No. 2 Oregon (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) is set to face off against Purdue (1-5, 0-3) this Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. The betting line from BetMGM has Oregon favored by 28.5 points. Historically, Oregon holds a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series against Purdue.
This matchup carries significant implications as Oregon, a newcomer to the Big Ten, is currently ranked second and remains one of the three unbeaten teams in the conference. With a decisive victory last week against No. 4 Ohio State, the Ducks need to focus and avoid underestimating a struggling Purdue team. The Boilermakers are mired in a five-game losing streak, yet they hope to build on some positive momentum from their recent overtime loss.
A focal point of the game will be the battle between Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel and Purdue’s pass defense. Gabriel has had an impressive first season in the Big Ten, throwing 13 touchdown passes and ranking 12th nationally in efficiency with a rating of 169.28. While the Boilermakers have shown some resilience against the pass compared to the run—attributed partly to preseason All-American S Dillon Thieneman—they still rank poorly in terms of yards allowed per completion, giving up an average of 15.02 yards.
Players to keep an eye on include Oregon’s wide receiver Traeshon Holden, who transferred from Alabama. Holden has been a significant contributor to the Ducks’ success this season, but he made headlines for the wrong reasons after being ejected from the Ohio State game for spitting at an opponent. He later expressed regret for his actions on the social platform X, previously known as Twitter.
On the Purdue side, second-year quarterback Ryan Browne is an exciting prospect after showcasing his potential in his starting debut against Illinois. He demonstrated his dual-threat ability by utilizing both his legs and arm to generate offense, prompting head coach Ryan Walters to name him this week’s starter, despite Hudson Card being cleared from concussion protocol.
As for some additional statistics, Purdue initially won the series between these two teams in 1979 with a score of 13-7, but they have fallen short in the last two encounters in 2008 and 2009. This season, Oregon has achieved a 6-0 record for the first time since 2013 and for only the ninth time in their history, entering the weekend with the team’s highest ranking since finishing as national runners-up in 2014. Under Walters, Purdue has faced challenges against ranked opponents, going 0-4 in his two seasons. Meanwhile, the Ducks have scored over 30 points in each of their last five games, while limiting four of their six opponents to 14 points or fewer. Notably, the Boilermakers erupted for 46 points in the second half last week after managing only 44 points over the previous 16 quarters.