Matchup Preview: Who has the edge?

Purdue vs. Rutgers, from a matchup perspective.

Date/Time: Saturday, October 25, Noon EDT

Location: Ross-Ade Stadium

Surface: Bermuda Grass

Capacity: 61,441 (tickets)

2025 schedules/records: Purdue 2-5 (0-4 Big Ten) | Rutgers 3-4 (0-4 Big Ten)

Series notes: Although Rutgers joined the Big Ten in 2014, this will mark just the third meeting between the Boilermakers and Scarlet Knights. Rutgers left each matchup victorious. Purdue out-gained Rutgers 474-217 in Piscataway in 2017, but it couldn’t take advantage of scoring opportunities, and Rutgers held on to win 14-12. In 2020, in front of an empty Ross-Ade Stadium, Purdue could not get stops against Rutgers’ offense, as the Scarlet Knights walked out with a 37-30 victory. Purdue still seeks victories against two Big Ten programs: Rutgers and UCLA, though the Boilermakers and Bruins have not met since UCLA joined the Big Ten last summer.

TV: BTN (PxP Guy Haberman, Analyst Yogi Roth, Sidelines Rhett Lewis)

Radio: Purdue Sports Properties (PxP Tim Newton, Analyst Mark Herrmann, Sidelines Kelly Kitchel)

Line: Rutgers -2.5, O/U 58.5

Weather: The early forecast shows a high of 60 degrees with overcast skies

Purdue Roster | Purdue Game Notes

Rutgers Roster | Rutgers Game Notes

Pregame: First Look: Rutgers | First and 10: Rutgers | Odom: Ryan Browne ‘doubtful’ for Rutgers game | Odom vows to keep fighting, swinging as Purdue seeks to halt skid | The 3-2-1: Purdue searches for elusive win amid uncertainty at QB | Gold and Black Radio: Purdue readies for Rutgers in search of win

Rutgers running game versus Purdue against the run

While Greg Schiano’s identity centers around classic ground-and-pound football, this year’s Rutgers squad approaches offense with balance. The run/pass split comes out roughly even, partially due to Rutgers’ struggles in the run game. While the Scarlet Knights rank 11th in the Big Ten, rushing for 133 yards per game, they rank second-to-last with just 3.5 yards per carry.

The top freshman tailback statistically a season ago, Antwan Raymond carries the bulk of the load in the run game. He’s fourth in the conference with 87 yards per game, and he’s turned in more than 160 yards against Minnesota and Washington. He’s already found the end zone nine times, establishing himself as one of the conference’s top running backs. Ja’shon Benjamin will spell him at times, and Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis will participate in the run game. The Minnesota transfer enters with 35 non-sack rushing attempts in seven games.

Purdue’s run defense looked like it turned a corner with strong showings against Illinois and Minnesota, but it took a step backward last week. Northwestern ran for 232 yards against Purdue, including seven carries of 10+ yards. Purdue’s linebackers continue to rack up tackles at an impressive clip. Mani Powell now ranks second in the Big Ten after a 20-tackle day last Saturday, while Charles Correa sits behind him at fifth.

The Boilermakers survived a scare when Chops Harkless left the game early on with an injury. He was able to return to action in the second half, much to the relief of Purdue’s coaching staff. He’s the top dog on the defensive line, and his importance only grew when the Boilermakers lost TJ Lindsey for the season. Purdue rotated liberally on the defensive line as it seeks to put opponents into third-and-long situations. Following a poor performance, Purdue’s run defense must bounce back and force Rutgers to throw the ball.

Rutgers passing game versus Purdue against the pass

Saturday won’t mark Kaliakmanis’ first start inside Ross-Ade Stadium. He started for Minnesota in a 49-30 Purdue win back in 2023, completing 18 of 42 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns. After that season, he packed up and transferred to Piscataway. Now in his third year as a Big Ten starting quarterback, he’s playing his best football. His completion percentage is up eight points year-over-year to 62%, he’s throwing for 266 yards per game and he’s tossed 11 touchdowns to five interceptions. Although he struggled mightily in Rutgers’ blowout loss to Oregon last weekend, he’s putting together a fine 2025 season.

Kaliakmanis spreads the ball fairly evenly among his top three targets. High school teammates Ian Strong and KJ Duff enter with 37 and 36 receptions, respectively. With over 90 receiving yards per game, Strong ranks second in the Big Ten, behind only USC’s Makai Lemon. At 6-6, 225, Duff presents a real mismatch in red zone situations. He’s already caught four touchdown passes this season to pace the Scarlet Knights. Slot receiver DT Sheffield averages 60 yards per game, too, giving Rutgers a strong top trio at wideout.

Statistically, Purdue’s pass defense performed well at Northwestern. The Wildcats completed fewer than 50% of their passes, only threw for 132 yards and Purdue picked off a pass. But, on a down-to-down basis, Northwestern saw a fair amount of success throwing the ball. Three of the 11 completions went for 15+ yards, and Purdue committed three pass interference penalties to hand Northwestern a first down.

The secondary appeared back to full strength when Tony Grimes returned for the Minnesota game, but Myles Slusher left early against Northwestern. His status is in question for this weekend’s contest, which would serve as a major absence for Purdue. The pass rush continues to stick out like a sore thumb, as Northwestern’s quarterback did not take a single hit. CJ Nunnally looks like the only option to generate pressure at times, as Purdue regularly must send a heavy blitz to disrupt the passer.

