2023 Purdue
4–8 (3–6 Big Ten), coached by Ryan Walters. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Illinois 44–19Sep 30
By 25 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingBeat Indiana 35–31Nov 25
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | vs Fresno State | L 35–39 | 47% |
| Sep 9 | at Virginia Tech | W 24–17 | 51% |
| Sep 16 | vs Syracuse | L 20–35 | 60% |
| Sep 22 | vs Wisconsin | L 17–38 | 48% |
| Sep 30 | vs Illinois | W 44–19 | 52% |
| Oct 7 | at Iowa | L 14–20 | 26% |
| Oct 14 | vs 3Ohio State | L 7–41 | 24% |
| Oct 28 | at Nebraska | L 14–31 | 39% |
| Nov 4 | at 2Michigan | L 13–41 | 9% |
| Nov 11 | vs Minnesota | W 49–30 | 40% |
| Nov 18 | at Northwestern | L 15–23 | 47% |
| Nov 25 | vs Indiana | W 35–31 | 69% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat Indiana 35–31; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Big Ten.
In program history: The 82nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).
- Record
- 4–8
- Conference
- 3–6 tied for 8th in Big Ten
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 287–365
- Coach
- Ryan Walters
- Elo
- 1479 −53 this season
- SP+ rating
- -7.3 No. 90 of 133; offense No. 91, defense No. 69, special teams No. 127
- SRS
- −2.1 No. 73 of 133 in FBS
- Returning
- 34% of last season’s EPA, No. 104 of 131
- Recruiting class
- No. 68 roster talent No. 48 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Graham Harrell
- Defensive coordinator
- Kevin Kane
- Offense
- Air raid
- Defense
- Air strike
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.05 | 42% | 1.14 | 90th of 133 |
| Defense | 0.12 | 40% | 1.38 | 76th of 133 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.08 off 0.12 def | 43% off 40% def | — | 77th off 73rd def |
How these are measured
Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.2 | own 29 | 18% allowed |
| Defense | 4.3 | own 31 | 17% caused |
CORE rating 0.8, 58th of 133 (offense 1.2, defense 0.4).
A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.
Leaders
| Passing yards | Hudson Card QB | 2,387 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Hudson Card QB | 15 TD |
| Rushing yards | Devin Mockobee RB | 807 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Tyrone Tracy Jr. RB | 8 TD |
| Receiving yards | Deion Burks WR | 629 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Deion Burks WR | 7 TD |
| Tackles | Dillon Thieneman DB | 106 tkl |
| Sacks | Nic Caraway DL | 8.5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Dillon Thieneman DB | 6 INT |
Top recruits in the 2023 class
| Will Heldt DE | ★★★ | No. 718 |
| Drake Carlson DL | ★★★ | No. 718 |
| Arhmad Branch WR | ★★★ | No. 788 |
| George Burhenn TE | ★★★ | No. 810 |
| Jamarrion Harkless DL | ★★★ | No. 890 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2023 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.863 |
| Receivers | 6 | 3.0 | 0.855 |
| Offensive line | 1 | 2.0 | 0.760 |
| Defensive line | 4 | 3.0 | 0.866 |
| Linebackers | 1 | 3.0 | 0.848 |
| Defensive backs | 4 | 3.0 | 0.860 |
| Whole class | 17 | 2.9 | 0.853 |
High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.
Drafted in 2024
The 2024 draft| Rd 5 | Tyrone Tracy Jr. RB | New York Giants |
| Rd 7 | Sanoussi Kane S | Baltimore Ravens |
Roster 116
The 2023 roster116 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 57 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 15
The 2023 portal Hudson Card QB | ★★★★ | from  Texas |
 Braxton Myers S | ★★★ | from  Ole Miss |
 Jahmal Edrine WR | ★★★ | from  Florida Atlantic |
 Jeffrey M’Ba DL | ★★★ | from  Auburn |
 Anthony Brown S | ★★★ | from  Arkansas |
| Isaiah Nichols DL | ★★★ | from Arkansas |
 Preston Nichols OL | ★★★ | from  UNLV |
 Salim Turner-Muhammad CB | ★★★ | from  Stanford |
 Bennett Meredith QB | ★★★ | from  Arizona State |
 Jalen Grant OL | ★★★ | from  Bowling Green |
| Ben Farrell OT | ★★★ | from Indiana Wesleyan |
 Malik Langham DL | ★★★★ | from  Vanderbilt |
And 3 more, lower-rated or unrated.
Transfers out 25
 Branson Deen DL | ★★★★ | to  Miami |
| Brady Allen QB | ★★★★ | to  Louisville |
| Jack Sullivan DL | ★★★★ | to  USC |
| Milton Wright WR | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Spencer Holstege OL | ★★★ | to  UCLA |
| Lawrence Johnson DL | ★★★ | to Auburn |
| Eric Miller OT | ★★★ | to Louisville |
| Michael Alaimo QB | ★★★★ | no new school on file |
| Brandon Calloway CB | ★★★ | to  Georgia Southern |
| Charlie Kenrich TE | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Collin Sullivan WR | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Greg Hudgins III DE | ★★★ | to  Charlotte |
And 13 more, lower-rated or unrated.
All-Big Ten
3 second teamSecond team
Deion BurksWRCoaches-2- Nic ScourtonDLCoaches-2; Media-2
Dillon ThienemanDBCoaches-2; Media-3
From Wikipedia’s 2023 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).
2023 Big Ten standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 9–0 | 15–0 | 1 |
| Ohio State | 8–1 | 11–2 | 10 |
 Penn State | 7–2 | 10–3 | 13 |
| Iowa | 7–2 | 10–4 | 24 |
| Northwestern | 5–4 | 8–5 | |
| Wisconsin | 5–4 | 7–6 | |
 Maryland | 4–5 | 8–5 | |
 Rutgers | 3–6 | 7–6 | |
| Minnesota | 3–6 | 6–7 | |
| Illinois | 3–6 | 5–7 | |
| Nebraska | 3–6 | 5–7 | |
| Purdue | 3–6 | 4–8 | |
 Michigan State | 2–7 | 4–8 | |
| Indiana | 1–8 | 3–9 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.