UW and Nebraska face off in Lincoln this weekend for the first time as conference foes. The long and storied history between the two teams stretches exactly 101 years and two weeks to the day between the very first match up in 1925 and this Saturday's game. That shared history primarily revolves around the four games played during the 1990s when both programs were at their peak. The 1991 game featured a furious second half comeback in Lincoln that built the momentum towards UW's eventual national championship. The Cornhuskers' return trip to Seattle in 1992 set the stage for the loudest recorded home crowd in college football history. Five years later, Nebraska returned to Montlake to get their revenge for the previous two games while on their way to their own national championship in 1997 in Tom Osborne's final season.
For these two programs, the current stakes of this weekend's game are much lower, although not entirely without significance. Both Washington and Nebraska enter Saturday night's matchup at a crossroads in their seasons. Nebraska sits at 5-2 overall and 2-2 in Big Ten play, but the Cornhuskers are coming off consecutive close losses to Indiana and Oregon. Despite those defeats, Matt Rhule's team has established itself as one of the league's most physical and statistically dominant defenses, keeping every game within reach through disciplined play, strong linebacker action, and excellent situational defense.
Washington, meanwhile, is 4-3 overall and 1-3 in conference play. The Huskies snapped a three-game losing streak with a 38-26 victory over Purdue before their bye week and arrive in Lincoln needing momentum to salvage their Big Ten campaign. Jedd Fisch's offense remains heavily dependent on its passing attack, ranking among the conference's better aerial units, but questions at quarterback and a struggling rushing offense persist.
Over Matt Rhule's four years at Nebraska, the Cornhuskers have embraced a physical and gritty, defensive-oriented identity as a program. Under first-year defensive coordinator, Rob Aurich, Nebraska has maintained the aggressive, fundamentally sound identity Nebraska built under Rhule. The Cornhuskers rank 14th nationally in scoring defense, 9th in total defense, and are holding opponents to just 171 passing yards and 99 rushing yards per game on average. Their suffocating rushing defense on early downs often position them in 3rd & long passing situations where they pressure packages and blanketing secondary can create plays. This formula is what has allowed Nebraska to lead the FBS in defensive 3rd down conversion percentage at just 19%. To put that statistic into perspective, Nebraska's defense has allowed just eight third down conversions in their four Big Ten conference games this season, including games with just one allowed against Maryland and Indiana.
Nebraska typically operates from a multiple-front structure, mixing even-front and odd-front looks while emphasizing gap discipline and disgui

Kenna Wollard has come forward about the illness that has kept her sidelined this college volleyball season.
The Purdue volleyball all-American revealed via social media on Thursday, Oct. 29 she was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in August. Wollard, though, did have some positive news to share about her battle against the blood cancer.
"Today, I found out that the treatments are working and I am on track to remission!!!!" she posted. "These past couple months have been so tough but hearing the news today brought so much joy. I still have some treatments left, but I am very hopeful for what's ahead."
Wollard played in the program's initial 2026 exhibition but hadn't appeared in any of Purdue's matches during her senior season. She was a Big Ten All-Conference first-team selection and second-team All-American in 2025.
Her kills (577) last season were the third-most in program history.

#american #today #purdue #thursday

Even with 12 straight victories and an 11-0 start in the Horizon League, there's always room for improvement for the Wright State Raiders volleyball team.
"What we've been able to accomplish has been very special," coach Travers Green said on Thursday, Oct. 29, "but you're trying to look further than that. How good can we be? What are our aspirations? It takes a certain level of commitment to win championships, but if you want to go further than that, it requires more.
"We've been pretty good, but we aren't the finished product that we want to be at this point of the year. We want to keep getting better and keep improving, keep growing, and keep looking for the things that can add more value."
Consistency from set to set, cleaner and more disciplined play, and a more relentless defensive effort — with the mindset that the ball should never hit the floor — are all on Green's mind as the Raiders enter the final two weeks of the regular season.
Wright State won 3-0 at Purdue Fort Wayne on Tuesday, Oct. 27, and returns to action at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, against Youngstown State at C.J. McLin Gymnasium in Fairborn.

