Purdue Gets Chance to Spoil Northwestern's Rose Bowl Party in October
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Purdue has the chance to be a thorn in Northwestern's Rose Bowl party later this year. The Wildcats have announced that they will honor their 1995 Rose Bowl team on Saturday, Oct. 18, when they host the Boilermakers.
Northwestern made the announcement with a social media post this week. The program will welcome back members of its 1995 Rose Bowl squad, as well as wear special uniforms for the game.
That year, Northwestern finished with a 10-2 record, going 10-1 in the regular season and 8-0 in Big Ten play. The Wildcats defeated four ranked opponents that year — No. 9 Notre Dame, No. 7 Michigan, No. 24 Wisconsin, and No. 12 Penn State.
To secure their spot in the Rose Bowl and win the Big Ten outright, Northwestern defeated Purdue 23-8 in the final game of the regular season. The Wildcats then lost to USC in Pasadena.
10.18.25 🌹 ’95 Lives On. pic.twitter.com/nZtHENhRA1
— Northwestern Football (@NUFBFamily) September 17, 2025
Purdue will get the unique opportunity to play spoiler to Northwestern's celebration on Oct. 18. Can the Boilermakers crash the party and escape Evanston with a victory that afternoon?
Purdue's all-time record against Northwestern
Unfortunately, Purdue knows about having its Rose Bowl party spoiled. On Sept. 13, the Boilermakers honored their 2000 Rose Bowl squad during a home game against USC. The Trojans marched on to victory, defeating the Boilers 33-17.
Purdue will get the chance to play that role later this year, and history would suggest it has a good chance to rain on Northwestern's parade.
The Boilermakers own a 53-35-1 advantage in the all-time series against the Wildcats. Recent history has been on Northwestern's side, as it has won each of the last two meetings against Purdue.
Purdue's last win came on Nov. 19, 2022, at Ross-Ade Stadium. The Boilers won 17-9, helping their push to win a Big Ten West title and compete in the conference championship game a few weeks later.
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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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