WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Big Ten newcomer Oregon enters the game ranked No. 2 and as one of the league’s three unbeaten teams. After leapfrogging No. 4 Ohio State with a big win, the Ducks must be wary of looking past reeling Purdue. The Boilermakers have lost five straight but hope to build on the momentum gained in last week’s overtime loss.
KEY MATCHUP
Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel vs. Purdue’s pass defense. Gabriel has thrived in his first Big Ten season, throwing 13 TD passes and ranking 12th nationally in efficiency (169.28). While the Boilermakers have played better against the pass than the run, thanks in part to preseason All-American S Dillon Thieneman, only three teams yield more yards per completion than Purdue (15.02).
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Oregon: WR Traeshon Holden. The transfer from Alabama has been one of the Ducks’ key player this season, but he’s in the spotlight this week for all the wrong reasons. He watched the final three quarters of the big win over Ohio State after being ejected for spitting at an opponent and apologized for his actions on the social platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Purdue: QB Ryan Browne. The second-year quarterback gave the Boilermakers a spark in his starting debut at Illinois, first taking advantage of his legs and then using the running threat to open up things in the passing game. It was so promising, coach Ryan Walters named him the starter, — even if Hudson Card is cleared through the concussion protocol.
FACTS & FIGURES
The Boilermakers won the first matchup in this series, 13-7 in 1979, but have lost the last two in 2008 and 2009. ... Oregon is 6-0 for the first time since 2013, the ninth time in program history, and enters with its highest ranking since finishing the 2014 season with a loss in the national championship game. ... Purdue is 0-4 against ranked teams in Walters’ two-year tenure. ... The Ducks have topped the 30-point mark in each of the last five games and have limited four of their six opponents to 14 points or fewer. The Boilermakers scored 46 second-half points after scoring just 44 in the previous 16 quarters.
