Purdue braces for No. 1 Ohio State; Mockobee out

Where were you back in 1989? That’s the last time the No. 1 team in the nation played at Purdue.

Back then when George H.W. Bush was president, Lou Holtz brought his defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish to Ross-Ade Stadium. Led by coach Fred Akers, Purdue lost, 40-7. (The last time the Boilermakers played a No. 1 team anywhere? It was a year later in 1990, when Purdue lost to No. 1 Notre Dame in South Bend, 37-11.)

This Saturday, college football’s No. 1 will return to West Lafayette with Ohio State (8-0 overall; 5-0 Big Ten) looking to flex its big, shiny muscles at 1 p.m. ET (BTN).

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Coach (Ryan) Day,” said Purdue coach Barry Odom. “I think they have great players. They’ve got a great scheme. … “

But, Odom isn’t star-gazing at Buckeye WR Jeremiah Smith and QB Julian Sayin. Nor is Odom riveted over rankings.

“Respectfully, that’s wasted time,” said Odom, who played against the Buckeyes as a player at Missouri in 1997 and 1998. “I think you try to look for advantages for your team. Again, I’ll say it, got a lot of respect for how they play the game and the players that they have and the coaches that they have.

“But it’s about: How good can we get this week to try to go execute the game plan? And if we worry about the colors of the uniform or the ranking, then that’s wasted energy, in my opinion.”

Odom has enough on his plate trying to halt a seven-game losing streak than to be agog about the Buckeyes and their lofty ranking. The Boilermakers (2-7; 0-6) have been oh-so-close in recent weeks to breaking into the win column, with near-misses at Minnesota, vs. Rutgers and at Michigan.

“Looking back at the video from Saturday night,” said Odom, “I hate losing, like we all do. But, man, I was excited about the way our team competed and fought for four quarters (21-16 loss at Michigan). Thought there are a number of things that we went and executed in the game plan on how we were trying to play the game in all three phases being complimentary.”

Replicating that vs. Ohio State may be difficult. The matchups? Well, it looks like a total mismatch.

• The Buckeyes are No. 1 in the nation in scoring defense (6.9 ppg) and No. 1 in total defense (214.8 ppg). Purdue? It has sunk to No. 16 in the Big Ten in scoring (22.1 ppg).

• OSU has the No. 5 attack in the Big Ten (437.5 ypg) and No. 4 scoring offense (36.6 ppg). The Boiler D is 15th in the Big Ten in scoring (27.0 ppg) and No. 17 overall (395.0 ppg).

“Our guys will be excited to play at home against what I think is one of the top playing teams right now in college football,” said Odom.

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Mockobee’s Purdue career is over

Purdue coach Barry Odom provided an update on star running back Devin Mockobee’s health during his Monday morning press conference, and disclosed that the senior tailback has played in his final game as a Boilermaker.

“Friday, he had a procedure. We were hoping that we would get a little bit better news after they did that procedure on his ankle. But unfortunately, the injury sustained, he’s played his last ball here.”

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Mockobee went down with the aforementioned ankle injury at the end of the Rutgers game and was held out of Saturday’s loss to Michigan. The fifth-year senior had previously played in 37 consecutive games, dating back to 2022.

“I sure hate that, because he’s such a wonderful young man, great leader of this program, a great representative of Purdue University. And the things that he’s poured into our program and university since I’ve been here, he will go down as one of the really, really enjoyable, great guys that I’ve had a chance to coach, and we’ll be connected forever,” Odom added.

Mockobee now finishes his Purdue career cemented in the top ten of the Boilermakers’ rushing record books in several categories. He ranks fourth in 100-yard rushing games, fourth in rushing yards (2,983), seventh in all-purpose yards (3,864) and ninth in touchdowns (26). Mockobee was just 13 yards from becoming the fourth player in Purdue history to eclipse 3,000 rushing yards.

The four-year starter had found his stride in 2025, having 521 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, as well as 215 receiving yards and another receiving touchdown for the Boilermakers.

Purdue will now rely upon the tandem of senior Malachi Thomas and redshirt freshman Antonio Harris out of the backfield across the final three games of the season. That duo combined for 122 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries in Mockobee’s absence on Saturday in Ann Arbor. Offensive coordinator Josh Henson also highlighted true freshman tailback Jaron Thomas as a guy that could see snaps moving forward as a depth piece behind Harris and Thomas.