#good #even

I reached out to the folks at Black Shoe Diaries to talk about this weekend's game between their Nittany Lions and our Purdue Boilermakers. They were kind enough to respond with some informative answers to my questions. Make sure to go check them out.
Penn State has not won a Big Ten game yet this year. The schedule to start the year has turned out to be a lot tougher than most people probably thought going in. Given the turnover at the top, what was expected of Penn State by fans coming into this season?
I predicted a 9-3 season. Some others on our site were at least mentioning the word playoff in the offseason. Personally, I thought Penn State would have enough experience with Matt Campbell's system considering that there would be so much continuity with so many players making the move from Iowa State. A lot of that optimism was tied to the schedule. Unlike 2025 where Penn State jumped right into the deep end with a showdown against Oregon in conference play, this year seemed like it would give some runway for the Lions to work things out before a Whiteout matchup against USC. That seemed to be the plan until halftime of the Wisconsin game. From that 17-0 lead against the Badgers, the Lions have struggled mightily.
Three of the four Big Ten losses have come by 8 or fewer points. Is this a situation where Penn State may be 0-4 but they could very easily be 3-1? I guess the crux of my question is, is Penn State better than their record reflects?
I think it should be at least 1-3. The Wisconsin loss was egregious. Penn State led from the start. They could never quite put away the Badgers, had to settle for field goals, committed a brutal turnover, and then allowed a couple of long conversions in the loss. This team isn't as talented as last year's Penn State team, but there are some similarities. They've had second half leads in three of the four losses, just as last year's Penn State team lost fourth quarter/overtime leads to Oregon, Indiana, Iowa, and Northwestern.

#game #team #iowa #oregon

It has been a while since Penn State celebrated a win on the football field. If you have lost track, Penn State's last win was over a month ago, with a Week 3 rout of Buffalo. The 2026 season, the first under head coach Matt Campbell, has certainly not gone according to plan in Happy Valley, and any threat of making a push for the College Football Playoff has long been put to rest. But the Nittany Lions are coming off a bye week with five games remaining in the season. There is still time to finish this transitionary season with some momentum for the future. First up after the bye week is a home game against Purdue, a team that has taken some steps forward this season under head coach Barry Odom.
Here are our final score and player of the game predictions for Penn State's Week 9 game against Purdue, along with some brief thoughts on the matchup.
Maybe it is hopeless optimism,but I think Penn State's offense looks a bit more consistent an formiudable this week. The bye week may have come at a good time for Penn State, as Rocco Bcht could potentially be getting his top playmaker back on the field with the reported return of wide receiver Koby Howard trending toward reality. Penn State will need the offense to be in rhythm, because Purdue is loaded with offensive firepower through the air and on the ground. The Nittany Lions will have a big test in slowing down Purdue's Fame Ijeboi, who has had his ups and downs this season. Will it be pretty? Not likely. Will it go down to the wire? Perhaps. Will Penn State's losing streak come to an end? Sure. Why not?
Final score prediction: Penn State 30, Purdue 27
Player of the game pick: Koby Howard, Penn State wide receiver

#purdue #nittany

Penn State football may need a week off as much as anyone in the country.
The Nittany Lions must attempt to retool themselves in light of their disheartening 3-4 start, including the 21-18 meltdown defeat at Michigan — their fourth straight in Big Ten action — to start the Matt Campbell era.
The Lions have lost each of their conference games after beginning Campbell's first season in State College with three decisive, non-conference victories.
Penn State will not play this weekend, their only open date of the 2026 season. Its next game will be on Halloween against the Purdue Boilermakers (2-5, 1-3 Big Ten) in Beaver Stadium.
The Lions, stunningly enough, are in the middle of a four-game Big Ten losing streak for the second straight season. Last year, they lost six straight under fired head coach James Franklin and interim leader Terry Smith before winning at Michigan State.

