Fame Ijeboi ran for 195 yards and three touchdowns against his former team as Purdue beat Minnesota 41-13 for its first Big Ten winning streak since 2022. Ryan Walters, Washington’s defensive coordinator and former Boilermakers head coach, visits Ross-Ade Stadium on Friday.
Two weeks ago, Purdue was 1-3 and coming off a 49-10 loss to Notre Dame. Now, the Boilermakers have a Big Ten winning streak for the first time in almost four years.
Purdue followed last week’s upset at Illinois by beating Minnesota 41-13 Saturday night at Ross-Ade Stadium, and the Golden Gophers never got closer than 14 points after halftime. Purdue (3-3, 2-1 Big Ten) has won back-to-back conference games for the first time since closing the 2022 regular season with three straight, a run capped by a win over Indiana to clinch a berth to the Big Ten Championship Game.
Fall break emptied much of the student section, but the team on the field played with a confidence that was hard to find in September.
“You build confidence through experience,” Barry Odom said after the game. “Sometimes those experiences aren’t favorable, but it’s not a loss if you learn from them and grow. Then it’s progress.”
Fame Ijeboi Runs Wild Against His Former Team
Fame Ijeboi ran for 441 yards at Minnesota last season. On Saturday night, the sophomore got almost half of that against the Gophers alone.
Ijeboi carried the ball 31 times for a career-high 195 yards and three touchdowns, powering a ground game that piled up 305 yards, Purdue’s first game with over 300 yards rushing since a 303-yard day at Northwestern in 2023. The Boilermakers came in averaging 99.2 rushing yards per game, ranked 17th in the Big Ten, and left with 11 runs of 10 or more yards.
The Minnesota transfer carried the offense early, capping the first half with a short touchdown run that made it 20-3. He scored on Purdue’s first possession of the second half and added another from a yard out with 7:35 left in the game to make it 41-13. According to Pro Football Focus, 389 of his 549 rushing yards this season have come after contact.
Ijeboi finished five yards shy of becoming Purdue’s first 200-yard rusher since 2017, when Columbus East product Markell Jones ran for 217 yards on 31 carries against Indiana to bring the Old Oaken Bucket back to West Lafayette. He likely would have gotten there had he stayed in for the final series, in which Antonio Harris, the junior from Chandler, Indiana and Castle High School, took over the backfield duties.
“[Ijeboi’s] got the heart of a champion and is an outstanding young man,” Odom said.
Ryan Browne Runs as Purdue’s Offense Finds Balance
Ryan Browne came into Saturday with 24 carries for minus-28 yards this season. Against Minnesota, he ran seven times for 81 yards and a score.
The Gophers’ defensive looks left room for Browne to escape, and he took it, piling up 56 rushing yards in the first half alone. His biggest run came early in the fourth quarter, a 12-yard touchdown that capped a nine-play, 75-yard drive and pushed the lead to 34-13 after Minnesota had scored 10 straight points.
“Ryan had a great night executing, making pre-snap reads and playing at a high level,” Odom said.
Browne was steady through the air, too, going 14 of 24 for 159 yards and a touchdown with no sacks and no turnovers. Seven players caught a pass. The touchdown, a 15-yarder that gave Purdue its first six points, went to tight end George Burhenn, a McCordsville native who won a Class 4A state title at Mt. Vernon. Burhenn’s second catch of the day, a tough one-handed grab near the goal line, set up Ijeboi’s first score.
Purdue finished with 464 total yards, no turnovers, and went 5-of-12 on third down. Freshman kicker Jacobo Echeverria Lozano hit a 45-yard field goal on the opening drive and a 28-yarder later in the half. He is now 13 of 14 this season, and his 13 makes rank second nationally.
Kevin Kane’s Defense Shuts Down Minnesota
Purdue entered October with the worst statistical defense in the Big Ten. Over its last two games, it has allowed just 30 points combined.
Minnesota finished with 275 total yards and ran 12 times for just 27, its second-lowest rushing total of the season. The Gophers went 4 of 13 on third down, picked up only four first downs before halftime, and watched Drake Lindsey complete 22 of 29 passes for 248 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.
That interception belonged to linebacker Jojo Hayden, who led Purdue in tackles against his former Illinois team a week earlier. He picked off Lindsey in Purdue territory just before halftime, then teamed with Breeon Ishmail to stuff a fourth-down run late in the game. Hayden and Charles Correa shared the team lead with six tackles apiece.
Franklin Central graduate Hudauri Hines broke up a deep shot on Minnesota’s first snap, and Carmel’s Winston Berglund made some plays, too, at linebacker. On special teams, John Slaughter recovered a muffed punt to set up Ijeboi’s final touchdown, marking Purdue’s first fumble recovery of the season.
For Kane, it was a second straight strong showing against a former employer. After holding Illinois to 17 points, he slowed the Minnesota program where he spent last season as an analyst.
“I think Coach Kane and the defensive staff have done a tremendous job identifying areas we need to fix and fixing them,” Odom said.
Looking Ahead: Ryan Walters Returns to Ross-Ade With Washington
Purdue hosts Washington (3-3, 0-3 Big Ten) Friday at 8 p.m. ET on FOX as a 2.5-point favorite. Expect a cold one, with a forecast low of 38 and gusty winds.
The records match, but the moods do not. Washington started the year with College Football Playoff hopes, yet even its 3-0 start was shaky, including a 16-14 escape against Utah State that came down to a knocked-down Hail Mary. Losses to Minnesota, USC, and Iowa followed, with the Hawkeyes scoring 41 at Husky Stadium last Friday.
Washington leads the series 8-2-1, is 3-0 at Ross-Ade and won last November’s meeting 49-13 in Seattle. Purdue’s only win in the series since 1961 came in the 2002 Sun Bowl, two years after the Huskies beat Drew Brees in the Rose Bowl. Purdue is also 0-4 against the Big Ten’s West Coast additions.
What to Watch For Against Washington
The obvious storyline is Ryan Walters. He went 5-19 as Purdue’s head coach and was fired after a 1-11 season in 2024 that ended with a 66-0 loss at Indiana. Friday is his first trip back to Ross-Ade, now as Washington’s defensive coordinator. His unit ranks 12th in the Big Ten against the run at 136.7 yards per game, an inviting number for Ijeboi.
Walters will recognize plenty of faces. Browne started two games for him, and Hines and Berglund are among the Purdue defenders he coached. Washington special teams coach Chris Petrilli held the same job under Walters at Purdue, and Huskies inside linebackers coach Brian Odom is Barry’s younger brother.
Washington’s quarterback is a question mark. Demond Williams left the Iowa game with an injury, and backup Elijah Brown played well in relief.
“I’ve got to see where he’s at health-wise, and I’ve got to make sure that he’s good to go before we declare any starter for this week,” Jedd Fisch said.
Whoever plays will lead an offense that ranks last in the Big Ten in rushing at 90.3 yards per game, against a Purdue front that just held Minnesota to 27. The Huskies are fifth in passing and plus-five in turnover margin, while Purdue has not turned it over since UCLA. Something has to give.
With students back from fall break, Odom expects Ross-Ade to be rocking. Purdue’s 19-game Big Ten losing streak started under Walters’ watch. On Friday, his old program can push its new winning streak to three against him.
