2026 PSU vs. Purdue

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General Pre-Game Information

• Game Eight of 2026 season—This is the third home game on Penn State’s Big Ten schedule and their 20th conference match-up with Purdue all-time. This is also PSU’s first Halloween game since the 2020 season, and the first since 2015 to have fans in the stands. This game has also been designated as All-University Day. Penn State (0-0, 0-0) is coming off its Bye Week. The Nittany Lions have not faced Purdue since the 2024 season at West Lafayette and have not played the Boilermakers at home since 2019. Penn State has won their last 11 games in this series. The Purdue Boilermakers (0-0, 0-0) are coming off their Bye Week, as well. They have not played since their Friday night, Oct. 16 home game with Washington. Former PSU Linebacker Anthony Speca transferred to Purdue after the 2025 season with 3 years of eligibility remaining.

• Last PSU Game played (Sat., Oct. 17): Penn State X Michigan X at Michigan Stadium

• Current Week Rankings: AP Poll-TBA / US LBM Coaches Poll-TBA

• Prior “Bye Week” Rankings: AP Poll-TBA / US LBM Coaches Poll-TBA

• Purdue 2025 Record: 2-10 overall, 0-9 in Big Ten (0-5 away/10 straight losses to close season)—Head Coach: Barry Odom (2nd season)—Odom has never faced Penn State or Matt Campbell

• 22nd meeting with Purdue all-time (10th at Beaver Stadium): Penn State is 17-3-1 all-time vs. Purdue (8-1-1 at home/8-1-0 at Beaver Stadium)—All 17 PSU wins are in the Big Ten (17-2/8-1 at home). The series dates to 1951 and a 28-0 loss at Purdue. Penn State’s first home game with the Boilermakers was a 1952 tie at New Beaver Field (20-20) which was also PSU’s first ever home game with an active member of the Big Ten. Their first Big Ten conference meeting with Purdue was in 1995 at West Lafayette where PSU won 26-23. The first conference home game came in 1996 and gave us a 31-14 Nittany Lions victory (Purdue was actually the last of the Big Ten’s “pre-PSU” membership to make its debut at Beaver Stadium—the other 9 had all played there prior to 1996). Penn State has won 11 in a row since a 2004 loss at Beaver Stadium (20-13). This is their first meeting since a 49-10 win in West Lafayette, IN in 2024, and their first meeting in State College since a 35-7 win in 2019. Their only other game this decade was the 2022 Thursday night season opener at Purdue where a last-minute Sean Clifford to Keyvone Lee TD pass pulled out the narrow 35-31 win.

• Last PSU Game vs. Purdue (2024 at Ross-Ade Stadium): The 4th ranked Nittany Lions roll up 539 yards in total offense in the 49-10 win over the struggling Boilermakers. Drew Allar QB was 17 of 19 passing for 247 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT and the two incompletions were a drop and an intentional throw-away. Allar’s longest TD pass in the game was 46-yards to a wide-open Harrison Wallace III WR in the endzone in the third quarter. Tyler Warren TE had a huge game with 8 catches for 127 yards, 1 TD (15 yds.) and he led the team in rushing, as well, with 3 carries for 63 yards including a 48-yard TD run in the third period (longest run of his career). Beau Pribula QB also had a 49-yard TD run in addition to a 24-yard TD pass to Luke Reynolds TE (first career TD catch) in the blowout win which gave State 11 consecutive victories in this series.

• Last PSU Game vs. Purdue at Beaver Stadium (2019): This game was both Homecoming and the second ever Generations of Greatness game at PSU (the first time that the two events were connected). Sean Clifford QB leads the 12th ranked Lions to 21 first quarter points in the 35-7 victory. Clifford rushed for a TD and threw 2 of his 3 touchdown passes on the day in the opening frame. The highlight was Clifford’s 72-yard TD connection over the middle with Jahan Dotson WR to cap the first period scoring and put PSU out front 21-0. Shaka Toney DE led State with 3 of its 10 sacks of Boilermaker quarterbacks. It was the 5th win in an 8-game streak to open that season.

