Ad Disclosure
With wins in its final 2 games, Purdue could do something it hasn’t achieved since 2006
Published:
Purdue has locked up bowl eligibility. It’s essentially out of the B1G West race. On paper, a game against Northwestern on Saturday at Wrigley Field doesn’t really do much for the Boilermakers.
What a pair of victories could do, though, in the final two games, is end a 15-year drought for the Purdue football program.
At 6-4 on the season, Purdue could defeat Northwestern and Indiana and close out the year with an 8-4 record. It would be the first time the Boilers have hit the 8-win mark in a regular season since 2006 under then-head coach Joe Tiller.
That season, the Boilermakers finished the year with an 8-6 record. Purdue actually hit 8 wins during the 2007 campaign, but needed a win over Central Michigan in the Motor City Bowl to hit the total.
Purdue has only reached the 7-win mark twice since that 2007 season. The Boilers ended the 2011 season at 7-6 under Danny Hope and then again in 2017 under Jeff Brohm.
If Purdue closes out the year with a pair of wins, it will then get the chance to lock up that ninth victory in a bowl game. The last time that happened? 2003.
The next two opponents for the Boilermakers — Northwestern and Indiana — are a combined 5-15 on the season.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB