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Purdue

Number Crunching

Karpick_headshot500x500by: Alan Karpick09/16/25AlanKarpick
Samuels_Dale115

Here’s our eclectic look at the numbers following Purdue’s 33-17 loss to USC and heading into this week’s matchup at Notre Dame. Former Gold and Black intern, now financial maven, Griffin Herdegen did the bulk of the heavy lifting for this.

94

…Age of Dale Samuels, the oldest living member of Purdue’s Cradle of Quarterbacks (No. 10 pictured above). On Oct. 7, 1950, after just turning 19, he quarterbacked the Boilermakers to an upset of No. 1 Notre Dame in South Bend, 28-14, ending the Irish’s 39-game unbeaten string. Samuels and his wife, Dawn, live in the Milwaukee area, and the former Boilermaker QB often shoots below his age in 18 holes of golf. The married couple, who have been married for 73 years, were in the press box to watch the USC game last week.

4

Purdue beat four No. 1 ND squads from 1950-67, and five if you count the 1968 game, which was between two No. 1 teams, the Irish being tops in the coaches poll and Purdue AP.

0-2

Purdue will face a 0-2 Notre Dame team for the first time since 1986, when the Irish beat Purdue 41-9 under first-year coach Lou Holtz. The previous time ND in the last 50 years that a 0-2 Irish team faced the Boilermakers was also a game in South Bend, when the Boilermakers suffered a heartbreaking 10-6 loss to the defending national champs.

Sep. 29, 2007–Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis and Joe Tiller talk after Purdue beat Notre Dame 33-19 at Ross-Ade Stadium. Purdue’s most recent win in the series. Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

3.2

Purdue has gained 3.3 first downs by penalty per game this year, tied for third in the country. It’s unlikely the Boilers sustain this pattern, as only three teams have finished a full season with more than 3.3 first downs by penalty since 2000. On the other hand, Purdue is committing only 3.3 penalties per game on average, tied for the fifth-fewest in the country so far.

1 of 6

Turnover tracker: After three games, the Boiler defense has still not forced a turnover. This now places them in a meager group of only six FBS teams that have not forced a turnover, and one of only two Power 4 teams (Oklahoma is the other).

357

Purdue notched 357 yards, a feat only achieved once in an FBS game all of 2024, yet it only recorded 17 points. The Boilers have recorded 350+ yards in 107 games since 2010, yet only scored 17 or fewer points in 11 of them (10.3%). In those 11 games, perhaps unsurprisingly, Purdue is 0-11.

David Bell (3) makes a catch against Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Denzel Burke (29) during the 2nd quarter of their NCAA game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio on November 13, 2021.

3-65+

EJ Horton, Michael Jackson II, and Nitro Tuggle all notched 65 or more receiving yards in the loss. It’s the first time since November 2021 that three WRs all recorded 65+ receiving yards in the same game, when David Bell, Jackson Anthrop, and Milton Wright did so in a 59-31 loss to Ohio State.

Purdue’s 66-7 loss last year to ND was the largest spread in the series by a 13-point margin. (Chad Krockover)

-129

Despite starting 0-2, Notre Dame opened as 30.5-point home favorites against Purdue. While the spread has closed a bit, this is the fourth-largest number of points that Purdue has been underdogs by since at least 1995, with two of those instances also occurring in the last two years. The Boilers collectively lost those three games 142-13. 

7

Purdue has seven wins over ranked foes in the last seven seasons, though none in the last two campaigns. Purdue was an underdog in each of those games.

97-95-89

The Notre Dame-Purdue matchup is the third-most played series in Irish history (89), trailing only Navy (97) and Southern Cal (95).

1957

The first year Notre Dame faced Purdue with the Shillelagh Trophy at stake. The Irish lead the series 41-19, but Purdue once held a 9-4 advantage (1957-69) under coach Jack Mollenkopf in the annual trophy contest.

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