First Look: Indiana State

The last meeting: Purdue 38, Indiana State 14 on September 12, 2015 in West Lafayette

Here's an early look at Purdue's second opponent in 2022, the Indiana State Sycamores

Time: Saturday, Sept. 10, 4:00 PM EDT

Location: Ross-Ade Stadium

Surface: Bermuda Grass

Capacity: 57,236 (tickets available)

2022 schedules/records: Indiana State 1-0 (0-0 MVC); Purdue 0-1 (0-1 Big Ten)

Series notes: Saturday's matchup will mark the sixth all-time meeting between the Boilermakers and Sycamores. Purdue holds a 5-0 all-time record against Indiana State, with those matchups spread out between 1926 and 2015. Since that last matchup in 2015, both schools have hired new football coaches, as neither Jeff Brohm nor Curt Mallory were at the helm of Purdue or Indiana State when that game was played. Saturday's game will mark the first time Jeff Brohm has faced an FCS opponent while at Purdue and will mark Purdue's first FCS opponent since the 2016 season opener vs. Eastern Kentucky. All-time,

TV: BTN

Early line: FBS vs. FCS lines usually come later in the week

No doubt, the season-opening loss to Penn State on Thursday night stung. Purdue had a real opportunity to earn a statement win against a historical power to continue their momentum from the nine-win season in 2021. Now, the Boilermakers will need to move on and get in the win column against what should be an out-matched Indiana State team.

Results against non-Power Five programs have been mixed during Jeff Brohm's tenure at Purdue, as the Boilermakers are 2-2 in such games with wins over Ohio (2017) and UConn (2021), with losses coming against Eastern Michigan (2018) and Nevada (2019).

All-time, Purdue is 12-0 against FCS opponents dating back to its first matchup with the Sycamores in 1990. ISU gave Purdue its closest call in a battle with an FCS school, losing to Purdue 20-14 in coach Darrell Hazell's first year as head coach. Purdue's average victory margin in those 12 wins has been 29.7 points but in the four wins during that stretch against ISU, the margins has been 28, 25, 6 and 24 points for a 20.7 average.

In his Purdue debut, Charlie Jones put on quite the show with 12 receptions for 153 yards and a touchdown. The Iowa transfer quickly became Aidan O'Connell's favorite target, as he threw to his childhood friend a whopping 19 times against Penn State. Now, the world knows that Jones is Purdue's number one target on offense, and he will get that type of attention from opposing defenses.

After week one, a few areas always stick out as needing improvement, and that's no different for this season's Boilermakers. No coach will ever be pleased with penalties, and Purdue certainly wants to lower their nine-penalty total from their opener.

O'Connell played well enough for Purdue to win, but after completing more than 70 percent of his passes in 2021, his 50 percent clip vs. Penn State stood out.

Though tackling can always be an issue early in the season, missed tackles stood out as they directly led to multiple Penn State touchdowns. In a division like the Big Ten West where physicality is a non-negotiable, Purdue will look to sharpen up their tackling.

"Yes, it is the first time we have faced an FCS opponent since I have been here, but we respect all opponents and all levels of our opponents. They are coming off an emotional overtime victory and we need to get ready to play well and improve,"

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