Friday's college football slate serves as an appetizer ahead of Saturday's main course, featuring six Top 25 vs. Top 25 matchups. The first power-conference game of the week is Washington taking on Purdue in a Big Ten showdown.
Washington fans are excited to see Elijah Brown get the start after he transferred from Stanford and completed 28 of 39 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns against Iowa last week. Brown had only 175 pass attempts over two seasons at Stanford while backing up Ben Gulbranson and Ashton Daniels.
Despite Brown's recent performance, many around the Washington program remain upset about the Demond Williams Jr. situation, where the team reportedly agreed to a $4 million deal for 2026 before Williams sought to enter the transfer portal. Williams is still considered Washington's best quarterback option, having been sacked 19 times and averaging 2.9 yards per carry on a team that averages 3.1 yards per rush.
Purdue, meanwhile, has faced the seventh-ranked schedule according to Jeff Sagarin, compared to Washington's 65th-ranked schedule. Barry Odom's Boilermakers are headed in the right direction, with sophomore running back Fame Ijeboi rushing for 195 yards on 31 carries against Minnesota and quarterback Ryan Browne owning a 9-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio with a 68.9 percent completion rate.
In conference games, Purdue has averaged 6.83 yards per play against UCLA, Illinois, and Minnesota, while Washington has managed only 4.79 yards per play against Minnesota, USC, and Iowa. Washington's defense has allowed more than six yards per play in three conference games, giving Purdue a strong chance to win the field-position battle.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
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