It was only a few short weeks ago that Washington was on many people’s short list of contenders to make the College Football Playoff.
It was coming off a strong nine-win season, head coach Jedd Fisch is a solid head coach, and the team was able to keep star quarterback Demond Williams Jr. around, even if it took some arm-twisting.
Williams is banged up with a rib injury, Fisch’s team isn’t playing well, and at 3-3 with Indiana, Oregon, Penn State, and a trip to Michigan State to go, just going to a bowl will take a heavy lift if the Huskies can’t beat Purdue.
The Boilermakers are a wonderful story – the consensus preseason win total was 3.5. In Barry Odom’s second year, his team managed to beat Illinois, roar past Minnesota 41-13, and now, at 3-3, it can dream of a huge turnaround season if it gets by Washington.
Washington vs Purdue: Quick Hits
- Purdue goes to Penn State after this, but it has winnable home games against Maryland and Wisconsin still to play.
- Washington closes the regular season with four road games in the final six, and the two home games are against Indiana and Purdue. It gets a week off after this before going to Nebraska.
- Washington beat Purdue 49-13 and is 8-2-1 all-time in the series. Purdue won the first meeting 13-6 in the 1961 opener.
How To Watch Washington vs Purdue
Date: Friday, October 16, 2026
Game Time: 8:00 PM ET
TV: FOX
Location: Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN
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Why Washington Will Win
Is Washington doing anything right? Yeah, outside of the 41-24 loss to Iowa, the defense has been terrific.
The problems of the season aren’t all on the offensive side, but that’s been the main issue. Purdue’s pass defense hasn’t been anything good, and the front wasn’t even close against UCLA. If the Huskies were ever going to move the ball, it would be this week.
Back to the defense, the Huskies are allowing fewer than four yards per carry, and overall, they’ve been great on third downs.
Why Purdue Will Win
Washington can’t run the ball even a little bit.
It was stuffed by Iowa for -3 yards on 25 carries, has yet to get to 150 yards in a game, and that’s part of the reason why it’s one of the worst teams in the nation on third downs. Unfortunately, there’s not much of a Purdue pass rush to take advantage of the leaky UW line, but there will be a little bit of pressure.
The Purdue offense has to get going fast. Quarterback Ryan Browne is hitting 69% of his passes with nine touchdowns and just one pick on the year. The Washington pass defense isn’t awful, but as long as Browne isn’t making big mistakes, the Boilermaker offense will be fine.
Washington vs Purdue Prediction, Betting Lines
Is it possible that Washington just needs a change of scenery? Its lone road game was at USC. Going to West Lafayette gets the Huskies far away with a shot at a reset. That’s where Elijah Brown comes in.
The backup Husky quarterback is expected to get the start after filling in for an injured Williams and hitting 72% of his throws for 251 yards and three touchdowns in the loss to Iowa. He’ll be good, but that won’t be enough.
On a Friday night at home, a fired up Purdue crowd, and a sharp day from Browne, will pull the team through a great fight that will last a full four quarters.
Purdue 31, Washington 27
Latest Consensus Line: Purdue -3.5, o/u: 51.5
ATS Confidence (out of 5): 2
Must See Rating (out of 5): 3.5
Consensus line based on BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.