Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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34 SEPT. 26, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: PURDUE BY TYLER JAMES A ll that stood between Purdue and ending a 21-game losing streak against Power Four oppo- nents was a fourth-and-15 stop in double overtime against Wake Forest on Sept. 12. Purdue tied the game as time expired in regulation, matched Wake Forest's touch- down and extra point in the first over- time period, then took its first lead with a 3-yard touchdown run by running back Fame Ijeboi to open the second overtime. That only made the pain of Purdue's final defensive failures that much worse. The Boilermakers appeared to limit Wake Forest quarterback Gio Lopez to a 14-yard completion to wide receiver Carlos Hernandez on fourth-and-15, but a replay review overturned the original call and gave the Demon Dea- cons a first down. Two plays later, Lopez scored the game-tying touchdown on a 3-yard run. Then Lopez won the game for Wake Forest with a two-point con- version on the ground. Losing is not unfamiliar for Purdue in head coach Barry Odom's second season leading the program. But that kind of heartbreak can be hard to stomach. "That one's still crawling at me," said Purdue defensive coordinator Kevin Kane, "but you got to live and learn from this thing." Unfortunately for Purdue, that al- most certainly won't be the last dose of disappointment dealt by its defense. "That one's a hard pill to swallow," Purdue linebacker Charles Correa said of Wake Forest's fourth-down conver- sion. "We know we knew the situation, and we knew where the sticks were, and that was our goal to just keep them in front of that. And the game was over." The possibility of Purdue winning against Wake Forest at all was a credit to the performance of its offense. Se- RECOVERING FROM HEARTBREAK Purdue's double-overtime loss to Wake Forest reveals strengths and flaws Junior running back Fame Ijeboi rushed 38 times for 201 yards and 4 touchdowns in Purdue's first two games of the season. PHOTO COURTESY PURDUE ATHLETICS