QB1Ryan BrowneJr★★★★★
Former three-star signee (New York, 2023); finished 2025 strong (2,153 yds, 9 TD, real rushing ability) after limited early-career snaps. The clear returning starter for year two of Henson's offense.
RB1Fame Ijeboi—★★★★★
Minnesota transfer; impressed enough in spring ball that beat writers already call RB a Purdue strength for 2026. Ran for 441 yds, 4.5 ypc, 2 TD on 97 carries for the Gophers in 2025, positioning him as the Week 1 frontrunner over Jerrick Gibson, Travis Terrell Jr. and Antonio Harris.
WR1Bisi Owens—★★★★★
Penn transfer who "performed at an extremely high level" at the FCS level per beat coverage, bringing top-end quickness to a receiving corps rebuilt almost entirely via the portal.
WR2De'Nylon MorrissetteSr★★★★★
Returning veteran expected to be a difference-maker after missing all of 2025 to injury; healthy and a full participant in spring ball for the first time since 2024.
OFFENSIVE LINE
2026 PROJECTED| PLAYER | POS | YEAR | HS Stars | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line under continuity | OL | — | ★★★★★ | Purdue parted ways with its offensive line coach after 2025; the unit's specific 2026 starters are still being determined under new position coaching heading into fall camp. |
Line under continuityOL—★★★★★
Purdue parted ways with its offensive line coach after 2025; the unit's specific 2026 starters are still being determined under new position coaching heading into fall camp.
HANDICAPPING NOTE — O-LINE
- A new O-line coach on a rebuilding roster is real variance — treat Purdue's line as unproven until it shows up on tape.
DEFENSIVE LINE
2026 PROJECTED| PLAYER | POS | NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| Front improving incrementally | DL | Part of a defense that trimmed roughly 20 yards/game allowed from 2024 to 2025; still one of the weaker fronts in the conference but trending the right direction under new DC Kevin Kane. |
Front improving incrementallyDL
Part of a defense that trimmed roughly 20 yards/game allowed from 2024 to 2025; still one of the weaker fronts in the conference but trending the right direction under new DC Kevin Kane.
LINEBACKERS
2026 PROJECTED- Charles Correa returns as a reliable veteran (96 tackles, 3 sacks, 7.5 TFL in 2025) anchoring what's considered the clearest strength on the roster, alongside 2025 breakout UNLV transfer Mani Powell, the first Boilermaker ever to lead the Big Ten in conference-game tackling.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
2026 PROJECTED| PLAYER | POS | HS Stars | NOTES / NFL OUTLOOK |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ja'Von Hines | DB | ★★★★★ | Considered Purdue's top returning secondary player from 2025; the unit as a whole fell short of expectations and was specifically targeted for portal upgrades (Clark, Mangham) this offseason. |
Ja'Von HinesDB★★★★★
Considered Purdue's top returning secondary player from 2025; the unit as a whole fell short of expectations and was specifically targeted for portal upgrades (Clark, Mangham) this offseason.
SPECIAL TEAMS
KICKING, PUNTING & RETURN GAME- Kicker: Spencer Porath set a program record for field-goal percentage in 2025 (88.2%, 15-of-17), earning honorable mention All-Big Ten. Punter: Jack McCallister earned second-team all-conference honors with the 6th-best single-season punting average in school history (43.2). A genuine program strength to build around.
Betting profile — vs. the number
2025 ATS
5-7
41.7% cover rate — 51st of 82
2025 Straight up
2-10
Point differential -157
Scoring environment
50.6
Combined points per game — 50th highest of 82
Home / road ATS
3-4 · 2-3
Totals 4-8 O/U (2-5 home, 2-3 road)
Points scored / allowed
18.8 per game scored (76th) · 31.8 allowed (71st)
Margin & schedule
Margin of victory -13.1 (77th) · Strength of schedule +4.6
- Home / road: Home 3-4 ATS, road 2-3 ATS (neutral-site games excluded).
- Home / road: Totals 4-8 O/U — 2-5 at home, 2-3 on the road.
- Trend: 2025 ATS 5-7 (41.7% cover rate) across 12 games.
- Trend: Averaged 18.8 points and allowed 31.8, a 50.6 combined per-game scoring environment.
Power ratings — strength against the field
SRS power rating
-6.4
63rd of 82 — projected points vs. a league-average team on a neutral field
Offensive SRS
-3.5
61st of 82
Defensive SRS
-2.2
57th of 82
Points (margin of victory)
-13.1 · 77th of 82
Against the spread
5-7 (41.7%) · 51st of 82
Totals (combined PPG)
50.6 · 50th of 82
Computed from CollegeFootballData 2025 results and closing consensus lines.
Notes
Saved Just J research for Purdue.
Defense trending the right direction, slowly
Purdue went from the worst defense in the Big Ten to merely the 2nd-worst — incremental, not dramatic, progress that's still meaningfully below the conference average.
Special Teams
Special teams already a program strength
Purdue produced All-Big Ten honorees at both kicker (88.2% FG rate, a program record) and punter (6th-best single- season average in school history) in year one — a rare bright spot to build around.
Offensive Line
Offensive line outlook
A new O-line coach on a rebuilding roster is real variance — treat Purdue's line as unproven until it shows up on tape.
Notes are maintained in the Admin area — no code changes required.