Purdue Searching for 'Validation' With First Big Ten Win of 2025 Season

Sometimes, it can be difficult to identify improvement when results don't follow. There's no question Purdue is a drastically improved football team from last season, but that development has not yet materialized in a Big Ten win. Right now, getting over that hump is motivating head coach Barry Odom.

On Saturday, Purdue had a perfect opportunity to win its first Big Ten game since the 2023 season. The Boilermakers jumped out to an early 10-0 lead on the road against Minnesota and took a 20-13 lead into the fourth quarter.

However, a 14-play, 70-yard touchdown drive followed by a Koi Perich pick-six put the Gophers ahead 27-20 with 7:40 to play was the difference in Saturday's game. Instead of ending a long losing streak, the Boilermakers continue to chase their first conference win.

It was a game Odom knows slipped away.

"We've got to do it, I've got to do it, we have to do it as a staff, and then our team has to go out and execute and find a way to win a close game," Odom said during his press conference on Monday. "We had a lead going into the fourth quarter; we have to win those games."

Purdue dropped to 2-4 in Odom's first season with the loss and sits at 0-3 in Big Ten play. The Boilermakers have now lost 12 straight conference games, with the last victory coming over Indiana on Nov. 25, 2023.

In Odom's first six games at the helm in West Lafayette, he says he's seen dramatic improvement from where the team initially started. That growth on the practice field doesn't automatically result in a tally in the win column, though.

"I don't know that I'm putting markers on that — there are always things that you see and signs that you are moving in the right direction," Odom said. "I think, absolutely, we are, and in great measure. But we need some validation on winning a game.

"Without question, we're so much better today than we were three weeks ago. At the end of it, it's [about] results. We have to win."

Odom takes blame after Minnesota loss

Purdue Boilermakers head coach Barry Odom looks on | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

There hasn't been any passing of the buck in West Lafayette this year. Odom has said repeatedly that it's his obligation to get Purdue back into the win column, and quickly.

Saturday night, Odom took responsibility for Purdue's late-game struggles. Even though the team was in a good position in the fourth quarter against Minnesota, it failed to execute at pivotal moments.

"Yeah, I mean, we lost," Odom said when asked if Purdue let the game slip away. "You turn the ball over, and have crucial penalties on third downs, and they executed. They won the game. We got beat. I got beat. We lost."

Odom knows his program has made tremendous strides in a short time. He can see it in practice and in games. But the Boilermakers have failed to execute in critical junctures, resulting in a four-game losing streak.

"We're all judged on results," he said. "Right now, I haven't gotten the team to get the results we need."

Odom takes blame after Minnesota loss

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