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Purdue picked 18th in Big Ten Preseason poll

by:Dub Jellison•07/21/25•

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Barry Odom (Krockover Photography)

Results from the 15th annual Cleveland.com Big Ten Preseason poll were released on Monday morning, coming just before Big Ten Media Days in Las Vegas this week, and Purdue rounded out the voting in the basement. Barry Odom and the Boilermakers were picked 18th in the preseason poll, the second consecutive year the media has placed the program at the bottom of the conference. Purdue was also the only team that did not receive a vote higher than 14th.

Coming off an abysmal 1-11 campaign in 2024, Purdue garnered just 39 points in the poll, with an averaged ranking of 17.44, with the next closest being Northwestern with 65 points and an average rank of 16.40.

The Boilermakers will have matchups with three teams in the top five of the 2025 edition of the preseason poll, battling Ohio State (No. 2) on November 8th, Illinois (No. 4) on October 4th and Michigan (No. 5) on November 1st. They will also play four teams that rank 10th or worse in the poll, between Minnesota, Northwestern, Rutgers and Washington.

Penn State earned the top spot in the poll for the first time in its 15-year existence, with Ohio State following closely behind at the number two spot. The consensus top-two teams in the conference heading into 2025 were followed by defending Big Ten champions, Oregon. The rest of the top five was rounding out by Illinois and Michigan, while Indiana placed sixth. James Franklin was also named Big Ten Preseason Coach of the Year in what is a pivotal year in his tenure with the Nittany Lions.

The Buckeyes dominated the player awards, with sophomore wide receiver Jeremiah Smith being named Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while junior safety Caleb Downs was picked as the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year in the conference. Purdue did not have a player earn a vote in either category leading up to the 2025 season.

The full results from today’s poll:

RankSchoolPointsAverage Ranking
1.Penn State4351.60
2.Ohio State4311.76
3.Oregon4052.80
4.Illinois3534.88
5.Michigan3465.16
6.Indiana3056.80
7.Iowa2877.52
8.Nebraska2777.92
9.USC2698.24
10.Washington21610.36
11.Minnesota19211.32
12.Wisconsin15912.60
t-13.Michigan State13513.60
t-13.Rutgers13513.60
15.UCLA13413.64
16.Maryland9115.36
17.Northwestern6516.40
18.Purdue3917.44

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