Washington 38-26 Purdue (Oct 16, 2026) Final Score

Team pages: Washington · Purdue

Washington4-338

Purdue3-426Final

Fri, Oct 16 · Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Ind. · Crowd 50,941

Washington beat Purdue 38-26.

We had Purdue favored. Washington won.

Next: Washington at Nebraska, Sat Oct 31

Next: Purdue at Penn State, Sat Oct 31

Top comment in the game thread

Refs giving UW a touchdown on that one

Q2 1:00 · r/CFB game thread · Fri, Oct 16

How it swung

The turning point: Cooley 53-yd TD run, Washington leads 38-26 (Q4, 10:30). Washington went from 66% to 91% to win. Fans right then: “2 steps and a knee?!? How is that not a catch?!?” r/CFB game thread

Before kickoff, our ratings gave Washington a 49% chance, and the closing betting line (Washington was a 3-point underdog) put it at 40%.

A tight one: Washington bottomed out at 26% and won.

Up to 74% in the first quarter, then Purdue lost it.

FinalWashington 38-26 PurdueWashington wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.

The two plays that swung it

1Q4 10:30Cooley 53-yd TD run, Washington leads 38-26Washington 66% → 91% (+25)
2Q4 1:19InterceptionBrowne intercepted by Dillard-Allen at the UW41Washington 96% → 77% (−19)

The two plays that swung it

1Q4 10:30Cooley 53-yd TD run, Washington leads 38-26Purdue 34% → 9% (−25)
2Q4 1:19InterceptionBrowne intercepted by Dillard-Allen at the UW41Purdue 4% → 23% (+19)

What fans said, play by play

The line in bold above each quote is written by our model from the thread’s comments and the play-by-play.

Q2 2:39Washington muffing a punt allows Purdue to score a touchdown and tie the gameWhy doesn't everyone punt into the opponents heel? Are they stupid?r/CFB game thread
Q2 1:00Officials rule roughing the passer on Bonner's touchdown run, sparking outrageQuoted at the top of the page.Rare moment where the problem is the refs rather than our defenser/CFB game thread
Q3 6:44Brown throws an interception to Hayden as fans react to Purdue PetePurdue Pete is evil, I just can’t prove it yetr/CFB game threadOld Purdue Pete designs did little to disguise his eldrich nature.r/CFB game thread
Q4 8:59Fans argue Browne pass to Magwood is a catch after officials overturn completion2 steps and a knee?!? How is that not a catch?!?r/CFB game threadIf that’s not a catch what are we doing herer/CFB game thread

Washington’s chance to win after every play.

How to read this chart

Starts from the pregame line (Purdue -3), at 29% for Washington (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores. Under the scores, r/CFB comments per minute from fans with a Purdue or Washington flair (989 and 1,098); both sides share one scale, regulation only.

Watch the plays

The bar and the arrow show Washington’s chance to win after each play; the logo is the team the play helped.

Every drive

Washington scored on 6 of its 13 drives; Purdue on 5 of its 14.

Washington’s drives are teal, Purdue’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.

From Purdue’s side

Purdue’s best moment: Browne intercepted by Dillard-Allen at the UW41 (Q4 1:19). It lifted Purdue’s win chance by 19 points.

How Purdue fans took it: “well it was fun thinking it was possible to make a bowl for a 6 days” r/CFB game thread

“Washington now has more rushing yards than previous 3 B1G games lol”

A Washington fan

When fans got loud

Busy

The biggest reaction came in the fourth quarter.

Jump to the loudest stretch

The jump was busy; the crowd was busy.

Two crowds, one game

The words each side’s fans used far more than the other side, from the game thread.

Washington fans

fisch“I had no idea there could be an offensive playcaller worse than Jedd Fisch but Purdue has shockingly outdone him”

Purdue fans

kane“Kevin Kane thinks nickels are worth more than dimes, because they're bigger”

Both sets of fans kept coming back to: ball, back, refs, don.

Too close to call on 50% of plays.

Box score

Washington 38, Purdue 26

Washington covered +3 by 15. The total, 64, went over 50.5.

Team totals	Washington	Purdue
Total yards	488	371
Passing	21 of 27, 302 yds	21 of 41, 273 yds
Rushing	34 for 186 yds	27 for 98 yds
First downs	24	19
Third down	4 of 7	5 of 14
Fourth down	0 of 0	1 of 4
Turnovers	5	2
Penalties	6 for 33 yds	6 for 49 yds
Time of possession	29:16	30:44

Washington leaders

Passing Elijah Brown 21 of 27, 302 yds, 3 TD, 3 INT
Rushing Trevion Cooley 8 for 113 yds, 1 TD; Brian Bonner Jr. 13 for 64 yds, 1 TD
Receiving Chris Lawson 6 for 103 yds; Dezmen Roebuck 5 for 97 yds, 1 TD

Purdue leaders

Passing Ryan Browne 21 of 41, 273 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Antonio Harris 4 for 65 yds, 1 TD; Fame Ijeboi 13 for 19 yds
Receiving Asaad Waseem 9 for 116 yds; Xavier Townsend 3 for 55 yds

No rain through the game

51° at kickoff · no rain recorded

The usual here around this date is 59°, with about 7 in 10 games between 48° and 69°.