#straight #season #michigan #conference

WEST LAFAYETTE — You can call Purdue basketball's 87-55 exhibition victory over Ball State on Sunday a soft opening.
Rehearsals for the regular season continue, and roles remain up for grabs on a remade roster. The vibe around the 11 Boilermakers who shared relatively equal minutes, though, remains one of anticipation for what lies ahead.
You may need to give this new cast some time to come together. Those players – some character actors vying to become stars, some understudies stepping into the spotlight for the first time – like where this is headed.
They cannot offer the **** urance which comes with returning Final Four starters, roles chiseled in stone and championship expectations set as an afterthought. What was on display Sunday, though, was a new and different energy – one with unrealized upside.
"I feel that's what makes this team good and makes this team different, is the balance we have between all our guards and our bigs," redshirt freshman guard Antione West Jr. said. "Everybody brings something. There's no weak points or anything we lack in our guards, so it just brings a sense of balance. I think that's our identity."

#guards

Notre Dame's 2026 college football schedule has been called many thing over the last eight months, but "tough" or anywhere near the word "hard" was certainly not among them. Still, some have mentioned that this Irish schedule could look a lot trickier as the season progresses. While they may eventually be true, it may not matter all that much (except for message boards and social media).
Notre Dame took a minute or two to get going against the Wisconsin Badgers in the season opener, but eventually the Irish whooped them 42-13. Notre Dame welcomed the Rice Owls to South Bend for the home opener, and sent them back to Texas with a 52-0 loss. Although the Irish were big favorites against Michigan State, they got their best shot — and still beat the Spartans 27-10. The Irish were once again massive favorites over a Big 10 team, and they more than covered against Purdue with a 49-10 win that was never that close. Notre Dame was better than a three touchdown favorite against North Carolina, but ran into a bit of a clunker (and rain) and beat the Tar Heels 37-26. After two weeks on the road, Notre Dame returned to South Bend and the homecooking did them well as the Irish destroyed the Stanford Cardinal 58-7. Disaster hit the Irish against BYU in a 28-24 loss, and no matter what part of the game you want to complain about (because there was quite a bit) the simplest thing to say is that Notre Dame flat out got outplayed by the Cougars. Notre Dame will now be able to chomp down some cheeseburgers during their bye week.
Notre Dame is still likely to be favored in every game this season, and they are still a popular pick to win the national championship. Their strength of schedule probably isn't going to matter much, but let's keep track of it anyway.
OPPONENT
RESULT

#irish #still #season #thing

What is the Taraia Object?
What artifacts were discovered on Nikumaroro Atoll?
How many passengers were on the Winter Haven High School bus?
Full Summary
An expedition began on Oct. 2 as researchers left Purdue University on a mission that hopes to find the lost plane of aviator Amelia Earhart, who went missing along with her navigator Fred Noonan in 1937.

#winter

If you thought Philip Rivers' return to become the Colts' starting quarterback last season was a shocking development, Purdue football great Drew Brees reportedly discussed an even more improbable return.
ESPN reported Brees and Denver Broncos coaches discussed Brees returning to play for the franchise in last year's AFC Championship Game. The Broncos lost quarterback Bo Nix to an ankle injory in their AFC Divisional Round victory over the Buffalo Bills.
Brees, 47, had not played a game since his retirement from the New Orleans Saints after the 2020 season. According to ESPN, he wanted to work out prior to making any commitments. After doing so, he said he encountered wrist pain and decided against pursuing a return.
ESPN's report said even Broncos coach Sean Payton -- Brees' coach with the Saints -- did not know of the discussions until the summer.
The Broncos instead went with their actual backup, Jarret Stidham, in a 10-7 loss to the New England Patriots.

#espn #saints #quarterback #discussed

Sep. 14—The term sabermetrics was first coined by Bill James in 1980. It took quite a bit longer, however, for the idea to catch on with the baseball populace, but eventually acronyms like WAR, VORP and UZR caught on as a way to ****** yze the sport.
Analytics are equally as important these days in college basketball. It's why you hear Illinois coach Brad Underwood constantly referencing his team's adjusted offensive efficiency and offensive rebounding rate. Paid services like Synergy give coaching staffs an ****** ytical breakdown of their team to the finest detail.
Publicly available sites like , and , however, have broadened the usage and acceptance of a different way to follow and break down the sport. (KenPom and CBBAnalytics do have a subscription piece but are drastically cheaper than Synergy).
It's through those sites Illinois fans could track one of the most efficient offenses in the modern era during the 2025-26 season. The Illini eventually finished second in adjusted offensive efficiency behind Purdue last season. That particular metric was helped by the Illini not turning the ball over (eighth in turnover rate) and dominating the offensive glass (third in offensive rebounding rate).
One particular metric Illinois tracks is shot volume.