Purdue running game versus Rutgers against the run

Purdue’s run game will look different this weekend with the expected start of quarterback Malachi Singleton. The Arkansas transfer took the snaps for most of the second half after starter Ryan Browne departed the game with a left shoulder injury. Purdue used Singleton as a change-of-pace, run-first option periodically during the first half of the season. He ran 10 times in the second half last week, and his legs will undoubtedly become a huge part of Purdue’s offensive game plan.

Devin Mockobee holds fourth place on Purdue’s all-time rushing leaders list, needing 104 more yards to reach the 3,000-yard mark. Purdue’s run game remains inconsistent from week to week, hampered by unevenness on the offensive line. A bright spot from last week: Malachi Thomas. The veteran Virginia Tech transfer led Purdue with 34 yards on seven carries, his best day of the season. Still, Purdue would love to find a way to become more consistent on the ground to take pressure off of the passing game.

The stats aren’t pretty. Opponents average an eye-popping six yards per carry against the Rutgers defense, adding up to 176 yards per game. Rutgers ranks 107th nationally in rushing defense and worst in the conference. The defense averages just over four tackles per loss, a low number. It’s never a positive sign when two of Rutgers’ top three tacklers come from the defensive backfield, but that’s the reality in Piscataway. Last week, Oregon ran right through the Rutgers defense to the tune of 415 yards. Three of Rutgers’ four Big Ten opponents reached the 160-yard mark on the ground. Purdue will look to do the same with Singleton under center.

Purdue passing game versus Rutgers against the pass

While Purdue likely gets a bump in the run game with Singleton under center, questions emerge in the passing game. Singleton enters this one 16 of 28 passing on the season for 255 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He looked good pushing the ball downfield at times last week, but he also threw an ill-advised interception and fumbled as the pocket collapsed on him. Down-to-down consistency will loom large for Singleton, as this projects as a game where Purdue may need to reach 30 points to win.

After a strong start to the season, the wide receiver room looks like more of a question mark in recent weeks. Michael Jackson III remains the steadying force of the group, but questions exist elsewhere. The wideouts looked out of sync with Browne early on last week, and Mockobee led the team with 52 receiving yards. The drop issue went away, as Pro Football Focus didn’t charge Purdue’s receivers with a single drop, but an untimely fumble from Corey Smith likely cost Purdue points. Purdue will hope for a more complete performance in the passing game against a porous pass defense.

Is the pass defense worse than the run defense? Opponents average 9.78 yards per attempt against the Scarlet Knight defense. At 261.3 yards per game allowed, Rutgers ranks 122nd nationally and last in the Big Ten in pass defense, too. Each of Rutgers’ last three opponents crossed the 300-yard mark, including a 402-yard day for Washington quarterback Demond Williams. There’s no pass rush to speak of, with just nine sacks in seven games. Only three passes have been intercepted, though the Rutgers defense does boast five fumble recoveries. It’s a favorable matchup for Singleton’s first career start. Can he take advantage?

Special teams

Though he remained on the sideline for the entirety of the 19-0 loss, Spencer Porath remains a bright spot on this year’s team. He’s made nine of his 10 attempts with the lone miss coming from 47 yards. Likewise, Jack McCallister should find himself in the conversation for the Ray Guy Award. His 47.3 average places him second in the conference, and nine of his 24 attempts got downed inside the 20-yard line.

Purdue must clean things up in the return game. While it takes a conservative approach to attempting returns, costly mistakes emerged last week. The second half began with Jackson watching a punt bounce at the one-yard line and stay in play, causing the Boilermaker offense to start in the shadows of its own goal posts. And, later on, a 14-yard punt return came back due to a hold. Purdue can ill-afford to hamper itself in the game’s third phase.

Jai Patel, a three-year starter, enters with a strong track record. He’s made 38 of his 49 attempts as a Scarlet Knight, but he’s only made eight of his 12 attempts this season. Two of those got blocked, however, and he’s split the uprights from 51 yards out. Australian import Jakob Anderson limits opponents’ ability to return punts, as he’s forced a fair catch on 11 of his 18 boots.

Similar to Purdue, the return game doesn’t provide much of a spark for Rutgers. It’s only attempted to return eight kickoffs through seven games with limited success, and only five punts resulted in a return attempt.

Intangibles

It feels like a “now or never” situation for the Boilermakers. Yes, five games remain on the schedule, but the November slate looks daunting. The top two teams in this week’s AP Poll come to West Lafayette, and Purdue will take road trips to Michigan and Washington. If Purdue wants to add a third tally to the win column, it will likely need to do so on Saturday against Rutgers.

How does Purdue respond after a virtual “no-show” at Northwestern last week? Purdue came out of the gates flat, as Northwestern dominated the first three quarters. The Purdue offense boosted its yardage total in the fourth quarter, and the defense forced turnovers to keep the final margin semi-respectable, but the performance left much to be desired. The Boilermakers experienced a crushing defeat at Minneapolis the week prior. Did they let the Gophers beat them twice? No matter what caused last week’s disappointing performance, Purdue must come out of the tunnel stronger this week.

On the other sideline, Rutgers will look to get off the mat after a 56-10 thumping by Oregon. The Ducks racked up a whopping 750 yards of offense in the victory, embarrassing the Scarlet Knights in Piscataway. The loss marked the fourth straight for Rutgers, which cruised through a non-conference schedule with no power conference competition. Since then, it’s dropped all four of its Big Ten games.

Schiano’s team entered 2025 looking to reach the postseason for the third year in a row. At 3-4, the team’s back is against the wall if it wishes to make that goal a reality. With trips to Illinois and Ohio State looming, Rutgers cannot afford a loss on Saturday. That type of pressure can go one way or the other. Can Schiano, a veteran coach, help his team to victory and set up a fateful month of November?