Matchup Preview: Who has the edge?

Purdue at Washington, from a matchup perspective.

Date/Time: Saturday, November 15, 7 p.m. EST

Location: Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium

Surface: AstroTurf

Capacity: 70,138 (tickets)

2025 schedules/records: Purdue 2-8 (0-7 Big Ten) | Washington 6-3 (3-3 Big Ten)

Series notes: Purdue and Washington will meet for the first time as Big Ten members on Saturday. This will be the third of the four former PAC 12 schools that Purdue squares off with, as it awaits a conference matchup with UCLA in future seasons. The two programs do have a history with one another, though. Most notably, Purdue and Washington met in a pair of bowl matchups during the Joe Tiller era. The Huskies downed Purdue 34-24 in the Rose Bowl on New Years Day of 2001, while the Boilermakers returned the favor in the 2002 Sun Bowl with the same final score.

Washington swept a four-year series against Purdue from 1987 to 1990, and it took both ends of a home-and-home series in 1971 and 1972. The two programs met in Seattle in 1961 and 1962, with Purdue winning one and another ending in a tie.

TV: FS1 (PxP Dan Hellie, Analyst Spencer Tillman)

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

Line: Washington -16.5, O/U 54.5

Weather: The forecast shows a high of 56 with a chance of rain

Purdue Roster | Purdue Game Notes

Washington Roster | Washington Game Notes

Pregame: First and 10: Purdue at Washington | First Look: Washington | Barry Odom vs. Ryan Walters: Friends collide on opposite sidelines | The 3-2-1: Purdue front office continues to evolve |

Washington running game versus Purdue against the run

Washington likes to run the football. It achieves this with a multifaceted approach, utilizing both the quarterback and running back frequently. Jonah Coleman leads the Huskies from the running back spot, averaging 71 yards per game on the ground. He followed Fisch from Arizona to Seattle, and he will likely clear the 3,000 career rushing yard mark during Saturday’s contest. Adam Mohammad will see carries behind him, as well, but Washington really only deploys two tailbacks.

Quarterback Demond Williams burst onto the scene at the end of last season, scaring defenses with both his arm and legs. Washington will use him in the designed run game, but he’s just as effective when he must improvise and scramble for first downs. Only Ohio State and Michigan’s defense held him below 50 rushing yards. If you remove those two games from his 2025 resume, he’s running for 76 yards per game. Williams will present the most dangerous running threat that Purdue’s seen in an opposing quarterback to date.

The Boilermaker run defense enters this week 15th in the Big Ten, allowing 161.5 yards per game. Ohio State looked to bleed the clock against Purdue, but the defense held up nicely against the run, holding the Buckeyes to just four yards per carry. Purdue ranks 11th when it comes to yards per carry allowed, but it does lead the conference with 19 rushing touchdowns surrendered.

Charles Correa’s status will factor into the outlook, as the UNLV transfer left the field on a cart in the second half last week. In the Monday press conference, his outlook sounded positive. He’s tied for third in the conference with 88 tackles, trailing only his teammates Mani Powell and Tahj Ra-El. Purdue continues to get strong play on the interior of the defensive line, too. Chops Harkless and Ian Jeffries look like priority players to retain for 2026, alongside the injured TJ Lindsey. Purdue’s team speed will get tested by Williams and Coleman’s dynamic abilities.

Washington passing game versus Purdue against the pass

Williams can air it out, too. He made a name for himself in last season’s Sun Bowl, throwing for 374 yards and four touchdowns. He’s put together a nice 2025 season, his first as a starter, averaging 250 yards per game with a three-to-one touchdown to interception ratio. Aside from a three-pick afternoon at Michigan, he’s taken exceptional care of the football. He struggled last week in poor weather conditions at Wisconsin, but in his last two home games, he’s thrown for a combined 682 yards against Rutgers and Illinois.

Though Washington’s wide receivers don’t match what Purdue saw from Ohio State, it’s another difficult matchup for Purdue’s defensive backs. The name to know: Denzel Boston. He ranks sixth in the conference with 81 receiving yards per game, and he’s found the end zone eight times. He earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors after a career performance against Illinois. Standing 6-4, you’ll likely hear his name called early in the 2026 NFL Draft. Dezmen Roebuck makes for a nice second option, and Washington will utilize Coleman plenty in the passing game.

The good: Purdue picked off its fourth pass of the season last week, as CJ Nunnally snagged one to prevent a touchdown. The bad: it came as just Purdue’s fourth interception in 10 games. Purdue’s begun to rotate more players into the secondary rotation, as Vi’Naz Cobb and Chalil Cummings saw action last week. Hudauri Hines and Tony Grimes lead the way at corner, but Purdue needs all the help it can get on the back end.

Another positive: Purdue added two more sacks, as Breeon Ishmail and Mani Powell each got home once. Purdue’s 23 sacks rank seventh in the Big Ten, but it comes at a cost. Oftentimes, Purdue must bring extra pressure to record those sacks. That puts more strain on the back end of the defense, and it’s burned Purdue at times. It’s a can’t-win situation, as the Boilermakers rank second-to-last in the conference and 98th nationally in pass defense.

Purdue running game versus Washington against the run

Purdue continues a two-back approach with Antonio Harris and Malachi Thomas in the post-Devin Mockobee world. Harris saw the bulk of the carries last week, though the Boilermaker offense only ran 47 plays. While Harris offers more home run hitting ability, the veteran Thomas can grind out yards when needed. Purdue must overcome a limited offensive line in the run game, an easier task said than done.

