Why Purdue Adding an FCS Opponent to the 2027 Schedule Was the Right Move
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Purdue has rounded out its non-conference schedule for the 2027 college football season. Tom Dienhart of GoldandBlack.com reported on Wednesday that the Boilermakers have added an FCS foe to their slate for next fall.
Purdue will host the University of Albany on Sept. 11, 2027. It is the third and final non-conference game added to the schedule for the season. The Boilers will also travel to South Bend to play Notre Dame on Sept. 4 and will play Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 18 at Ross-Ade Stadium.
According to Dienhart's report, Purdue will pay Albany $500,000 to make the trek to West Lafayette next season.
Adding an FCS foe was the right call
For years, Purdue has been on the aggressive end of the non-conference scheduling model. The Boilermakers have regularly played multiple Power Four opponents outside of the Big Ten, an idea adopted by previous head coach Jeff Brohm.
That mindset has only resulted in disappointment lately for the Boilers. For a program that has fallen on hard times, beefing up the schedule with more winnable non-conference games only makes sensem at least for now.
This season, Purdue played both Wake Forest and Notre Dame outside of Big Ten play. The Boilermakers lost both of those contests and the lone win in non-conference play came against Indiana State in Week 1.
If the Boilers had scrapped either Wake Forest or Notre Dame and added a Group of Six foe to the slate, Barry Odom's team would likely be sitting at 4-3 with five more opportunities to get two wins and earn a spot in a bowl game.
Scheduling Albany isn't the most aggressive approach, but Purdue doesn't need to keep loading up on Power Four opponents. It's hurt the program more than it has helped in recent seasons.
Purdue may have its hands tied a bit if the College Football Playoff expands to 24 teams. Odom told reporters on Monday that, if the expanded model passes, teams in the Big Ten will be required to play nine conference games, three non-conference opponents, one of which must be a Power Four squad.
Fortunately, Purdue wouldn't have to alter its schedules much. It already has at least one power conference opponent on the schedule from 2027 through 2034 (Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, TCU, North Carolina and Ole Miss).
That one Power Four opponent is more than enough for the Boilers, though. Add FCS or Group of Six programs to the future slate, but for now, there's no reason to make the schedule more daunting than necessary.
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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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