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The lights continue to pay off for Purdue, as we are now 4 for 4 in non-noon home kickoffs with the announcement of the Nebraska game this morning:
Purdue vs. Nebraska on Oct. 28 will be 7:30 p.m. on BTN, Purdue announces.
— Mike DeFabo (@MikeDeFabo) October 16, 2017
Officially it is only the 10th night game in Purdue history at Ross-Ade Stadium, but it is the second this season. Here is Purdue’s home night game history:
Oct. 18, 1986 - Ohio State (L 39-11)
Sept. 10, 1994 - Toledo (W 51-17)
Sept. 21, 1996 - West Virginia (L 20-6)
Oct. 1, 2005 - Notre Dame (L 49-28)
Oct. 6, 2007 - Ohio State (L 23-7)
Sept. 26, 2009 - Notre Dame (L 24-21)
Oct. 1, 2011 - Notre Dame (L 38-10)
Sept. 14, 2013 - Notre Dame (L 31-24)
Sept. 8, 2017 - Ohio (W 44-21)
As you can see, it marks only the second different Big Ten opponent Purdue has played at home after dark. I believe the criteria for it to be considered a “night game” is a post 6pm local time kickoff, so even though the 2001 Notre Dame game kicked off at 4pm with temporary light sit doesn’t count on this list.
This is the first time since the 2012 season where a majority of Purdue’s home games will have non-noon kickoffs, as 4 of their 7 home games that season kicked off at 3pm or later. Can Purdue go 6 for 6 in non-noon home kickoffs? It looks like the Illinois game will be the biggest obstacle and we will find out next week.
Also, LET’S SELL THIS MOFO OUT!