Purdue Releases 2023 Football Schedule

At one point the Big Ten had football schedules out several years in advance. Then college football changed and for some absurd reason USC and UCLA were added to the conference. That wiped the league schedules off the board after this season. The 2023 season will be a bizarro limbo one, as it is expected to be the final season of divisional play. We get one more season of East vs. West before the league expands to 16 teams, and today the conference re-released the 2023 league schedule.

2023 Purdue Football Schedule

September 2 - vs. Fresno State

September 9 - at Virginia Tech

September 16 - vs. Syracuse

September 23 - Wisconsin

September 30 - Illinois

October 7 - at Iowa

October 14 - Ohio State

October 21 - BYE

October 28 - at Nebraska

November 4 - at Michigan

November 11 - Minnesota

November 18 - at Northwestern (possibly Wrigley again?)

November 25 - Indiana

The non-conference slate is an interesting one. Purdue plays Fresno State for the first time ever and they are a strong Group of Five Program known for their willingness to play anyone, anywhere, any time. It is a buy game, so there is no return game to Fresno. The Virginia Tech game is a return game from 2015, when the Hokies beat Darrell Hazell’s team 51-24 in West Lafayette. Syracuse is the return game from this season’s nail biter in upstate New York, and given how good the Orange are this should be a feisty game.

As for the conference slate, The crossover games are always key, especially in the perceived “weaker” division. Purdue does not get an easy game as Ohio State is on the slate, but they have to come to West Lafayette, which has been their kryptonite this century. The Bucks are just 3-5 in West Lafayette since the start of the 2000 season. We also get Michigan for the first time since 2017, and it is our first game in Ann Arbor since 2011 (that is not a typo).The Northwestern game could potentially be back at Wrigley Field, as 1. they are contracted to have a Wrigley game next year and it is after baseball season, and 2. they may be out of Ryan Field due to renovations.

Purdue has five conference home games, but three of them are in the first four games. This schedule is very demanding, and with a new QB. We start the Big Ten season 0-1 since we begin with Wisconsin, and getting both Michigan and Ohio State is not a favor. I am not confident.