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The 2020 Purdue football schedule is out. And the Boilermakers have a lot of heavy lifting.
Purdue opens at Michigan and then plays Iowa and Ohio State at home. There also are road games at Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Indiana in addition to Michigan. Purdue plays host to Rutgers, Northwestern and Nebraska in addition to Iowa and Ohio State.
No doubt, Jeff Brohm faces a steep challenge in his fourth season, coming off a 4-8 record (3-6 Big Ten). The last two seasons, Purdue is 10-15 overall (8-10 Big Ten).
The Buckeyes are Purdue's fourth cross-division foe, joining previously scheduled East teams Michigan, Rutgers and Indiana on the Boilermaker slate.
Purdue was set to open the season Sept. 5 at Nebraska on its original schedule. But now, the Cornhuskers come to West Lafayette for a second year in a row. Purdue has won two in a row vs. Nebraska.
Purdue and Michigan last met in 2017, with the Wolverines taking a 28-10 decision. The Boilermakers last visited Michigan in 2011 (36-14 loss). The last win in Ann Arbor? It came in 2009 (38-36). Before that, Purdue hadn't won in the Big House since 1966.
Also: Purdue plays at Wisconsin for a second season in a row; the Badgers were due a trip to West Lafayette in 2020. Otherwise, the Boilers home-road Big Ten configuration remained the same as their original schedule.
Purdue is 3-3 in its last six meetings with Ohio State, pulling off a heart-stopping 49-20 win at home in 2018 the last time the teams met. Led by Heisman-contending quarterback Justin Fields, the Buckeyes are the Big Ten favorite in 2020 and a top national title contender.
Purdue has lost 14 in a row to Wisconsin, last winning vs. the Badgers in 2003 in a game in Madison. Wisconsin is the defending Big Ten West champ and has won the division three of the last four seasons.
Rutgers never has visited Ross-Ade Stadium. The Scarlet Knights--a team that has been ravaged by COVID-19--won the lone meeting, taking a 14-12 decision in New Brunswick in Brohm's first season.
Purdue and the rest of the Big Ten will play 10 games over 12 weeks beginning Sept. 3-5 and ending Nov. 21. The Big Ten title game is slated for Dec. 5.
Big Ten teams will play six division games and four cross-division tilts. There are two off weeks and four weeks were added to the end of the schedule for flexibility (Nov. 28-Dec. 19) after the original 12-week season.
Purdue's original Big Ten slate included road games at Nebraska, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Indiana. The home games were Rutgers, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Iowa.
Almost a month ago, the Big Ten announced it was dumping a 12-game model and non-conference games and opting for a 10-game, Big Ten-only slate. Purdue's non-conference games were vs. Memphis and Air Force at home, along with a trip to Boston College.
Big Ten West schools--like Purdue--were scheduled to play just four league home games in 2020, with five being on the road. Big Ten East schools already had five home and four away conference tilts. So, West schools needed to add a home game, while East schools needed a road contest.
In addition to revealing the schedule, the Big Ten announced health and wellness information.
• All sports are required to test a minimum of once weekly.
• High-contact sports are required to test a minimum of twice weekly.
• Testing for student-athletes, coaches and staff is required within three days of competition for sports with one game in a week.
• The conference will coordinate testing through a third-party test laboratory.
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