Why Barry Odom Says Purdue Can 'Absolutely' Become Playoff Program

Finding the positives in a 2-9 season can be difficult. This isn't how Barry Odom envisioned his first year would unfold at Purdue, still searching for its first Big Ten win of the season entering the final week of the season, hosting No. 2 Indiana. It's been a challenge, but Odom still believes in the future in West Lafayette.

The Boilermakers are preparing for their final game of the 2025 campaign, hosting the second-ranked Hoosiers, who enter the game with a perfect 11-0 record. Curt Cignetti has completely transformed the program in Bloomington, something Odom wants to do at Purdue.

Although this season hasn't produced the results he had hoped, he still believes Purdue can become a program that competes for a spot in the College Football Playoff, and he won't back off that expectation.

"Absolutely. I think you look at the opportunities that exist in college football today in recruiting and expanded playoffs, and now retention and rev share and all the things that go along with it, Purdue has everything that is needed to have a really, really successful football program," Odom said.

Odom inherited a program that finished 1-11 last season, going winless in Big Ten play last season. The Boilermakers are teetering on that happening again this fall. Going 0-18 over the last two years in conference games doesn't exactly generate much excitement.

Purdue Boilermakers head coach Barry Odom looks on during the first half | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

What Odom likes, though, is how much progress the program has made since he arrived at Purdue last December to now. And if things continue to trend in a positive direction, he said the Boilers will be a formidable football team in the near future.

"I do believe, in my soul, the foundation of the core of who we're going to be and what we're becoming, what we're building, and what we've changed in 10 or 11 months," Odom said. "If we change that much more in the next few months, then we'll be playing really meaningful games in the month of November next year."

Because this season didn't go as planned, it's critical for Odom and his staff to evaluate the roster and identify the areas of concern. Purdue will need to address those on the recruiting front or through the transfer portal in the coming months.

College football moves at a rapid pace. As Cignetti has proven at Indiana, anyone can ascend into the Playoff conversation at any time. It requires the right pieces to be in place, though.

Odom and his staff have no time to waste if they want to elevate out of the Big Ten's basement.

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