Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546555
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 19, 2026 43 OPPONENT ON DECK: PURDUE BOILERMAKERS Date: Sept. 26, 2026 Site (capacity): Ross-Ade Stadium (61,441) Kickoff: TBA All-time series: Notre Dame leads 60-26-2 Last meeting: Notre Dame 56, Pur- due 30 (Sept. 20, 2025, Notre Dame Stadium) 2026 record to date: 1-1 (0-0 Big Ten) Purdue head coach: Barry Odom, 3-10 (2nd year) and 47-43 overall (8th year) Season summary: Purdue fans had flashbacks of last season's 2-10 root canal after the Boilermakers led FCS program Indiana State just 16-6 at half- time. Then, Barry Odom's team stormed out of the locker room with three straight touchdown drives to pull ahead 37-6 heading into the fourth quarter. What was most encouraging about the Boilermakers' season-opening vic- tory was that they already received an immediate return from their prized transfer portal class. On offense, two new faces led the way on the ground and through the air to help Purdue eclipse 500 yards for the first time since 2024. Former Minnesota running back Fame Ijeboi racked up 87 rushing yards and 1 touchdown on 11 carries, while for- mer Florida Atlantic wide receiver Asad Waseem contributed 107 yards and 1 touchdown on 6 catches. The Boilermakers also received a ma- jor boost from second-year starting quarterback Ryan Browne, who com- pleted 23 of 29 passes for 317 yards and 3 touchdowns. The transfers also paid dividends on defense, specifically in the second- ary. After the offense gave the Boilers a 31-point lead, former Utah corner- back Don Saunders had a pick six that made it 44-6. The cornerback opposite Saunders, Florida International product Mister Clark, led the team with 5 tack- les, including 2 stops for loss and 1 sack, and added 1 pass broken up. Things are looking up for Purdue after it snapped its 10-game losing streak. The next step is getting Odom his first win in Big Ten play. He'll get his chance at UCLA before a very tough test against Notre Dame. Second-year starting quarterback Ryan Browne was sharp in Purdue's season opener, completing 23 of 29 passes for 317 yards with 3 touchdowns. PHOTO COURTESY PURDUE ATHLETICS 2026 PURDUE SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Sept. 4 Indiana State W, 44-19 Sept. 12 Wake Forest L, 38-36 (2OT) Sept. 19 at UCLA (BTN) 11 p.m. Sept. 26 Notre Dame TBA Oct. 3 at Illinois TBA Oct. 10 Minnesota TBA Oct. 16 Washington (FOX) 8 p.m. Oct. 31 at Penn State TBA Nov. 7 Maryland TBA Nov. 14 at Iowa TBA Nov. 21 Wisconsin TBA Nov. 28 at Indiana TBA OFFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. WR 3 Xavier Townsend 5-11 195 Sr. 17 Bisi Owens 6-4 217 Sr. WR 19 Asaad Waseem 5-11 185 Jr. 5 Chauncey Magwood 6-0 204 Sr. WR 8 De'Nylon Morrissette 6-1 205 Sr. 80 Brandon Kinsey 6-1 200 Fr. TE 81 George Burhenn 6-5 245 Jr. 85 Luca Puccinelli 6-6 270 So. LT 79 Joey Tanona 6-6 310 Sr. 75 Rico Schrieber 6-8 330 Fr. LG 65 Brock Brownfield 6-4 300 Fr. 68 Nuku Mafi 6-4 325 So. C 50 Boaz Stanley 6-4 305 Sr. 76 Ethan Trent 6-2 295 Jr. RG 59 Micah Banuelos 6-2 310 Jr. 56 Marques Easley 6-6 315 So. RT 72 Jude McCoskey 6-8 310 Sr. 77 Jatavius Shivers 6-6 316 Jr. QB 15 Ryan Browne 6-4 225 Jr. 1 Evans Chuba 6-4 225 So. RB 2 Fame Ijeboi 6-0 215 So. 22 Antonio Harris 6-1 213 Jr. DEFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. DE 8 CJ Madden 6-4 273 Sr. 18 Elo Modozie 6-4 255 Sr. DT 92 Curt Neal 6-0 301 Sr. 94 Rodney Lora 6-3 302 Jr. DT 40 Ian Jeffries 6-4 303 Jr. 97 Wisdom Simms 6-4 319 Sr. DE 23 Trey Smith 6-4 266 Jr. 33 Jeremy Lewis 6-4 260 Jr. LB 5 Charles Correa 6-3 230 Jr. 16 Anthony Speca 6-2 231 Jr. LB 0 Jojo Hayden 6-2 245 Jr. 20 Winston Berglund 6-2 233 Jr. CB 7 Don Saunders 6-4 201 Sr. 29 Dee Newsome 6-3 185 Jr. CB 4 Hudauri Hines 6-1 201 Jr. 12 Ryan Turner 6-0 200 Sr. S 13 John Slaughter 6-2 210 Sr. 10 Ta'Vari Hampton 6-0 190 So. S 2 Jaden Mangham 6-2 210 Sr. 21 Justin Denson Jr. 6-2 207 So. NB 6 Mister Clark 6-0 195 Jr. 1 Smiley Bradford 6-0 200 Jr. PURDUE TWO-DEEP DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. K 92 Jacobo Echeverria Lozano 5-11 180 Fr. 45 Seth Turner 6-1 200 Jr. P 42 Dylan Drennan 6-2 207 So. LS 46 Luke Raab 6-2 230 So. 89 Luke Klare 6-6 231 So. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. KR 20 Travis Terrell Jr. 5-9 180 Jr. PR 3 Xavier Townsend 5-11 195 Sr. SPECIAL TEAMS