October game-day temperatures at Ross-Ade Stadium

Drag along the chart, or step through the game.

Fourth quarter, 10:30 left11:04 p.m.

Washington 38, Purdue 26 · Purdue 9% to win

no rain · 48°

Cooley 53-yd TD run, Washington leads 38-26

Measured at Lafayette airport, 1.6 miles away. Wind and rain are airport readings near the stadium, not on the field. Game times come from the play-by-play, good to a minute or two. Source: National Weather Service, through the Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Field direction from OpenStreetMap contributors.

Before kickoff

Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.

Recent games

Last three games

Washington · 3-3

Rated 26th in our preseason ratings, 35th now.

Three straight losses.

L 24-41 vs IowaTop 25 #15 of 668

lost by 17 as a 3-point favorite

L 21-25 @ USCTop 25 #25 of 668

lost by 4 as a 7.5-point underdog

L 24-27 vs Minnesota #43 of 668

lost by 3 as a 12.5-point favorite

W 48-16 vs Eastern Washington #168 of 668

won by 32 as a 42.5-point favorite

W 16-14 vs Utah State #57 of 668

won by 2 as a 28.5-point favorite

W 24-10 vs Washington State #41 of 668

won by 14 as a 23.5-point favorite

Last three games

Purdue · 3-3

Rated 119th in our preseason ratings, 79th now, up 40 spots.

2-1 in its last three, capped by a 28-point win over Minnesota as a 2.5-point underdog.

W 41-13 vs Minnesota #55 of 668

won by 28 as a 2.5-point underdog

W 24-17 @ Illinois #68 of 668

won by 7 as a 9.5-point underdog

L 10-49 vs Notre DameTop 25 #3 of 668

lost by 39 as a 27.5-point underdog

L 38-52 @ UCLATop 25 #48 of 668

lost by 14 as a 13.5-point underdog

L 36-38 vs Wake ForestTop 25 #80 of 668

lost by 2 as a 2.5-point underdog

W 44-19 vs Indiana State #226 of 668

won by 25 as a 35.5-point favorite

Week by week

Purdue

Wk 2Lvs Wake Forest36-38
Wk 3Lat UCLA38-52
Wk 4Lvs Notre Dame10-49
Wk 5Wat Illinois24-17
Wk 6Wvs Minnesota41-13

Washington

Wk 2Wvs Utah State16-14
Wk 3Wvs Eastern Washington48-16
Wk 4Lvs Minnesota24-27
Wk 5Lat USC21-25
Wk 6Lvs Iowa24-41

Power rating by week

Washington is rated 4.9 points ahead as of week 6. Our power rating by week; higher is better.

Matchups

Biggest mismatch: Washington’s passing EPA against Purdue, 77 points

Each row ranks the two sides among all teams. The longer the line, the bigger the mismatch.

Washington’s passing EPA against Purdue’s defense
Washington offense, 79th percentile · Purdue defense, 2nd
Washington’s explosive plays against Purdue’s defense
Washington offense, 62nd percentile · Purdue defense, 1st
Washington’s EPA/play against Purdue’s defense
Washington offense, 51st percentile · Purdue defense, 9th

Season profile, all the rows

Season profile

WashingtonPurdue

EPA/play, offense

EPA/play, defense

Success rate, offense

Success rate, defense

Explosive-play rate, offense

Explosive-play rate, defense

Rush EPA, offense

Rush EPA, defense

Pass EPA, offense

Pass EPA, defense

The series

Washington leads the series 8-2-1

11 meetings since 1961 · Washington won the last meeting

2025Washington 49-13
2002 · neutral sitePurdue 34-24
2000 · neutral siteWashington 34-24
1990Washington 20-14
1989Washington 38-9

Each line is Purdue’s chance to win through that meeting. Older meetings have no play by play, so no line.

Line, fans and home field

The betting line, and the fans

Purdue fans are feeling it less than most fanbases this week (28th among FBS fanbases), and the other side is no happier.

Purdue favored by 3 · Total 50.5

How games like this usually go

Purdue by 3: the game against the usual path

Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game

The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 252 games since 2025 with a favorite of under 3.5 points.

The market

The spread moved 0.5 points toward Purdue.

The total fell 1 point.

The books’ cut: 4.3%, the margin built into the odds

Home field

Purdue is worth +1.5 points (±4.3) more at home than on the road since 2018 — bottom tenth of FBS, 9th percentile.

37% at home, 34% on the road against FBS opponents (19-32 home, 14-27 away).

Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads -1.6 at home vs. away over 96 games — inside the ±6.5 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.

Night kickoff — historically worth about half a point more to the home side against the number, and not much more than that. The visitors travel about 1,809 miles to get here.

Where next

Conference standings

Place in the conference, then conference record.

Purdue7th2-1
Washington18th0-3

Full Big Ten standings

Washington beats Purdue 38-26