It’s safe to say that few expected Purdue to go to Illinois last week and emerge with a win.
However, the Boilermakers secured a 24-17 upset of the Fighting Illini, which was their first Big Ten victory since 2023. The result gives Purdue some confidence going into a Saturday night conference clash with Minnesota in West Lafayette, Ind.
“To see the smiles on their face afterwards was awesome,” Boilermakers defensive coordinator Kevin Kane said Monday morning. “That’s where this profession is so rewarding.”
It was easily the biggest win of coach Barry Odom’s two seasons at Purdue (2-3, 1-1 Big Ten). The Boilermakers got 255 yards in the air and a touchdown from quarterback Ryan Browne, while running back Fame Ijeboi supplied 65 yards on 19 carries.
The presence of Ijeboi in a Purdue uniform lends a little extra spice to this game as he transferred from Minnesota after rushing for 441 yards and two scores last year. The Pennsylvania native has 354 yards and six touchdowns for the Boilermakers this season.
“Fame is a tremendous player for us with a great heart,” Odom said. “He does everything we ask of him.”
While Purdue shoots for consecutive conference wins after losing 19 straight in league play, the Golden Gophers (4-1, 2-0) aim to make it three straight victories at the start of their Big Ten schedule.
They stopped Michigan 20-14 last week in Minneapolis, inspiring a field-storming from their student section after beating the Wolverines at home for the first time since 1977.
“Never gets old,” Golden Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said, “but we’ve moved on internally. We got a really good football team that we got to go out and play at West Lafayette at night. We better play our best football game of the year.”
Defense has keyed Minnesota’s three-game overall winning streak. That unit has permitted only 38 points in that span.
The Golden Gophers boast a 42-35-3 lead in the all-time series, including a 27-20 win last year in Minneapolis.