Despite the blowout loss to Oregon, the Scarlet Knights have a very realistic shot to win their next game, as they have opened as 2.5-point favorites at Purdue next week, according to FanDuel. The Boilermakers share Rutgers’ 0-4 Big Ten record, with a nonconference loss to Notre Dame meaning that Purdue is 2-5 on the season. Despite showing life and significant improvement from last season, it has not won since defeating Ball State and Southern Illinois in the first two games of 2025.
The Scarlet
Knights opened the season by scraping by against Ohio, which now has a 20-14 loss against Ball State, and defeating Miami (OH) and Norfolk State. Rutgers then lost a tough contest against Iowa before falling to Minnesota, Washington, and Oregon in worse and worse fashion.
Meanwhile, Purdue lost by 16 to USC and Illinois, which have both been in and out of the rankings, seven to a 5-2 Minnesota team, and most recently, 19-0 to Northwestern at the lakefront stadium. The Boilermakers were unable to score despite putting up 305 total yards and accumulating over 200 passing yards in the contest.
With a tough November schedule that will see trips to Michigan and Washington and home games against #1 Ohio State and #3 Indiana, Rutgers is Purdue’s most likely shot for a conference win. The same can be said the other way around, with Illinois, Maryland, Ohio State, and Penn State due up for the Scarlet Knights in what may be a “no-win” November for both programs.
Although Rutgers could potentially set up what would now be a miraculous bowl run by defeating Purdue, Maryland, and Penn State, the Terrapins and Nittany Lions still look light-years ahead of the Scarlet Knights, even with both programs having extended losing streaks of their own.
This looks like each team’s best (and possibly only shot) for a Big Ten win this season, so both programs would be wise to flush last week as quickly as possible and lay all the cards on the table for Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium. History is on the Scarlet Knights’ side, as they have a 2-0 record, featuring a 14-12 win in Piscataway back in 2017 and a 37-30 win in the COVID-shortened season of 2020, when the teams last met in West Lafayette.
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