#like #rate #synergy

The Heisman Trophy got a lot more interesting this weekend when Arch Manning led Texas to a 20-point fourth quarter comeback over Jeremiah Smith and #1 Ohio State. Both players crack the top three this week and we have two drop outs from the top 10 — one as you can guess is Dante Moore after the Oregon Ducks lost at Oklahoma State as three touchdowns favorites! Heisman Trophy odds are courtesy of DraftKings. Let's get started!
1. Darian Mensah, Miami Hurricanes (+550)
2026 Stats: 653 pass yards | 8 pass TDs | 91.1 comp% | 0 INTs
Last Game: 252 pass yards | 3 pass TDs | 93.3 comp% | 0 INTs
Next Game: At Wake Forest — Friday at 7:30 PM ET
Darian Mensah and Miami torched Florida A&M into a burnt crisp. The Hurricanes offense posted a school-record 856 yards and that comes with five minutes being shaved off the fourth quarter. Mensah didn't play the second half and sat the fourth against Stanford, so he has eight touchdowns and 653 yards through five quarters of action. Wake Forest is next on the schedule and they just allowed Purdue to throw for 329 yards and a touchdown on 32-of-42 passing.
2. Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State Buckeyes (+700)
2026 Stats: 16 rec | 315 yards | 3 total TDs | 19.7 ypc
Last Game: 8 rec | 164 yards | 1 TD | 20.5 ypc
Next Game: Vs Kent State — Saturday at 12:00 PM ET
Texas may have won the game, but Jeremiah Smith won the night! Smith had an extraordinary stat line for a top five matchup. He caught eight passes for 164 yards and a touchdown. Smith could have easily had 200-plus yards and three touchdowns if he and Julian Sayin could have connected on two tough contested catches in the end zone.

#fourth

Oklahoma at Michigan – Michigan was not very good against WMU – will they do better here?
Oregon at Oklahoma State – probably won't be much of a game, but you get to see Oregon
South Florida at Army – should be tight game, and you get to watch Army football
Wake Forest at Purdue – hmmmm….. well maybe not
Mississippi State at Minnesota – should be a tight game

#oregon #army

It's already a tired storyline, but we'll get through it together until it becomes totally exhausted. San Diego State is the Pac-12 team here, UCLA is the Big Ten team, and even if it doesn't quite feel right, it's a big game for both.

The Aztecs want to be a player in the hunt for a College Football Playoff spot, but this is the one shot to take down a Power Four program. Coming off a good 53-20 warm-up win over Portland State, SDSU is as ready as it's going to be.
UCLA is the big story, though. Bob Chesney's first game as the new head coach was close to perfect, with the ground game pounding away through Cal in a 45-24 win.
It seems like these two should've played more than 17 times. UCLA won the last meeting in 2023 and is 16-1 all-time in the series.
San Diego State can lose this and still be alive for the CFP, but it would need to beat James Madison next week. The Pac-12 season starts against Texas State in early October.
UCLA starts the Big Ten season next week when Purdue comes to Los Angeles. It gets Maryland after that before going to Oregon.

#diego #next #week #starts

Less than 24 hours away from Purdue's week two game against Wake Forest it's time for a final look back at Purdue's week 1 game against Indiana State. This week I asked you all to tell me if Purdue's performance against the Sycamores changed your expectations for the rest of the season. It seemed like a good thing to ask given that I had already asked all of you how you graded Purdue's week 1 performance. The results were not great if you're Purdue.
As you can see the majority of respondents graded Purdue at a C. That's not what you want out of week 1 when you're playing a cupcake. So given that C grade I was curious if that changed expectations up or down. Of course. there was also the option for no change. So, let's take a look at the results.
A whopping 76% of respondents didn't change their expectations after week 1 which honestly seems very reasonable, rationale, and not at all okay for this current internet age. Those 76% are the well adjusted respondents. 22% revised their expectations down and those are the people who likely graded Purdue much lower than a C. Honestly, I don't blame them. Then, there are the true sickos. 2% of respondents actually raised their expectations after week 1. I can only ******* ume Fame Ejiobe blew them away and their are pushing all their chips in on him. This time tomorrow we will have a much better idea of who this Purdue team is.
If you'd like to place a wager on tomorrow's Purdue vs. Wake Forest game the line is currently Purdue +2.5 and the O/U in 49.5 from our friends at FanDuel. If you're going to gamble please do so responsibly and don't gamble money that you aren't prepared to lose. Stay safe my friends.