To help do so, Purdue calls on the quarterback run game. Ryan Browne has shown a knack for extending plays with his legs, scrambling for first downs in tough situations week after week. But Purdue doesn’t use him much in the designed running game. Instead, Malachi Singleton continues to receive snaps as a change-of-pace quarterback. Purdue doesn’t throw with him much, which presents challenges at times. It’s proven to work at times, though, and Purdue needs whatever it can get in the run game.

The Husky run defense ranks sixth in the conference, limiting opponents to 108 rushing yards per game. Some of those numbers are boosted by dominant showings against outmatched competition in the non-conference, though, as all but one Big Ten foe has reached the century mark on the ground. Northern Arizona transfer safety Alex McLaughlin provides a do-everything piece for the defense, leading the team in tackles and making plays in the passing game.

Purdue fans will recognize the Washington defensive alignment, as former Boilermaker head coach Ryan Walters coaches it. He will load up the line of scrimmage and ask safeties to work downhill to stop the run game. While Washington does a good job against the run, it doesn’t disrupt opposing ballcarriers in the backfield too much. The Huskies rank 16th in the conference in tackles for loss, averaging just two non-sack TFLs per week.

Purdue passing game versus Washington against the pass

As the season progresses, Purdue’s passing game continues to regress. After multiple 300-yard passing games in September, Purdue turned in its third sub-200-yard passing game in four weeks against Ohio State. Turnovers plague Purdue in the passing game, as the team leads the Big Ten with 11 interceptions. Only Northwestern’s Preston Stone has thrown more interceptions than Browne’s eight. Singleton gets a good deal of red zone action, allowing him to throw three touchdown passes in as many weeks.

The pass-catching options contribute to the inconsistencies in the passing game. Since the loss of George Burhenn in the season’s fourth week, the tight end position doesn’t present a threat. The three healthy tight ends (Rico Walker, Christian Earls, Christian Moore) have combined for eight catches this season. Michael Jackson III remains the lone constant out wide. He ranks third in the conference with 53 receptions, but no other Boilermaker ranks inside the top 30. Purdue will hope Nitro Tuggle can close the season strong to spark a big 2026, and it would love to see more young targets emerge in the season’s final weeks.

Washington will deploy nearly exclusively man coverage, following Walters’ script from previous stops. Cornerback Tacario Davis, who followed Fisch from Arizona, projects as a high pick in the NFL Draft. He’s long and rangy at 6-4, something the NFL covets. The Huskies’ defensive backfield fits what Walters wants to run better than his last two defenses, but it’s still shown vulnerability. Rutgers threw for 386 yards against Washington, and Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood played arguably his best game of the season against the man-heavy scheme.

McLaughlin and Makell Esteen each have two interceptions from the safety position, helping the Huskies to eight takeaways on the year. The pass rush doesn’t generate much pressure, sitting in 13th place in the conference with just 15 sacks through nine games. Jacob Lane leads the Huskies with three-and-a-half sacks. All-in-all, it’s an average Washington pass defense, which ranks 11th in the Big Ten.

Special teams

Spencer Porath continues his excellent sophomore season. His 40-yard attempt split the uprights last week, bringing his season total to 12 makes in 13 tries. Jack McCallister returns to his old stomping grounds this week, as he punted for the Huskies in each of the last three seasons. He’s proven himself as one of the best punters in the Big Ten at Purdue, putting together an excellent season. With tricky winds coming off the lakefront, he’ll know what he’s doing in Seattle.

Purdue’s return game remains a non-factor in both the kickoff and punt game. The Boilermakers have only attempted 18 kickoff returns and seven punt returns. A fair catch limits risk, something Purdue’s erred towards in 2025.

Washington kicker Grady Gross enters with seven makes on 10 attempts in 2025. He’s missed from inside 40 yards twice, and he’s seen a long attempt blocked. A third-year starter, he’s familiar with kicking in Husky Stadium, an environment that can cause issues. Punter Luke Dunne averages less than 40 yards per punt, but he’s only attempted 18 through nine games.

The Huskies will be aggressive in the return game at times, using starters and key contributors. Mohammad and Coleman each will return kicks, and Boston chimes in as a punt returner. Boston already took one to the house, running one back 78 yards for a score earlier this season.

Intangibles

Purdue will once again look to snap its now-16-game Big Ten losing streak, the longest in school history. The Boilermakers last picked up a conference win on November 25, 2023, a 35-31 victory over Indiana. This week presents a different challenge for Barry Odom’s squad: it travels to the Pacific Northwest. While traveling cross-country always presents an inconvenience, Purdue will take the field for its seventh game in as many weeks. Purdue could certainly use next week’s bye week to come quicker. After back-to-back physical matchups with Michigan and Ohio State, how physically ready is Purdue for another game?

Adding to the intrigue of this week’s contest: Purdue will square off against Walters. Now the defensive coordinator in Seattle, Walters spent two seasons as the head coach of the Boilermakers. He went 5-19 during his tenure, leading to his dismissal following the 2024 season. Also on the Washington coaching staff: Brian Odom, the brother of current Purdue head coach Barry Odom. Brian works alongside Walters, coaching the inside linebackers for the Huskies. No doubt, this will become a feature of the FS1 broadcast.

Washington entered 2025 optimistic about its chances to compete near the top of the Big Ten. A loss last week, however, virtually eliminated any hope the Huskies had of entering the 12-team College Football Playoff. Despite entering as a double-digit favorite at Wisconsin, the Huskies fell 13-10, marking their third loss of league play.

With Washington’s biggest goal now off the table, will the team respond positively or negatively to the upset loss? Since the start of last season, the Huskies have only lost one game at home, which came against Ohio State early on this year. Will the comfort of their home stadium lead them to a strong finish, or will the hangover effect come into play?