The Purdue football team kicks off the 2025 season with a game against Ball State at Ross-Ade Stadium.
Will the Boilermakers begin the Barry Odom era at Purdue with an impressive victory?
Follow along for live updates.
Another strong drive for Ball State should have ended in points. The Cardinals traveled 63 yards and needed eight plays to do it, but kicker Carson Holmer pushed a 29-yard field goal try from the left has past the right upright, his second miss of the game.
Purdue 31, Ball State 0, 5:27 Q4
The Boilermakers had an opportunity at another deep touchdown pass, but the ball was underthrown and the back judge got in the way of a potential acrobatic catch. Still, the drive 13-play, 61-yard drive ended with a 28-yard field goal by Spencer Porath.
Purdue 31, Ball State 0
The Boilermakers remain soundly in control of this game. They’ve outgained the Cardinals 319-155, which included 266 yards passing by quarterback Ryan Browne. Ball State’s Kiael Kelly is 8 for 13 for 48 yards passing and has 54 yards rushing on 18 carries.
Purdue 28, Ball State 0, Q4
The Boilermakers drove 73 yards over 2:38 during their first drive of the second half, capped by a Ryan Browne touchdown pass to dancing Michael Jackson III. He is the leading receiver, catching all six of the targets thrown his way, though trails in yardage to Arhmad Branch. Jackson’s line: 6-72-1.
Ryan Browne, meanwhile, is 15 for 19 for 266 yards and two touchdowns.
Purdue 28, Ball State 0, 4:40 Q3
The Cardinals drove 48 yards on 13 plays, chewing up 7 minutes, 42 seconds of clock, but have no points to show for it. The 45-yard attempt by Carson Holmer started right and couldn’t work its way back, clanking off the right upright.
Purdue 21, Ball State 0, 7:18 Q3
“It’s a no-brainer,” Purdue student Michael Uremovich said, the son of first-year Ball State coach Mike Uremovich. The coach is in his first game as an FBS head coach. He graduated from Purdue and most recently coached at Butler, where his three straight winning seasons were the first time it happened in more than three decades.
Barry Odom told Big Ten Network “he’ll be back” after Bradyn Joiner was not with the team on its final offensive possession of the first half.
The Boilermakers dominated the first half, save for Ball State’s second-to-last drive of the half. But, even then, the Boilermakers got a key stop on third and fourth downs.
Purdue has the edge in most areas, and its passing game has stood out. It has 204 yards passing for its 246 total. Quarterback Ryan Browne is 11 for 14 with a touchdown and has rushed for a touchdown. Seven different receivers have caught a pass, led by Arhmad Branch (3 catches, 101 yards, TD).
Running back Devin Mockobee has rushed for 36 yards on 10 carried and a touchdown.
Ball State, meanwhile, has 105 yards of total offense, including 58 on the ground. It started getting the ball on the edge with jet sweeps and pop passes, which opened up interior runs for quarterback Kiael Kelly. Still, the Cardinals are 1 for 6 on third down.
Purdue 21, Ball State 0
Big Ten Network reported that starting center Bradyn Joiner was not on the sidelines, “no sign of” him, they said. Ethan Trent has substituted in.
The Cardinals have shifted their offense to generate yardage. They are using a variety of motion that have led to pop passes on jet sweeps, allowing for quarterback keepers. Kiael Kelly rushed for a first down on one such keep. He’s also pitched it to TJ Horton.
It’s led to four plays of 10 or more yards on this drive after none previously. The Cardinals had 45 yards of offense on their first four drives, and gained 60 after Mani Powell sacked Kelly to force fourth-and-16.
Devin Mockobee took a direct snap and plunged into the end zone from 4 yards out to give the Boilermakers a three-score lead. It capped a 91-yard drive that was 13 plays and lasted 5 minutes, 26 seconds.
Purdue 21, Ball State 0, 10:21 Q2
The Boilermakers lead 14-0 after one quarter and have forced three punts. They are outgaining the Cardinals 165-41 and averaging 12.7 yards per play.
The Cardinals have, however, started moving the ball. Quarterback Kiael Kelly has rushed for 12 yards on four totes and is 3 for 5 for 28 yards passing. They picked up their first two first downs on the last drive.
The broadcast highlighted Ethan Trent playing his first game on scholarship Saturday. He is the brother of famed superfan Tyler Trent, who became a national figure for his Boilermaker fandom and as an advocate for cancer patients. The student gate at Ross-Ade Stadium was named in his honor.