#respondents #honestly

The Seattle Seahawks begin their 2026 season versus the New England Patriots on Wednesday. That doesn't mean some publications aren't already looking towards the 2027 NFL draft. With a new college football campaign officially underway, mock drafts have been populating news feeds.
NFL Draft On SI: A Sports Illustrated Channel was among the outlets that released new first-round mock drafts. Using power rankings to determine the draft order, they have the Seahawks picking at No. 31 overall. The pick? Clemson defensive end Will Heldt.
"Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider likes to keep four, five pass rushers in rotation," NFL Draft On SI wrote. "With DeMarcus Lawrence and Dante Fowler Jr. being aging veterans, adding another young rusher to the fold would fit the Seahawks' approach. Clemson's Will Heldt transferred to the program last season from Purdue and led the Tigers in tackles for loss (15.5) and sacks (7.5)."
Heldt placed third among returning Power Four edge defenders with an 84.4 PFF overall grade last season, according to Pro Football Focus. His 87.8 PFF pass-rush grade on true pass sets ranked 14th in the Power Four. He's been a dominant rusher for the Tigers.
Heldt feels like a prospect who will be on the Seahawks' radar.

#heldt #draft #season

BUFFALO - The wins over Football Bowl Subdivision teams will be much harder to come by over the next three years.
The University at Albany is set to play Purdue next season, Michigan State in 2028, and Cincinnati in 2029, according to an athletic department official.
Those games will offer big paydays but a slim chance of victory against teams from the Power Four conferences.
However, UAlbany had a realistic chance of pulling off an FBS upset on Thursday night. The Great Danes were sitting on the Buffalo 1 with less than two minutes left and trailing by 4 points.
Instead, UAlbany unraveled with mistakes in a 21-17 defeat in a game that didn't end until 1:22 a.m. because of lightning and heavy rain that delayed the opening kickoff by more than 2 ½ hours.

#buffalo #ualbany #next #bowl

Yes, there is such a thing as a good 5-5 start – at least for now, considering how insane it is to try figuring out all these teams with mostly new players.

What's so good about it? Going 3-2 yesterday was fine, and over the first two runs, one loss was that horrific Hawaii beat against Stanford, another came in the final seconds of Illinois-UAB, and then there's the whopper – thinking Rutgers would destroy UMass. Historically shocking whiff, cap tipped, moving on.

There aren't many options for the Friday games, but let's force down an appetizer before the smorgasbord on Saturday.

Last Week's Results: 5-5
– All the Week 1 Picks
– Week 1 Expert Picks
Line: Point Total 46.5
ATS Pick: Under

This is one of those picks to see if we have our in-season game legs early on. Seriously, feel free to ignore this one, because it's a little dangerous.

Both teams have new coaching staffs, new ideas, and wholesale personnel changes. That, and 46.5 isn't all that hard to hit – the original call to make this one of the games was when the total was 49.5.

Again, I'm flying a bit blind here, but it's Pat Fitzgerald with a pieced-together team. It'll be about the defense and running game. Mike Jacobs' Toledo side will keep the chains moving and the clock rolling. This should be a good, tough fight.
– Toledo vs Michigan State Game Preview
Line: Kansas -41.5
ATS Pick: Kansas

It's a small sample size, but one key mini-trend isn't shocking – with the exception of Buffalo against Albany, FBS teams are annihilating the FCSers.