• Penn State on Halloween (Oct. 31): This is PSU’s 22nd game played on Halloween dating to their 1888 season-opening 6-6 tie with Dickinson on Old Main Field. The Lions are 11-9-1 on Halloween (6-3-1 at home/5-1 at Beaver Stadium/1-1 in actual “Halloween Night” games). Penn State’s first loss on Halloween was a 10-0 setback against Bucknell in 1896 at Williamsport Athletic Park. Penn State’s first win on October 31 came in 1903 on Navy’s Worden Field in Annapolis (17-0). Penn State’s first Halloween Night game was also its first ever game played under the lights, a 1941 win over NYU at the Polo Grounds (a 42-0 PS win on a rainy Friday night). The most recent Halloween game came in the Covid-19 impacted 2020 season under the lights against #3 Ohio State in front of a frighteningly empty house at Beaver Stadium. This meant that Jahan Dotson’s two highlight reel catches were for TV-only. The #18 Nittany Lions were 38-25 losers in the first ever Halloween Night game in State College. Interestingly, Ohio State was not the originally scheduled foe for Halloween 2020—the pre-Covid Big Ten schedule called for a game at Indiana on Oct. 31, so a “Halloween Whiteout” was never in the cards. The last Halloween game at Beaver Stadium with actual fans was the 2015 win over Illinois (39-0). For the record: Matt Campbell is 1-0 on Halloween (a 52-22 Iowa State win at Kansas in 2020).

• One Halloween Trick and one Halloween Treat for PSU fans: The TRICK—Oct. 31, 1981 at Miami: #1 Penn State struggles in the hurricane-like weather conditions and loses to unranked Miami, 17-14 on national TV. Todd Blackledge passed for a then PSU record 358 yards in the loss. The TREAT—Oct. 31, 1998 vs. Illinois: In the first ever Halloween Big Ten game for State, LaVar Arrington treats us to the iconic “Leap” in the 27-0 victory. LaVar stops Elmer Hickman cold on 4th and inches. The leap was perfectly timed with the snap, and it looked like LaVar could have grabbed both Hickman and the Illini QB, if he needed to.

• Memorable (& Critical) PSU moments from the 2000 Purdue game, and the final appearance of Drew Brees vs. the Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium: Surprising Fact—Legendary Purdue QB Drew Brees was 0-3 vs. Penn State, and his final game was an interesting one, for sure. Brees leads the #19 and eventual Rose Bowl-bound Boilermakers into State College to take on the struggling 1-4 Lions. But Penn State is riding an unexpected emotional high just one week after the severe cervical spine injury to Freshman Cornerback Adam Taliaferro in the beatdown loss at Ohio State. The Nittany Lions were playing for their still-paralyzed teammate, and they were all wearing Adam’s #43 on the back of their helmets. Purdue knew this was a classic “trap” game. In the third quarter, Brees himself catches a TD pass to give the Boilers a slim 13-6 lead. Penn State’s slices the margin to 4 with a field goal. And then, the improbable happens… Twice… Back-to-Back… Two consecutive series end in almost identically disastrous fashion—both on Purdue punts with the Boilermakers backed up to their endzone. Still In the third, linebacker Derek Wake breaks through, dives, and nearly the blocks the punt. The punter double-clutches, steps forward, and is buried by a swarm of PSU tacklers at the 11-yard line. They sacked the punter, and this sets up a Paul Jefferson TD rush (extra point is missed) and State suddenly leads, 15-13. The next Purdue possession ends with a punt on 4th down. It’s a low snap and the punter is sacked a second time when Wake busts through and gets him at the 7-yard line. Quarterback Rashard Casey’s TD run to the right pylon makes it 22-13 Penn State late in the third. Still, Brees has a chance, but the Lions fend off a desperate rally attempt. Purdue gets within 2, but Travis Dorsch misses his 46-yard field goal try. And a Drew Brees’ Hail Mary on his final possession with 4 seconds to go is batted down... Final, 22-20. Brees goes winless vs. Penn State.

• 1st Xpm ET kick for PSU in 2026 season.

  TV/Radio Information

• TV Game Announcers: TBA

• First game televised on X since

• This is the xx game this season to be televised on a traditional or non-traditional TV Network

• Penn State Radio Network Announcers: Steve Jones (PBP), Jack Ham (Analyst), & Brian Tripp (Sidelines). Jones & Ham are in their 27th season in the booth together. Ham, a member of both the CHOF (1990) and Pro Football Hall of Fame (1988), played linebacker at Penn State (1968-70). Jones (Class of 1980) & Tripp (Class of 2011) are also Penn State grads.