Ball State twice has had to punt to start the Mike Uremovich era. That’s largely due to a strong rush defense coordinated by Mike Scherer of Purdue. Ball State quarterback Kiael Kelly rushed for 6 yards to get Ball State to 1 yard on four attempts.
A quick 55-second touchdown drive was methodical and showed the balance of Purdue’s offense. Branch made a great catch, sure, and running back Devin Mockobee factored in with the ground game. The drive was capped by a Ryan Browne scramble and rush for 5 yards to the pylon on the right side of the field.
Purdue 14, Ball State 0, 9:47 Q1
It’s becoming a blossoming connection: Ryan Browne to Arhmad Branch. Three catches for 101 yards and a touchdown already for Branch, whose latest catch was the most impressive. He hauled in a one-handed catch on the sideline with a defender in pursuit.
Boilermakers legend Ryan Kerrigan said that first-year coach Barry Odom “is the guy who is the right leader for this program.” Kerrigan said he attended Friday’s walk-through and likes how “dialed in” Odom is on situational football.
The Boilermakers strike first as starting quarterback Ryan Browne found wide receiver Arhmad Branch on a deep seam route. Branch made a pair of nifty moves to stay on his feet, evade tacklers and found the end zone for a 49-yard score.
Purdue did not have a touchdown against FBS opponents in the first half in 2024.
Purdue 7, Ball State 0, 14:20 Q1
Here’s the view from the press box as the Boilermakers take the field for the first time under Barry Odom.
There is one NFL team scouting the Boilermakers and Cardinals in the season opener. Any guesses?
It’s … the … Cleveland Browns.
The Boilermakers have a budding basketball star who made waves in international play before arriving to West Lafayette. Omer Mayer is at Ross-Ade Stadium for the season opener.
The pregame warmups from the end zone show that Bradyn Joiner may be the starting center for the Boilermakers. He is snapping to starting quarterback Ryan Browne.
The Cardinals bring a fully healthy roster to play the Boilermakers.
Going from nonscholarship football and leading Butler to three straight winning seasons for the first time in three decades to having to flip a scholarship roster with revenue-sharing and more has not been an easy task for Mike Uremovich. The first-year Ball State football coach gets his first FBS game at his alma mater, Purdue.
Here’s more on how Uremovich adjusted to Ball State.
Boilermakers legend Ryan Kerrigan is the honorary captain against his home town Ball State Cardinals. Kerrigan, a Muncie native who played at Central High School, was back in West Lafayette alongside the Boilermakers.
Kerrigan, 37, became the 16th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft by Washington, where he played nine of his 10 NFL seasons. He retired after a season with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021. He had 95.5 sacks in his 172-game NFL career, serving as an ironman by missing just four regular-season games.
Since his retirement, Kerrigan has gone into coaching and enters his fourth season on the Commanders’ coaching staff. He is the assistant linebacker coach and pass rush specialist.
Just four Boilermakers are unavailable for the season opener. Wide receivers Chauncey Magwood, De’Nylon Morrissette, tight end Jon Grimmett and offensive lineman Marc Nave Jr. were all listed as out.
Here’s what it means.
Impact of Purdue football’s season-opening injury report
Purdue football listed two veteran receivers and a potentially important offensive lineman as our for the opener vs. Ball State.
In an unexpected moment, the first reference to Purdue football was the ESPN “College GameDay” set thinking one of their players wasn’t real. A list of names was put on a board and Nitro Tuggle was thought to be the one that wasn’t real. Pat McAfee said Tuggle’s name was “too awesome” to be real.
Purdue vs Ball State is Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025, at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette.
Purdue vs Ball State begins at noon ET Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025.
TV: BTN with Jason Ross Jr. (play-by-play), Anthony Herron (analyst) and Dannie Rogers (sideline)
Watch Purdue football vs Ball State on Fubo (free trial)
- Radio: Purdue Global Radio Network, 96.5 FM WAZY with Tim Newton (play-by-play), Mark Hermann (analyst) and Kelly Kitchel
- Streaming:Â SiriusXMÂ Channel 85
Ticket prices for the Purdue vs Ball State game at Ross-Ade Stadium start at $15 on StubHub.
Odds courtesy of BetMGM
- Purdue 41, Ball State 16:Â “Boilermakers need to make Kiael Kelly put the ball in the air, where an experienced secondary should have the advantage.” –Â Purdue reporter Nathan Baird
- Spread:Â Purdue by 17.5
- Over/under:Â 49.5
- Moneyline:Â Purdue -1000, Ball State +650
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