Utah 66, Idaho 14
UCF 73, Bethune-Cookman 6
Missouri 54, UAPB 14
Delaware 42, Merrimack 7
Kennesaw State 47, West Georgia 0 (I LOVED this and chickened out yesterday, not making this one of the five best picks)
Minnesota 59, Eastern Illinois 7

I never change our call on the predicted final score in our game previews unless something insane happens, but Kansas big at home against LIU – partly because it'll likely go full throttle for a full 60 minutes – was the call from the start. If anything, we were probably too conservative on what the Jayhawks will do.
– LIU vs Kansas Game Preview

Sticking with that FBS blowout over FCS thing …
Line: Purdue -35.5, o/u: 55.5
ATS Pick: Purdue

There's no need to do a deep dive here. Purdue has a brutal schedule ahead, it's been a rough run over the last few years, and the coaches will keep pushing because the program has to set a new tone. Purdue beat Indiana State 49-0 in 2024, and Indiana slipped past the Sycamores by 73 last year.
– Indiana State vs Purdue Game Preview
Line: Point Total 47.5
ATS Pick: Over

Two things are in play here. First, the Stanford defense didn't look like anything special once the Hawaii offense got rolling in the 37-27 Cardinal win. There's a real chance Miami takes care of most of the total on its own.

Here's the second part – the line is 24.5. In the six games last year when Miami won by more than that, all but the 38-7 win over Pi

The Junior Players Championship begins its third decade Sept. 4-6 at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.
This will be the 20th edition of the American Junior Golf ******* ociation invitational and the field is loaded as usual, with 15 of the top 25 players on the AJGA rankings as of July 31, including a pair of University of Florida commits, No. 4 Jessy Huebner of Port St. Lucie and No. 7 Guiseppe Puebla of Royal Palm Beach.
Also in the field are No. 2 Jaden Soong of Los Angeles (uncommitted), No. 6 Ronin Banjerjee of Irvine, Calif., (Tennessee), No. 8 Grayson Baucom of Hickory, N.C. (uncommitted), No. 13 Sam Carraher of Crown Point Ind. (Purdue) and No. 17 Sohan Patel of Weston (Vanderbilt), the defending FHSAA Class 2A state champion.
Two-time Junior Players winner and defending champion Miles Russell is not in the field this year. He's playing for the U.S. team in the Walker Cup Sept. 5-6 at the Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland.
JUNIOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST AND SECOND TEE TIMES

#junior #championship #sept #golf

Purdue football hosts Indiana State to start the 2026 season as coach Barry Odom enters his second year with the Boilermakers.
Purdue went 2-10 in Odom's first season, winning its first two games, but going winless in Big Ten play. Ryan Browne (58.9% of his passes for 2,153 yards, 9 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2025) returns as the Boilermakers' quarterback, but much of the roster has changed. The Sycamores lost their season opener to Southeast Missouri State, and they were 3-9 last season against most Football Championship Subdivision competition.
Here's everything to know pregame from how to watch, weather forecast, tickets, **** ysis and more.
Watch Purdue vs ISU on Fubo!
Purdue football plays Indiana State at 7 p.m. ET Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

#first

WEST LAFAYETTE − Before the first serve of Purdue volleyball's Wednesday night match against Georgia in Mackey Arena, the Boilermakers got a motivational boost.
All-American outside hitter Kenna Wollard was on the sideline with her team, dressed in street clothes.
Wollard, who last season was a second-team All-American and Midwest Region Player of the Year who entered 2026 on the preseason National Player of the Year watch list, announced on social media last week she would be taking a hiatus "with an unexpected health issue that will keep me away for a little while."
Kenna Wollard is in the building and named as a Purdue honorary starter. pic.twitter.com/SaLjw6zKfp
Wollard was not present in Purdue's season opener against Creighton in South Dakota or for Tuesday's home win over Texas A&M.

#wollard #american #year #team

WEST LAFAYETTE — Purdue volleyball coach Dave Shondell was celebrated Tuesday night at Mackey Arena after the Boilermakers swept Texas A&M.
It was Shondell's 513th career victory at Purdue, surpassing Hall of Fame men's basketball coach Gene Keady's total of 512. Shondell's achievement was announced and promoted as a Purdue record for most head coaching victories.
While it is a Purdue record for a coach in one sport, according to Purdue record books, that career win total ranks second in Boilermaker history.
Rising up: With All-American out, Purdue volleyball duo 'played beyond expectations' to beat reigning champs
Ward "Piggy" Lambert is credited with 371 wins in 29 seasons as men's basketball coach (1917 and 1919-46) and 163 in 20 seasons (1917, 1919-35, 1945-46) as baseball coach, giving Lambert 534 career victories leading Purdue programs.

