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Gold and Black Radio: The latest in Purdue football and basketball

Karpick_headshot500x500by:Alan Karpick•05/06/25•

AlanKarpick

Screenshot 2025-05-06 at 1.06.56 PM


In our May 6, 2025, edition, we discuss the latest happenings in Purdue football and men’s basketball as finals week nears its mid-point. Host Derek Schultz and Brian Neubert (basketball) and Tom Dienhart (football) get you caught up on all things portal, recruiting, and more. 

Audio only

Purdue Football’s Three Things learned

This is an excerpt from Tom Dienhart’s weekly 3-2-1 column

Three things learned. Two questions. One bold statement. It’s The 3-2-1, a look at Purdue football.

Three things learned

1 – End is near

Barry Odom warned us. He brought in 50-plus transfers in each of his two seasons at UNLV and said he could envision doing the same at Purdue. Odom has delivered on that promise in a whirlwind of activity in the winter … and now the spring.

The spring portal count is 24 … and could grow close to 30 before it’s all said and done. The end is near. The portal produce is pretty picked over at this stage … just not a lot of Big Ten quality left. Most pieces added at this point figure to be roster-filler types.

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2 – Win total projection

FanDuel has its win total projections out for the 2025 season. And it has set Purdue’s at 3.5 wins.

Interesting.

The Boilermakers are the proverbial mystery wrapped inside a riddle as we head toward summer. How good is Purdue? How will all of these new pieces fit together? What will chemistry be like?

And then there is the matter of a challenging schedule that includes home games vs. USC, Illinois, Ohio State and Indiana as well as road tilts at Notre Dame, Michigan and Washington.

Doubt Purdue will be favored in any of those games, and probably not at Minnesota, too.

The Boilers will be favored in the first two games: Ball State and Southern Illinois in Ross-Ade. And they may be favored vs. Rutgers and at Northwestern.

So, if Purdue wins those four … betting the over is a good idea.

Gonna be fascinating to see how this unfolds.

3 – Help wanted

Three areas Purdue could have used more portal help: defensive line, secondary and tight end. The staff missed on some of its targets at all three position groups this spring.

Win some, lose some.

As this is being written, Purdue has still yet to land a portal tight end. And, believe me: One is needed. It would not be a surprise if Auburn’s Rico Walker–who visited recently–is added. And two more offensive linemen could be brought it to fill out the depth chart. Will Purdue add one of the safeties who just visited: Gregory Smith or Hershey McLaurin?

MORE: Spring portal additions | Spring portal departures | 2026 Purdue commitments | 2025 Roster distribution

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