Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 20, 2025 35 GAME PREVIEW: PURDUE get plenty out of the Boilermakers," CBS Sports college football writer Will Backus wrote in May. "It didn't take long for Walters to entirely demolish what Brohm built." Brohm went 36-34 in six years at Purdue before leaving for Louisville, his alma mater, in December 2022. He even left Walters with some talented players, such as Thieneman, defensive end Will Heldt, wide receiver Deion Burks and tight end Max Klare. Those talented players are now star- ring at Oregon, Clemson, Oklahoma and Ohio State this season. New Purdue head coach Barry Odom doesn't have that luxury. He's start- ing with a completely blank slate after a successful two-year run at UNLV. A 31-0 win over Ball State was a fine sea- son opener, but the Boilermakers played a concerningly close (34-17 but 17-14 late in the second quarter) game against FCS Southern Illinois in Week 2. With another difficult schedule, the work to restore Purdue back to respect- ability has just begun. A NEW ERA The road to West Lafayette has been long for Odom, and it began at his alma mater, Missouri. Odom played with the Tigers from 1996-99 and was an assistant in Co- lumbia, Mo., from 2003-11 and 2015. After longtime head coach Gary Pin- kel was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Odom — then Missouri's defensive coordinator — was promoted to head coach for the 2016 season. His tenure at Missouri had its high points, such as a blowout road win over No. 11 Florida in 2018 and a 5-1 start in 2019. His players adored him and often outplayed their talent level. He was also adept at finding diamonds in the rough on the recruiting trail, six of whom would become starters on the 2023 Mis- souri team that won the Cotton Bowl. But after that 5-1 start in 2019, the Ti- gers lost their next five games (including a defeat at Vanderbilt). Recruiting as a whole was not where it needed to be to compete in the Southeastern Confer- ence. Odom was fired after the season, with Missouri's athletics director at the time saying the program had lost its momentum and was unlikely to regain it with him in charge. Odom got his next head coaching op- portunity at UNLV in 2023. Almost in- stantly, things seemed different. The Rebels, who had gone 7-23 in the previ- ous three seasons, became fun. They became competitive. They had an en- ergy that, save for quarterback Drew Lock's on-and-off brilliance, Missouri did not have with Odom in charge. UNLV went 19-8 with Odom at the helm, winning 10 games in 2024 and vaulting him back to the Power Four. (UNLV won its bowl game last year as well, but Odom had already moved on to the Purdue job.) "We understood how to capture what we needed there and what would make what we thought immediate success in a program that for the last 40 years hasn't had much success," Odom said at his introductory press conference in West Lafayette. "But we also recruited the right way to the student-athletes. 2025 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET)/Result Aug. 31 at Miami L, 27-24 Sept. 13 Texas A&M L, 41-40 Sept. 20 Purdue (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Sept. 27 at Arkansas (ABC) 12 p.m. Oct. 4 Boise State (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Oct. 11 NC State (Peacock) 3:30 p.m. Oct. 18 Southern Cal (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1 at Boston College TBA Nov. 8 Navy (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15 at Pittsburgh TBA Nov. 22 Syracuse (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 29 at Stanford TBA 2025 PURDUE SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET)/Result Aug. 30 Ball State W, 31-0 Sept. 6 Southern Illinois W, 34-17 Sept. 13 Southern Cal L, 33-17 Sept. 20 at Notre Dame (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Oct. 4 Illinois TBA Oct. 11 at Minnesota 7 p.m. Oct. 18 at Northwestern TBA Oct. 25 Rutgers 12 p.m. Nov. 1 at Michigan TBA Nov. 8 Ohio State TBA Nov. 15 at Washington TBA Nov. 29 Indiana (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Facts & Figures PURDUE AT NOTRE DAME Date: Sept. 20, 2025 Site (Capacity): Notre Dame Stadium (77,622) Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. ET Television: NBC/Peacock Radio: This game can be heard on Notre Dame IMG affiliates. Series Facts: Notre Dame leads the all-time series 60-26-2, with Purdue's last win coming in 2007. Most recently, the Irish beat the Boil- ermakers 66-7 on Sept. 14, 2024. Head coaches: Purdue — Barry Odom (2-1, 1st season); Notre Dame — Marcus Freeman (33-12, 4th season). Noting Purdue: Quarterback Ryan Browne averaged 9.8 yards per passing attempt through Purdue's first two games … Leading wide receiver Arhmad Branch finished Week 2 at No. 6 in the Big Ten with 26.5 yards per re- ception … Georgia transfer wide receiver Nitro Tuggle is a local product, born in Goshen, Ind., and went to high school at Nappanee (Ind.) NorthWood … Odom brought eight transfers from UNLV, including starters Jalen St. John (LG), Mani Powell (LB) and Tony Grimes (CB) … The Boilermakers lost one NFL Draft pick: OL Marcus Mbow, whom the New York Giants selected in the fifth round. Devin Mockobee carried 46 times for 185 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Boilermakers' first two games this season. PHOTO COURTESY PURDUE ATHLETICS