#record #lambert #Basketball

WEST LAFAYETTE — Purdue volleyball coach Dave Shondell was celebrated Tuesday night at Mackey Arena after the Boilermakers swept Texas A&M.
It was Shondell's 513th career victory at Purdue, surpassing Hall of Fame men's basketball coach Gene Keady's total of 512. Shondell's achievement was announced and promoted as a Purdue record for most head coaching victories.
While it is a Purdue record for a coach in one sport, according to Purdue record books, that career win total ranks second in Boilermaker history.
Rising up: With All-American out, Purdue volleyball duo 'played beyond expectations' to beat reigning champs
Ward "Piggy" Lambert is credited with 371 wins in 29 seasons as men's basketball coach (1917 and 1919-46) and 163 in 20 seasons (1917, 1919-35, 1945-46) as baseball coach, giving Lambert 534 career victories leading Purdue programs.

#purdue #Career #total #victories

WEST LAFAYETTE — As Dave Shondell built Purdue volleyball into a consistent national contender, he also built an all-time legacy among all Boilermaker coaches.
No. 14 Purdue's 3-0 victory over No. 12 Texas A&M, the reigning national champions, on the opening night of the Big Ten/SEC Challenge on Tuesday at Mackey Arena put Shondell in a tier of his own. The win was the 513th of Shondell's career, passing former basketball coach Gene Keady for most victories by any Purdue coach with Keady in attendance.
Shondell became Purdue volleyball's all-time wins leader with his 470th in 2024. He tied Keady for most wins in any sport last season when the Boilermakers beat SMU to reach their fifth Elite Eight in his tenure.
Shondell was presented the game ball and, after leading the team around Mackey to greet the remaining fans, libero Ryan McAleer and opposite hitter Grace Heaney hugged Shondell. The rest of the team followed, and the Boiler Block chanted "Dave!"
Shondell, a Muncie native, came to Purdue in 2003 after successful high school stints at Daleville and Muncie Central. His teams reached the Sweet 16 in 13 of his first 24 seasons and are 19-0 in first-round NCAA tournament matches. With Friday's victory, his career winning percentage rose to .681.

#purdue #muncie #time #victory

WEST LAFAYETTE — As Dave Shondell built Purdue volleyball into a consistent national contender, he also built an all-time legacy among all Boilermaker coaches.
No. 14 Purdue's 3-0 victory over No. 12 Texas A&M, the reigning national champions, on the opening night of the Big Ten/SEC Challenge on Tuesday at Mackey Arena put Shondell in a tier of his own. The win was the 513th of Shondell's career, passing former basketball coach Gene Keady for most victories by any Purdue coach with Keady in attendance.
Shondell became Purdue volleyball's all-time wins leader with his 470th in 2024. He tied Keady for most wins in any sport last season when the Boilermakers beat SMU to reach their fifth Elite Eight in his tenure.
Shondell was presented the game ball and, after leading the team around Mackey to greet the remaining fans, libero Ryan McAleer and opposite hitter Grace Heaney hugged Shondell. The rest of the team followed, and the Boiler Block chanted "Dave!"
Shondell, a Muncie native, came to Purdue in 2003 after successful high school stints at Daleville and Muncie Central. His teams reached the Sweet 16 in 13 of his first 24 seasons and are 19-0 in first-round NCAA tournament matches. With Friday's victory, his career winning percentage rose to .681.

#muncie #time #victory

WEST LAFAYETTE — Josh Henson and Kevin Kane spent the last month trying to outwit the other.
Now Purdue football's offensive and defensive coordinators are unified in hoping to play complementary football Friday night against someone other than their own team.
For Kane, Friday's kickoff against Indiana State is a first chance to prove Barry Odom's decision to hire him for the role he'd had in 2023 and '24, an unpopular move for fans, was the right choice.
For Henson, it's a chance to show growth after 2025 provided him the first chance to be a full-time offensive play caller in a decade.
"These small little details and just organizing and running an offense, one year back into it, I'm rolling on those things," Henson said four days ahead of the season opener. "Because of that, it's given our coaching staff the ability to go coach our guys on all the small details and I feel like we're further along in that area."

