One Major Area Purdue Football Must Clean Up for 2026 Season
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If you tossed out a general question about what Purdue needed to improve upon from last season, you'd probably receive more than a dozen different answers, and all of them would be valid. But there's one specific area where the Boilermakers must show significant growth if they hope to rattle off some Big Ten wins this season.
Cleaning up the turnovers is a non-negotiable for Barry Odom's team in 2026. An overwhelming number of mistakes cost Purdue dearly throughout last season, turning a handful of winnable games into disappointing losses.
Yes, Purdue has several areas for improvement after a 2-10 campaign last fall, but eliminating turnovers must be a priority for this year's squad.
Last in the Big Ten in every turnover category
Turnovers were ugly for Purdue in every regard in 2025. The Boilermakers finished tied for last in every turnover category in the Big Ten.
The Boilermakers threw 13 interceptions, tied for the most in the conference with Northwestern and Wisconsin. They also lost eight fumbles, tied for the most, again with Northwestern. In total, Purdue ended the year with 21 turnovers, tied for the most in the league with ... Northwestern.
Nationally, Purdue's interceptions ranked 111th, lost fumbles ranked 85th and the 21 total turnovers ranked 109th. It's difficult to win football games when you're constantly giving the football away.
To make matters worse, Purdue finished the season with just nine takeaways, ranking 16th in the league. The Boilers' four interceptions tied for last in the Big Ten with UCLA.
Turnovers at critical times
Purdue's turnover troubles were exacerbated by the timing in a few key games throughout the season. The Boilermakers allowed at least three games to slip away last season because of a failure to protect the football at critical junctures in the game.
In the team's Big Ten opener against USC, the Boilers suffered a 33-17 defeat at the hands of the Trojans. However, the difference in the game was three interceptions thrown by Ryan Browne, all of which came with Purdue in the red zone. That included a pick-six late in the third quarter.
A few weeks later, Purdue put itself in a position to win a road game against Minnesota, leading most of the way. In a tie game, Gophers' defensive back Koi Perich picked off a pass and returned it to the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.
Similarly, in a home game against Rutgers, Purdue led most of the way but found itself tied with the Scarlet Knights late in the game. A fumble recovered by Rutgers with just over a minute remaining set up a game-winning field goal attempt for Greg Schiano's team.
Those were all tough pills to swallow, and were the difference between getting at least a few Big Ten wins and going 0-9 in conference play for a second straight season.
It's obvious, but it's important
Every football coach in America talks about the importance of protecting the football. It's obvious that if teams minimize turnovers, they give themselves better chances to win games.
Purdue showed that multiple times throughout the 2025 season. Having fewer turnovers last fall, especially in some of those critical situations, may have resulted in a four- or five-win season. The Boilermakers wouldn't be entering the 2026 campaign on an 18-game conference losing streak.
Improvement is critical across the board in West Lafayette; there's no question about that. Eliminating turnovers, especially in those key situations, is going to be pivotal to Purdue's success.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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