Kenyon Sadiq makes surprising pick for toughest environment in the Big Ten

Purdue didn’t give its fans much to cheer about last season. Alas, that didn’t stop the Boilermakers’ faithful from making their presence felt. During an interview with Snapback Sports, Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq said Purdue is the toughest place he’s played on the road.

“Sleeper? Purdue. I can’t even lie. I can’t even lie. The goal line on Purdue, I’m not even kidding, it was so loud,” Sadiq said. “They were blowing the train horn when we were on the goal line. Then, other than that, I’d probably throw Washington up there, my freshman year.”

Oregon traveled to Purdue in Week 8 last season, defeating the Boilermakers 35-0. Purdue was 1-6 overall and 0-4 in conference play at the time of the matchup. Meanwhile, Oregon was ranked No. 2 in the country.

Despite Purdue’s slow start to the season, ESPN reports there were 57,463 fans at the game. For reference, Purdue’s Ross-Ade Stadium only holds 61,441 people. In the win, Sadiq recorded two catches for 58 yards.

Sadiq’s praise for Purdue is nothing to scoff at. Last season, Oregon played on the road against several others teams with elite home-field advantages, including Michigan, Wisconsin and UCLA. Kenyon Sadiq finished the 2024 campaign with career-bests of 24 catches, 308 yards and two touchdowns.

Purdue will look to give its fan more to cheer about this fall. On Dec. 8, 2024, Purdue named Barry Odom its next head coach. Odom had spent the previous two seasons at UNLV, where he went 19-8 and reached back-to-back Mountain West Championship games.

In turn, Purdue underwent a massive makeover this offseason. The Boilermakers are only returning one starter from last season, the least of any Power Four team in the country. Additionally, Purdue reeled in 54 fresh faces from the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Now, Purdue will look to reach its former heights and achieve its first winning season since 2022. Odom is confident in his team.

“This team is completely different than anybody on the outside knows,” Odom said earlier this week. “The way that returners have come back and worked, the additions that we’ve made to our team, the opportunity is there for us to create the momentum early on.”

“I think everybody in our organization knows what people think about us… So, the respect factor on what we need to do, just keep the blinders on. Let’s go work.”