First Look: Ball State

Here’s an early look at Purdue’s first opponent of the 2025 season, the Ball State Cardinals:

Date/Time: Saturday, August 30, Noon EDT

Location: Ross-Ade Stadium

Surface: Bermuda Grass

Capacity: 61,441 (tickets)

Weather: The early forecast shows a high of 75 degrees with partly cloudy skies and a slight breeze

2025 schedules/rosters: Purdue schedule | Purdue roster | Ball State schedule | Ball State roster

Series notes: Despite sharing a telephone area code, Saturday will mark just the ninth meeting between Purdue and Ball State. The Boilermakers remain undefeated, holding an 8-0 record with an average margin of victory of 21.6 points. Purdue last welcomed Ball State to Ross-Ade Stadium in 2010, a 24-13 Purdue win. Every meeting between the two programs has taken place in West Lafayette.

TV: BTN

Early line: Purdue -17.5

STORYLINES TO WATCH

A new era begins

Barry Odom will make his Purdue head coaching debut on Saturday. Odom became the 38th head coach of Purdue football on Dec. 8, when he landed the job following two strong seasons at UNLV. In Las Vegas, Odom led the Rebels to 19 wins, the most in a two-season stretch since the program joined Division I.

Prior to UNLV, Odom got his feet wet as a head coach at Missouri, where he led the Tigers from 2016 to 2019, finishing with a 25-25 record. He spent time as the defensive coordinator at Arkansas between head coaching jobs.

Odom will look to become Purdue’s first head coach to win his debut since Danny Hope did so in 2009. In fact, just three of Purdue’s last 10 head coaches won their first game on the Boilermaker sidelines (Agase, Colletto, Hope). But, despite both coaches losing their openers, Odom would love to recreate the first seasons of the Joe Tiller and Jeff Brohm tenures, when Purdue made a bowl game despite low preseason expectations.

Brand new Boilermakers

The coaching staff won’t be the only ones experiencing their first game on the west sideline of Ross-Ade Stadium. 83 of Purdue’s 120 players came to Purdue since the end of last season, either as a high school recruit or via the transfer portal.

Fans will recognize some of the faces. Ryan Browne won the quarterback battle in fall camp after making two starts in 2024 and appearing in nine games over the past two seasons. Devin Mockobee enters 2025 in ninth place on Purdue’s career rushing leaderboard. A smattering of other projected starters saw action last season, but for the most part, a brand new roster will take the field on Saturday.

Homecoming

Homecoming weekend won’t take place in West Lafayette until October 25. But, for Ball State head coach Mike Uremovich, he’ll celebrate homecoming two months ahead of time. A 2000 Purdue graduate, Uremovich returned to campus recently to move his son into Earhart Hall for his freshman year.

In unconventional fashion, Uremovich didn’t play football at Purdue. He tried out as a walk-on, but then-head coach Jim Colletto didn’t select him to make the practice squad. He began as a freshman coach at nearby McCutcheon High School as a Purdue student, and the rest is history.

His coaching career comes full circle on Saturday, as he’ll make his debut as a Division I head coach in West Lafayette. Uremovich inherits a Ball State program with just two bowl game appearances since 2013, and the Cardinals have just one winning season in MAC play since then. He comes to Muncie following a successful three-year stint at Butler, where he went 23-11.

Homecoming: Purdue alum Mike Uremovich returns as Ball State head coach

Odom on the Cardinals

Updates will be provided following Odom’s Monday press conference