#first #details

SOUTH BEND — So much for a cautious ramp-up regarding Notre Dame football center Ashton Craig.
Forty-seven weeks after suffering his second torn ACL in as many seasons, the senior from Lawrenceburg, Ind. is listed atop the depth chart for Sunday night's Sept. 6 opener against unranked Wisconsin at Lambeau Field.
"He has a lot of experience," Irish coach Marcus Freeman said Monday Aug. 31 at his weekly news conference. "There's a calmness that he brings because of his experience. He's a really, really good football player and he's really progressed throughout camp with his workload and has gotten himself to a place where he's ready to go."
Barring any setbacks during practice this week, Sunday's start would be the 13th of Craig's college career, dating to the last three games of 2023.
He was knocked out for the season in Week 3 at Purdue in 2024 (left ACL) but returned for the season-opening loss at Miami in 2025.

#experience #bend #notre #ashton

Since Purdue football kicks off their season on Friday we are now less than one week away from the start of the reason. Ryan and I have covered the schedule for the last several weeks. Drew has gone through each unit on the team. Drew has also covered every opponent on the schedule week by week. Things are going to change week after week given how many questions we have not only about this team but about the opponents. The transfer portal has changed everything and it feels like we know less and less about these teams each season while the NCAA continues to be the wild west. Regardless, there's content to be created and so I asked the staff to tell me their predictions for the 2026 Purdue football record. So, let's get to it.
Ledman:
I've looked hard at this schedule and I want to be optimistic. But there are just too many question marks for me to go with a full throated optimistic take. The offensive line has been said to be massively improved from last season where it left Ryan Browne running for his life. Has Ryan Browne improved that dramatically? Who will be the WRs? Has the defense taken multiple steps forward? I just don't have good solid answers to those questions, and we won't get answers against Indiana State. For that reason I'm stuck between 3-9 and 4-8. I'll take the leap and give them a 4-8 record thus doubling the win total for the second straight season.
Travis:
Honestly? 2-10.

#schedule

WEST LAFAYETTE — One of Purdue football's biggest impacts from the transfer portal could end up coming from the smallest package.
The Boilermakers list Travis Terrell Jr. at 5 foot 9, 180 pounds, as Jackson State did before them. The Atlanta native proved at the FCS level those measurements mattered less than his 40-yard dash time and intangible attributes.
At that size, his new teammates ****** umed he came with next-level speed. Terrell began showing last spring he did not come to the Big Ten to run away from contact.
"You see him in pass pro – he really puts his head in there, no matter who he goes up against," fellow running back Fame Ijeboi said. "... He's a hard-nosed runner, and his size does not show how tough he is."
Buy 2026 Purdue football tickets!

#purdue #size #boilermakers #jackson

Purdue volleyball serves up a new challenge this season – no longer sneaking up on teams but proving it can meet top 10 expectations in a more competitive ***** e.
Coach Dave Shondell, who is 68 and signed a four-year contract extension in the offseason, said the Big Ten is much better this season and pointed to three of the ninth-ranked Boilermakers' first four matches are against top-20 teams. He also will be challenged with blending young talent to a returning core and redefining leadership, pointing to 10 of his 17 players having not played for Purdue in a regular-season match.
It also will be part of the first-of-its-kind college volleyball event in the Bahamas, where it will face either No. 11 SMU or No. 3 Kentucky, take part in the Big Ten/SEC challenge and a Big Ten Tournament hosted in Fishers. Purdue returns its core leadership with outside hitter Kenna Wollard, opposite Grace Heaney, setter Taylor Anderson and libero Ryan McAleer.
"I think that my approach has been a little bit different in that I'm expecting a little bit more from our team every day in practice than I did a year ago, which is kind of a dangerous move because last year whatever we did seemed to work," Shondell told IndyStar.
Ahead of first serve against No. 13 Creighton at 7 p.m. Friday on a neutral floor at the Sanford Pentagon, here are four things to watch with Purdue volleyball in 2026.

#shondell